If the sequence listing of an international application is not available in electronic form and/or does not comply with the standard provided in Annex C to the Administrative Instructions (WIPO Standard ST.25), the EPO as ISA will invite the applicant to furnish the sequence listing in electronic text format and pay a late furnishing fee within a non-extendable time limit of one month from the date of the invitation.[Rule 5.2; 13ter.1; GL/ISPE 9.39; 15.13; ]

If, within the time limit set, the applicant has not submitted the sequence listing in the required electronic form and format and paid the late furnishing fee, the EPO as ISA will carry out the international search without the sequence listing to the extent that a meaningful search can be carried out.

The examiner when performing the search will either:

or

This also has consequences for the international preliminary examination procedure before the EPO as IPEA (see GL/PCT‑EPO C‑VIII, 2.1).