National phase

PCT Article 22(1) requires the applicant to furnish to each designated Office, not later than 30 months from the priority date, a copy of the international application (unless it has already been communicated under Article 20), a translation as prescribed, and the national fee if any³. Article 39(1)(a) sets the same 30 months for each elected Office where the election was made before the 19th month from the priority date⁴. The priority date is the filing date of the earliest application whose priority is claimed or, where no priority is claimed, the international filing date².

The 30 months is the period the PCT provides. Any national law may fix a time limit that expires later^3,4. The Applicant's Guide says some designated Offices have fixed limits later than 30 months, that a 20-month limit applies to certain Offices because of a notified incompatibility with Article 22(1) as modified, and that some Offices apply different limits under Chapter I and Chapter II². WIPO publishes a table of the limits that apply to each Office, which is the place to check before relying on a date⁵. The table below shows five Offices, using WIPO's table as accessed on 28 October 2026 and the Offices' own texts where cited.

The Applicant's Guide lists these acts, where applicable, for the start of the national phase²:

• Pay the national fee. The fees, currencies and time limits are set out for each Office in the Guide's National Chapters, and annual or renewal fees that have already fallen due must be paid before the time limit expires².
• Furnish a translation if one is prescribed. A translation is required if the language of filing or publication is not accepted by the designated Office². It must be into an official language of that Office (Rule 49.2), and it comprises the description, the claims, any text matter of the drawings and the abstract (Rule 49.5(a))¹².
• In exceptional cases, furnish a copy of the international application, if it has not been communicated to the designated Office under Article 20².
• In exceptional cases, give the inventor's name and address, if they were not in the request and the Office allows them to be given later².

No applicant is required to use a national form for these acts (Rule 49.4)¹². For elected Offices, Rule 76.5 applies Rule 49, reading references to the designated Office as references to the elected Office¹³. The Guide says it is highly recommended to appoint an agent for the acts of entry, and that any obligation to be represented applies once the national phase has started². National and regional law adds requirements of its own, as the next section shows for the US and the EPO.

If the applicant fails to perform the acts referred to in Article 22 within the applicable time limit, the effect of the international application as a national application ceases in the designated State, with the same consequences as the withdrawal of a national application in that State (Article 24(1)(iii))¹¹. Article 39(2) provides the same for elected States⁴. The Guide adds that failing to act before one Office does not alter the effect of the international application before other Offices². A designated Office may nevertheless maintain the effect of the international application (Article 24(2))¹¹, and an elected Office likewise (Article 39(3))⁴.

Designated Offices usually do not issue any reminder, so monitoring the limit is the applicant's responsibility². Rule 49.6 requires the designated Office, on request, to reinstate the applicant's rights if it finds that the delay was unintentional or, at the Office's option, that the failure occurred in spite of due care. The request must be submitted, and the acts performed, within two months from removal of the cause or 12 months from expiry of the time limit, whichever expires first, unless national law permits a later request. National law may require a fee and supporting evidence¹². Some Offices have notified WIPO that Rule 49.6 is incompatible with their national law, and WIPO publishes a table of those notifications^12,2. Other remedies, such as restoration or revival, depend on the national law of each Office². At the EPO, a loss of rights under Rule 160 can be remedied by requesting further processing under Article 121 EPC, by paying the fee within two months of the communication concerning the failure to observe a time limit or a loss of rights (Rule 135(1))¹⁴.