485BPOS

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 23, 2012

Registration No. 33-37214

811-06190

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933	x
Pre-Effective Amendment No.	¨
Post-Effective Amendment No. 25	x
and/or
REGISTRATION STATEMENT	x
UNDER
THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940
Amendment No. 27	x

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

One Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02109

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

(617) 292-1000

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code

Copy to:

BETH S. MAZOR, Vice President	JOHN W. GERSTMAYR, Esquire
PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND	ROPES & GRAY LLP
One Post Office Square	Prudential Tower
Boston, Massachusetts 02109	800 Boylston Street
(Name and address of agent for service)	Boston, Massachusetts 02199-3600

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)

¨ immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

x on July 23, 2012 pursuant to paragraph (b)

¨ 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

¨ on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

¨ 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

¨ on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.

If appropriate, check the following box:

¨ this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement under Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this Amendment to its Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Boston, and The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on the 23^rd day of July, 2012.

Putnam International Equity Fund

By: /s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz, Executive Vice President,

Principal Executive Officer and Compliance Liaison

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

Signature	Title
Jameson A. Baxter**	Chair, Board and Trustee
Robert L. Reynolds**	President and Trustee
Jonathan S. Horwitz ****	Executive Vice President, Treasurer, Principal Executive Officer and Compliance Liaison
Steven D. Krichmar**	Vice President and Principal Financial Officer
Janet C. Smith**	Vice President, Assistant Treasurer and Principal Accounting Officer
Michael J. Higgins****	Vice President and Treasurer
Ravi Akhoury**	Trustee
Barbara M. Baumann*	Trustee
Charles B. Curtis**	Trustee
Robert J. Darretta**	Trustee
John A. Hill**	Trustee
Paul L. Joskow**	Trustee
Elizabeth T. Kennan***	Trustee
Kenneth R. Leibler**	Trustee
Robert E. Patterson**	Trustee
George Putnam, III**	Trustee
W. Thomas Stephens**	Trustee

C-1

By: /s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz,

as Attorney-in-Fact

July 23, 2012

*Signed pursuant to power of attorney filed in Post-Effective Amendment No. 21 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on June 27, 2010.

**Signed pursuant to power of attorney filed in Post-Effective Amendment No. 19 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on August 20, 2009.

***Signed pursuant to power of attorney filed in Post-Effective Amendment No. 24 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on June 28, 2012.

**** Signed pursuant to power of attorney filed forthwith.

C-2

POWER OF ATTORNEY

We, the undersigned Officers of each of the funds listed on Schedule A hereto, hereby severally constitute and appoint Jameson A. Baxter, John A. Hill, George Putnam III, Jonathan S. Horwitz, John W. Gerstmayr and Bryan Chegwidden, and each of them singly, our true and lawful attorneys, with full power to them and each of them, to sign for us, and in our names and in the capacity indicated below, the Registration Statements on Form N-1A of each of the funds listed on Schedule A hereto and any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to said Registration Statements and to file the same with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto my said attorneys, and each of them acting alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, and hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorneys or any of them may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

WITNESS my hand and seal on the date set forth below.

Signature	Title	Date
/s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz Jonathan S. Horwitz	Executive Vice President, Principal Executive Officer and Compliance Liaison	July 2, 2012
/s/ Michael J. Higgins Michael J. Higgins	Treasurer	July 2, 2012

C-3

Schedule A

Putnam American Government Income Fund

Putnam Arizona Tax Exempt Income Fund

Putnam California Tax Exempt Income Fund

Putnam Convertible Securities Fund

Putnam Diversified Income Trust

Putnam Asset Allocation Funds

Putnam Equity Income Fund

Putnam Europe Equity Fund

Putnam Funds Trust

The George Putnam Fund of Boston d/b/a George Putnam Balanced Fund

Putnam Global Equity Fund

Putnam Global Health Care Fund

Putnam Global Income Trust

Putnam Global Natural Resources Fund

Putnam Global Utilities Fund

The Putnam Fund for Growth and Income

Putnam High Yield Advantage Fund

Putnam High Yield Trust

Putnam Income Fund

Putnam International Equity Fund

Putnam Investment Funds

Putnam Investors Fund

Putnam Massachusetts Tax Exempt Income Fund

Putnam Michigan Tax Exempt Income Fund

Putnam Minnesota Tax Exempt Income Fund

Putnam Money Market Fund

Putnam Multi-Cap Growth Fund

Putnam New Jersey Tax Exempt Income Fund

Putnam New York Tax Exempt Income Fund

Putnam Ohio Tax Exempt Income Fund

Putnam Pennsylvania Tax Exempt Income Fund

Putnam RetirementReady^® Funds

Putnam Tax Exempt Income Fund

Putnam Tax Exempt Money Market Fund

Putnam Tax-Free Income Trust

Putnam U.S. Government Income Trust

Putnam Variable Trust

Putnam Voyager Fund

C-4

XML

Putnam International Equity Fund Prospectus dated October 30, 2011

The fund will offer class R5 and class R6 shares to qualified employee-benefit plans beginning on July 2, 2012. The prospectus is supplemented as follows to add information about class R5 and class R6 shares.

The front cover page is supplemented to add class R5 and class R6 shares to the list of shares to which the prospectus relates, and to indicate that fund symbols for class R5 and class R6 shares are pending.

The following information is added to Fund summary — Fees and expenses:

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

		Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as
	Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on	a percentage of original purchase price or
Share class	purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)
Class R5	NONE	NONE
Class R6	NONE	NONE

Annual fund operating expenses (expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

		Distribution and		Total annual fund
Share class	Management fees****	service (12b-1) fees	Other expenses	operating expenses
Class R5	0.73%	N/A	0.22%*****	0.95%
Class R6	0.73%	N/A	0.12%*****	0.85%

**** Management fees are subject to a performance adjustment.

***** Other expenses are based on expenses of class A shares for the fund’s last fiscal year, adjusted to reflect the lower investor servicing fees applicable to class R5 and class R6 shares.

Example

Share class	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Class R5	$97	$303	$525	$1,166
Class R6	$87	$271	$471	$1,049

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND /MA/

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Oct. 30, 2011

Supplement [Text Block]

pief1_SupplementTextBlock

Putnam International Equity Fund Prospectus dated October 30, 2011

The fund will offer class R5 and class R6 shares to qualified employee-benefit plans beginning on July 2, 2012. The prospectus is supplemented as follows to add information about class R5 and class R6 shares.

The front cover page is supplemented to add class R5 and class R6 shares to the list of shares to which the prospectus relates, and to indicate that fund symbols for class R5 and class R6 shares are pending.

The following information is added to Fund summary — Fees and expenses:

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

		Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as
	Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on	a percentage of original purchase price or
Share class	purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)
Class R5	NONE	NONE
Class R6	NONE	NONE

Annual fund operating expenses (expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

		Distribution and		Total annual fund
Share class	Management fees****	service (12b-1) fees	Other expenses	operating expenses
Class R5	0.73%	N/A	0.22%*****	0.95%
Class R6	0.73%	N/A	0.12%*****	0.85%

**** Management fees are subject to a performance adjustment.

***** Other expenses are based on expenses of class A shares for the fund’s last fiscal year, adjusted to reflect the lower investor servicing fees applicable to class R5 and class R6 shares.

Example

Share class	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Class R5	$97	$303	$525	$1,166
Class R6	$87	$271	$471	$1,049

Putnam International Equity Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Supplement [Text Block]

pief1_SupplementTextBlock

Putnam International Equity Fund Prospectus dated October 30, 2011

The fund will offer class R5 and class R6 shares to qualified employee-benefit plans beginning on July 2, 2012. The prospectus is supplemented as follows to add information about class R5 and class R6 shares.

The front cover page is supplemented to add class R5 and class R6 shares to the list of shares to which the prospectus relates, and to indicate that fund symbols for class R5 and class R6 shares are pending.

The following information is added to Fund summary — Fees and expenses:

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

		Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as
	Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on	a percentage of original purchase price or
Share class	purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)
Class R5	NONE	NONE
Class R6	NONE	NONE

Annual fund operating expenses (expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

		Distribution and		Total annual fund
Share class	Management fees****	service (12b-1) fees	Other expenses	operating expenses
Class R5	0.73%	N/A	0.22%*****	0.95%
Class R6	0.73%	N/A	0.12%*****	0.85%

**** Management fees are subject to a performance adjustment.

***** Other expenses are based on expenses of class A shares for the fund’s last fiscal year, adjusted to reflect the lower investor servicing fees applicable to class R5 and class R6 shares.

Example

Share class	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Class R5	$97	$303	$525	$1,166
Class R6	$87	$271	$471	$1,049

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual fund operating expenses (expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Putnam International Equity Fund | Class R5

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice

none

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)

rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.73%

^[1]

Distribution and service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.22%

^[2]

Total annual fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.95%

1 year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

97

3 years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

303

5 years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

525

10 years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,166

Putnam International Equity Fund | Class R6

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice

none

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)

rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.73%

^[1]

Distribution and service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.12%

^[2]

Total annual fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.85%

1 year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

87

3 years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

271

5 years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

471

10 years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,049

[1] Management fees are subject to a performance adjustment.

[2] Other expenses are based on expenses of class A shares for the fund's last fiscal year, adjusted to reflect the lower investor servicing fees applicable to class R5 and class R6 shares.

XML

Document and Entity Information	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 30, 2011
Risk/Return:
Document Type	485BPOS
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2011
Registrant Name	PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND /MA/
Central Index Key	0000868648
Amendment Flag	false
Document Creation Date	Jun. 28, 2012
Document Effective Date	Jun. 29, 2012
Prospectus Date	Oct. 30, 2011

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND /MA/
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Oct. 30, 2011
Document Creation Date	dei_DocumentCreationDate	Jun. 28, 2012