Authorised CBAM declarant: who needs the status and how to apply

From 1 January 2026 only an authorised CBAM declarant may import CBAM goods above the 50-tonne annual threshold. The status is granted by the national competent authority of the Member State where the applicant is established, through the CBAM Registry.

Who needs the status

• An importer established in an EU Member State that imports more than 50 tonnes of CBAM goods (iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers) in a calendar year, or any quantity of hydrogen or electricity.
• An indirect customs representative that lodges the customs declaration in its own name on behalf of an importer. Where the importer is not established in the EU, the indirect customs representative must be the declarant.
• Importers below the threshold need nothing. Use the threshold checker to check.

The status is needed before the goods are released for free circulation. The application must be made before the import that takes the year’s total above 50 tonnes. Importers that applied by 31 March 2026 could keep importing while their application was being decided.

Conditions for authorisation

The competent authority checks, among other things, that the applicant:

• is established in the Member State where it applies and has an EORI number;
• has not been involved in serious or repeated infringements of customs, tax, market abuse or CBAM rules, or serious criminal offences linked to its economic activity, in the five years before the application;
• has the financial and operational capacity to meet CBAM obligations;
• provides a guarantee if it has not been established during the two financial years before the application. The amount is set by the authority based on the expected number of certificates.

Authorities typically ask for company register and tax extracts, criminal record certificates for the company and its managers, financial statements and an estimate of the CBAM goods to be imported. Requirements and processing times differ by Member State.

How to apply

1. Create an EU Login account and get access to the CBAM Registry for your company (via your national authority or the EU customs trader portal, depending on the Member State).
2. Fill in the authorisation application in the CBAM Registry, or follow the national procedure where the authority runs its own intake.
3. Attach the documents requested by the national competent authority.
4. Once authorised, you receive a CBAM account number. Give it to your customs broker: it must appear in the customs declaration for CBAM goods.

The list of national competent authorities is on the Commission’s CBAM definitive regime page. Authorisations are recognised across the EU.

After authorisation

• Collect emissions data from your suppliers, or plan for default values (see default vs actual values).
• From February 2027, buy certificates; from 2027, hold certificates for at least 50 % of the year’s embedded emissions at the end of each quarter.
• Submit the annual declaration by 30 September for the previous year (see declaration and certificates).

Importing without authorisation

Customs will not release CBAM goods above the threshold to a person without the status. Where goods are imported without authorisation, the penalty is three to five times the regular CBAM penalty per certificate that should have been surrendered. See CBAM penalties.