CBAM Deadlines & Obligation Tracker
Every CBAM date that matters: certificate prices, quarterly holding checkpoints, the first annual declaration, and the regulatory milestones that reshape scope. Filter to your sectors and export the lot to your calendar.
Why a CBAM Deadline Tracker Matters
CBAM is not a single filing. It is a rolling set of obligations spread across the year, each with its own date. Fall short at a 50% quarterly holding checkpoint and the competent authority notifies you to top up your account within one month (Article 22(3)); fail to surrender enough certificates by 30 September and you face a penalty for each missing certificate (Article 26). The dates also move as the regulation evolves, so a static checklist goes stale fast.
This tracker keeps the full CBAM timeline in one place and lets you filter it to the sectors you actually import, so you only see what applies to you. Save your sectors and the tool remembers them; export the filtered list to Outlook, Google Calendar or Apple Calendar with one click.
Your Profile and the Compliance Report
Open "Profile and report" in the tracker to add the country of origin, the good by CN code and your annual tonnage. The tool then builds a one-page PDF with your next deadlines and a cost outlook for 2026 to 2034. The outlook uses the Annex I default value of that country and code, the mark-up, the CBAM benchmark and the CBAM factor of each year, at the latest official CBAM certificate price or a price you enter.
The years 2026 to 2030 follow the published values. For 2031 to 2033 the benchmarks and the cross-sectoral correction factor are not set yet, so those years are marked as assumed. The outlook is an estimate built on the official default values and benchmarks (Implementing Regulations (EU) 2025/2621 and 2025/2620); the binding figure is the one in your CBAM declaration. The profile stays in your browser and the PDF is generated there.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the key CBAM deadlines for importers?
The critical dates are: the CBAM definitive period start (1 January 2026, with a CBAM factor of 97.5% under Article 10a(1a) of Directive 2003/87/EC); quarterly certificate price publications for 2026 imports; the CBAM factor falling to 95% on 1 January 2027, which raises the share of benchmark emissions importers pay for from 2.5% to 5%; certificate sales opening on 1 February 2027; the 50% holding requirement at the end of each quarter from 2027 (31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December); and the first annual CBAM declaration due 30 September 2027 covering all 2026 imports.
When is the first CBAM declaration due?
The first annual CBAM declaration is due 30 September 2027 and covers all CBAM goods imported during calendar year 2026 (Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956). The certificates corresponding to the declared embedded emissions must be surrendered by the same date (Article 22(1)).
What is the CBAM 50% holding requirement?
From 2027, at the end of each quarter (31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December) the certificates on the account of an authorised CBAM declarant must correspond to at least 50% of the embedded emissions in all goods imported since the beginning of the calendar year (Article 22(2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956). The emissions are determined from default values without the mark-up, or from the certificates surrendered for the preceding year for the same goods and countries of origin, with the free allocation adjustment of Article 31 taken into account. If the account falls short, the competent authority notifies the declarant, who has one month to top it up (Article 22(3)).