The European Commission has opened the CBAM verifier pipeline with two moves in under three weeks. DG TAXUD published a dedicated "Verification of CBAM emissions" page on June 30, 2026, consolidating the verification rules and the accreditation framework for CBAM verifiers, and followed it with a "Become a CBAM verifier" webinar on July 16, 2026, held from 09:30 to 11:30 CEST for accreditation applicants. The rollout addresses the verifier market's defining number: zero CBAM verifiers hold accreditation anywhere in the EU today, and the Commission expects the first accreditations around September 2026.
The audience is wider than the verification industry. Verified actual emissions data sits at the center of the first annual CBAM declarations, which cover calendar year 2026 imports and are due September 30, 2027. Importers who want to declare actual values instead of marked-up default values need an accredited verifier, non-EU producers need to host the verification site visits, and candidate verification bodies (including existing EU ETS verifiers) need accreditation before either can happen.
What DG TAXUD published on June 30
The "Verification of CBAM emissions" page, published on June 30, 2026, consolidates the CBAM verification rules and the accreditation framework for verifiers in one location for the first time. The underlying rules sit in three legal acts: Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2551 sets the accreditation standards and qualification requirements, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546 sets the verification principles and report format, and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2547 sets the emissions calculation methodology that verifiers check declared data against. The new page ties the three acts together with practical guidance on who can become a verifier and how the accreditation route works.
Two statements on the page anchor the timeline. National accreditation bodies (NABs) in EU and EEA countries are "the sole stakeholders competent to grant accreditation for the CBAM," which closes the door on private certification shortcuts. And "the first CBAM verifiers are expected to receive CBAM accreditation around September 2026," the page states. A comprehensive guidance document covering accreditation and verification procedures is announced for summer 2026 but had not been published as of July 23, 2026. A "State-of-play CBAM accreditation" document dated July 10, 2026 records that 24 NABs have agreed to offer CBAM verifier accreditation, that 11 of them are already accepting applications, and that 7 will also accredit verification bodies established outside the EU. Our accredited CBAM verifiers tracker breaks that state of play down country by country.
Inside the "Become a CBAM verifier" webinar
The "Become a CBAM verifier" webinar ran on July 16, 2026, from 09:30 to 11:30 CEST and addressed applicants for CBAM accreditation, explicitly including both existing EU ETS verifiers and new entrants. Registration closed on July 8, 2026 through an EU Survey form, and DG TAXUD asked participants to submit questions in advance so the presentations could address them directly.
The webinar agenda covered three blocks, listed below.
- CBAM accreditation: general information on the accreditation framework and the application route through national accreditation bodies
- CBAM verification: implementation and technical aspects of the verification work itself
- CBAM methodology: practical elements verifiers apply when checking emissions calculations
The direct appeal to EU ETS verifiers is the strongest capacity signal in the rollout. Verification firms already active in the EU ETS market, including Bureau Veritas and TÜV NORD, describe themselves as applicants seeking CBAM accreditation rather than as accredited CBAM verifiers. CBAM accreditation is a separate accreditation granted under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2551, so even the most experienced ETS verification firm enters the CBAM pipeline as an applicant.
The verifier pipeline in seven dates
Seven dates now define the CBAM verifier pipeline, running from the June 30 verification page to the September 30, 2027 first declaration deadline. The table below lists each milestone and its current status.
| Milestone | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| "Verification of CBAM emissions" page published | June 30, 2026 | Live |
| "State-of-play CBAM accreditation" document | July 10, 2026 | Published |
| "Become a CBAM verifier" webinar | July 16, 2026, 09:30 to 11:30 CEST | Held |
| Accreditation and verification guidance document | Summer 2026 | Announced, pending |
| Verifier registration in the CBAM Registry opens | September 1, 2026 | Pending |
| First CBAM verifier accreditations expected | Around September 2026 | Pending |
| First annual CBAM declaration (2026 imports) due | September 30, 2027 | Pending |
Verifier registration in the CBAM Registry opens September 1, 2026, under Regulation (EU) 2025/2083, and the first accreditations are expected in the same month. The two events compress the working window: an accredited, registered verifier corps has roughly 13 months to complete first-time site visits at thousands of non-EU installations before the declaration deadline.
For candidate verification bodies, the route described on the verification page runs in five steps, listed below.
- Check the requirements under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2551: technical competence in the relevant industrial sectors, independence, impartiality, and consistent verification approaches
- Contact the competent national accreditation body (the NAB of the verifier's own EU or EEA country; bodies established outside the EU and EEA can apply to any of the 7 NABs accepting third-country applications)
- Submit the accreditation application
- Obtain CBAM accreditation
- Register in the CBAM Registry (open from September 1, 2026) and start verification work
Why verified data matters for the first declaration
Verified actual emissions data is central to the 2026 CBAM declarations due September 30, 2027, because only verified data allows an importer to declare actual values instead of marked-up defaults. Default values under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621 carry a 10% mark-up in 2026, rising to 20% in 2027 and 30% from 2028, so an importer sourcing from a cleaner-than-default installation pays for emissions that were never emitted. The figure a verifier signs off on is the installation's specific embedded emissions per tonne of goods; our CBAM embedded emissions guide covers how that figure is calculated.
The task now splits by role. EU importers face a sourcing decision: finding a CBAM verifier early matters because fees run €5,000 to €50,000 per installation and availability tightens as the deadline approaches. Non-EU producers face a preparation task: CBAM verification for non-EU producers requires a first-time physical site visit for the 2026 reporting period, with monitoring data and records ready for sampling. For the process end to end, from what verifiers check to how the verification report feeds the declaration, see the CBAM verification guide.
The verified emissions figure is one of two inputs into an importer's final bill. The other is the certificate itself: sales open February 1, 2027, and the Commission is consulting on the certificate sale and repurchase rules that will govern how importers actually buy.
What happens next
Three pending items define the rest of 2026 for the verifier pipeline: the guidance document announced for summer, the opening of verifier registration on September 1, and the first accreditations expected around September. When the first accreditations are granted, the Commission will publish the official list of accredited verifiers on the verification page, giving importers a definitive answer to the question the market has been asking since the definitive phase began on January 1, 2026.
Verification also feeds the wider declaration mechanics. Member states vote in September on which foreign carbon prices count against CBAM bills, a variable that determines the final certificate obligation alongside verified emissions data. For the full compliance chain from authorization to surrender, read the EU CBAM guide.