Rule 126 Notification by postal services

All notifications by postal services shall be by registered letter.

Where notification is effected in accordance with paragraph 1, the document shall be deemed to be delivered to the addressee on the date it bears, unless it has failed to reach the addressee. In the event of any dispute concerning the delivery of the document, it shall be incumbent on the European Patent Office to establish that the document has reached its destination and to establish the date on which the document was delivered to the addressee. If the European Patent Office establishes that the document was delivered to the addressee more than seven days after the date it bears, a period for which the deemed receipt of that document is the relevant event under Rule 131, paragraph 2, shall expire later by the number of days by which the seven days were exceeded.

Notification in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be deemed to have been effected even if acceptance of the letter has been refused.

To the extent that notification by postal services is not covered by paragraphs 1 to 3, the law of the State in which the notification is made shall apply.