CBAM Verification: The Accreditation Framework Takes Shape
Jul 31, 2026Sustainability / AuditCommission Consolidates Verification and Accreditation Guidance as First Verifier Accreditations Are Expected Around September 2026
The European Commission has published a dedicated page setting out how embedded emissions under CBAM are to be verified and how CBAM verifiers will be accredited. The underlying rules were already law, in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2551 of November 2025 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546 of December 2025. What is new is a consolidated view of how the framework operates in practice, and a date attached to it.
That date is the point. The definitive CBAM regime gives importers two routes to declare embedded emissions: default values, or actual emissions data. Only the second route requires a verifier, and the first accredited verifiers are not expected until around September 2026.
The distinction matters commercially, not just procedurally. Default values carry escalating surcharges, which means verified actual data is increasingly the cheaper option. But verified data depends on an accredited verifier, and the accreditation infrastructure is only now coming into place.
The numbers make the process question immediate. On 6 July 2026 the European Commission published the CBAM certificate price for the second quarter of 2026 at €75.28 per tonne of CO₂ equivalent. That is marginally below the €75.36 set for the first quarter, a movement of eight cents between two consecutive quarters. Where default values are used for non-electricity CBAM goods, the applicable markup is 10 percent in 2026, 20 percent in 2027 and 30 percent from 2028 onwards. The practical process is therefore to gather installation-level data, document the monitoring methodology and supporting evidence, have the actual emissions independently verified by an accredited verifier, and retrieve the verified figures from the CBAM Registry for the declaration.
The Key Facts at a Glance
- Verification is mandatory for actual emissions. Where an importer declares actual emissions rather than default values, the data must be verified by an independent verifier accredited by an EU national accreditation body (NAB). Verifiers provide reasonable assurance that the calculation of embedded emissions is correct.
- The legal basis is now in force. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2551 of 20 November 2025 sets the conditions for granting accreditation, for oversight and withdrawal, and for mutual recognition between accreditation bodies. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2546 of 10 December 2025 sets the verification principles.
- First accreditations are expected around September 2026. The Commission will publish the list of accredited CBAM verifiers, and accredited verifiers are obliged to register in the CBAM registry.
- Only EU and EEA accreditation bodies can accredit. Verification companies established in an EU or EEA country must apply to the NAB of their country of establishment, and may approach another NAB only where that service is not offered at home. Verification companies established in a third country may apply to any NAB offering CBAM accreditation.
- Verification applies at installation level. The non-EU operator calculates embedded emissions under the CBAM methodology, the accredited verifier reviews the monitoring approach, the calculations and the supporting evidence, and issues a verification report. The declarant then retrieves the verified figures from the CBAM Registry to complete the declaration.
- Oversight runs in both directions. NABs supervise verifiers throughout the year, and verification reports may additionally be reviewed by the European Commission and by National Competent Authorities.
Strategic Implications for Businesses
The first CBAM declarations, covering calendar year 2026, are due by 30 September 2027. If the first verifiers are accredited around September 2026, that leaves roughly twelve months in which a full verification cycle has to be planned, scheduled and completed across a supplier base that may span several countries and installations.
That window is narrower than it looks. Verification examines the monitoring approach and the underlying evidence, not only the final emissions figure. Where data is incomplete, methodologies are undocumented, or evidence trails are inconsistent across sites, those gaps surface during verification rather than before it, and there is limited time to correct them.
Companies that use the current period to test their data against verification requirements will enter that cycle with a known position rather than an assumption. Those that wait will be competing for verifier capacity in the same twelve-month window as everyone else.
Building Readiness with DEKRA
DEKRA supports companies in preparing for CBAM verification through readiness and pre-verification reviews focused on data quality, documentation and evidence completeness, and through CBAM Fundamentals Training designed to build in-house competence ahead of the definitive cycle. DEKRA also supports the calculation and verification of Product Carbon Footprints across the product life cycle.
Get in touch with our sustainability services team to assess your CBAM verification readiness.
