EPAC

In July 2022, the EPO officially announced that they were establishing a certification for patent paralegals and formalities officers. EPIPA is very pleased that this important milestone has been reached. It is a major step forward in the professionalization of the industry. The certification is called European Patent Administration Certification (EPAC) and touches upon all formal aspects of EPC and PCT.

Facts:

  • The EPO established an EPAC Board consisting of 6 EPO employees and 6 external experts. The board’s tasks include drafting and marking the exams. Of the 6 external experts, 3 are EPIPA board members:  Melanie Custers-van Spronsen (Dutch Platform Formalities Officers), Vicky Maynard (UK CIPA IP Paralegals Committee) and Anne Taucher (NAIPA).
  • The exam is held yearly. The first exam took place in 2022.
  • EPAC 2025 will take place on 9 October 2025.
  • Exams are held electronically via the Wiseflow system.
  • The costs are € 100.
  • The exam is offered in all three EPO languages. When enrolling, the candidate must choose an examination language. This choice cannot be changed later.
  • The exam consists of two parts: a multiple-choice part and a part with open-answer questions. If a candidate does not pass the multiple-choice part, the open-answer part will not be marked.
  • Successful candidates receive a certificate issued by the EPO. A list of successful candidates is published on the website of the EPO.

There are no requirements for enrolling, but it is expected that in order to pass the exam, the candidate must have worked and gained knowledge as a patent paralegal or formalities officer for at least a few years.

EPO's training for EPAC candidates will take place from 1 March until 30 September 2025. The course is in English, but participants can interact with the tutors in French and German.

More information about the certification is available on the EPAC website.

For long, EPAC has been a major goal for us, not only for the national organizations but certainly also for EPIPA. In essence we need this important step and development to further distinguish ourselves as IP professionals.