All the sheets contained in the European patent application must be numbered in consecutive Arabic numerals. These must be centred at the top of the sheet, but not in the top margin.[Rule 49(6); ]

The sheets of drawings must be numbered within the maximum usable surface area as defined in Rule 46(1). Instead of numbering the sheet in the middle, it will, however, be acceptable for it to be numbered towards the right-hand side if the drawing comes too close to the middle of the edge of the usable surface. This numbering should be clear, for example in numbers larger than those used for reference numbers.[Rule 46(1); ]

Rule 49(6) requires all application sheets to be numbered consecutively. According to Rule 49(4), the application consists of all the following documents: the request, the description, the claims, the drawings and the abstract. The numbering should preferably be effected by using three separate series of numbering each beginning with one, the first series applying to the request only and being already printed on the form to be used, the second series commencing with the first sheet of the description and continuing through the claims until the last sheet of the abstract, and the third series being applicable only to the sheets of the drawings and commencing with the first sheet of such drawings.[Rule 49(4); ]

There are no objections to including the description, claims, abstract and drawings in one series of numbering beginning with one. The series of numbering must then commence with the first sheet of the description.