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Authorisation for the CBAM definitive regime
Last update
09/06/2026
Would you like to import CBAM goods into the customs territory of the European Union from 2026? Then you will find all the important information you need for the next steps here.
Important notice for imports of CBAM goods from 01/01/2026
In order to import CBAM goods (goods listed in Annex I to the CBAM Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/956)) from 01/01/2026, you must first apply for authorisation in the CBAM register and obtain the status of authorised CBAM declarant.
Importers of less than 50 tonnes of CBAM goods per year from the cement, iron and steel, fertiliser and aluminium sectors are exempt from this obligation (Article 2a CBAM Regulation). Further exemptions exist for goods from certain countries or regions of origin and for goods transported for military activities (Article 2 CBAM Regulation).
You must indicate your authorisation status or relevant exemptions on your customs declaration so that the goods can be imported.
You can do this by specifying a specific TARIC document code.
The following table provides an overview of the available TARIC document codes and their application.
Coding
Long text
Explanation
Certification area in the ATLAS specialist application
Y128
CBAM account number
If you have the status of ‘approved CBAM declarant’, you can enter this code. You will obtain this status after you have submitted an application for approval via the CBAM register and this has been approved.
To use this code, you must enter the CBAM account number in the ‘Document number (item)’ data field and also enter the importer's EORI number in the ‘Consignee (TIN)’ data field and the declarant's EORI number in the ‘Declarant (TIN)’ data field.
1
Y134
Goods originating in Büsingen, Heligoland or Livigno (Article 2(4) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956)
CBAM does not apply to goods originating in the territories listed in Annex III to the CBAM Regulation. If your goods originate in the regions of Büsingen, Heligoland or Livigno, please use this code. You do not need this code for the other countries and regions listed in Annex III.
5
Y135
Exemption pursuant to Article 2(3) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956
Goods intended to be transported or used for military activities (within the meaning of Article 1(49) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446).
5
Y136
Exemption pursuant to Article 2(3a) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956
Electricity (CN code: 2716 00 00) or hydrogen (CN code: 2804 10 00) originating in the exclusive economic zone or on the continental shelf of a Member State is exempt from CBAM.
5
Y137
Exemption pursuant to Article 2a of Regulation (EU) 2023/956
If you expect to import less than 50 tonnes of CBAM goods cumulatively in the calendar year, you can claim the de minimis exemption under Article 2a of the CBAM Regulation. Please note that this cannot be used for imports of electricity or hydrogen.
5
Y237
Goods originating in the EU
If the CBAM goods originate in the EU and not in a third country, CBAM does not apply and you can use this code. The rules on non-preferential origin set out in Article 59 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (Union Customs Code) apply.
5
Y238
Application for recognition as an authorised CBAM declarant submitted by 31 March 2026 in accordance with Article 17(7a) of the CBAM Regulation
Importers who have not yet obtained CBAM authorised declarant status but have already submitted an application for authorisation (by 31/03/2026 at the latest) before exceeding the 50-tonne threshold may provisionally import CBAM goods (above the threshold) even without authorisation status until a decision on the application for authorisation has been made.
Please use this code for this purpose. Please enter the reference number of your application in the corresponding data field. You will find the reference number (application reference number) in the CBAM register under the tab ‘My applications and authorisations’.
5
Y422
Goods listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2023/956 which are placed under the inward processing procedure
Use this code in your customs declaration when you transfer CBAM goods for inward processing. This code must also be used in all subsequent customs declarations until customs supervision of the processed goods finally ends, either through release for free circulation or re-exportation.
Y195
Importers who import electricity allocated to them through explicit capacity allocation and who nominate this import capacity
Please enter this code in your customs declaration when declaring electricity capacity for import that has been allocated to you through the explicit capacity allocation process and you do not yet have authorisation or a CBAM account number.
This is only a transitional arrangement until you have been granted an authorisation status as CBAM declarant. For information on reporting obligations and obtaining the authorisation status, please follow the instructions on this page and refer to Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and Article 8 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/486.
Important note on applying for status as an authorised CBAM declarant
Please note that registration or login in the CBAM registry or the CBAM transitional registry does not constitute authorisation as a CBAM declarant and should not be confused with it. Authorisation is a separate procedure and requires an explicit application in accordance with Article 5 of the CBAM Regulation. Upon application and only after an assessment and if the requirements are met, the status of an authorised CBAM declarant will be granted. You will need this status if you wish to import electricity, hydrogen or other CBAM goods into the customs territory of the European Union.
The definitive regime of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will start on 01/01/2026. Compared to the transitional phase (01/10/2023 to 31/12//2025), during which CBAM declarants are required to report quarterly on the embedded emissions of their imported CBAM goods, the defintive regime will require CBAM declarations for the previous year to be submitted annually for the first time from 2027 onwards, and CBAM certificates to be surrendered per ton of embedded emissions.
Instructions for the Authorisation Management Module
In order to import CBAM goods into the customs territory of the European Union from January 01/01/2026, CBAM declarants must also apply for authorisation in the CBAM registry and obtain the status of “authorized CBAM declarant” (Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2023/ 956 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10/05/2023, establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism (hereinafter referred to as the “CBAM Regulation”)).
The authorisation of CBAM declarants is regulated in Articles 5 and 17 of the CBAM Regulation, as well as in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/486 of 17/03/2025, laying down implementing rules for Regulation (EU) 2023/ 956 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the conditions and procedures relating to the status of an approved CBAM declarant (hereinafter referred to as the “authorisation Implementing Regulation”).
Article 4 of the CBAM Regulation stipulates that only authorized CBAM declarants may import CBAM goods into the customs territory of the EU.
With the entry into force of the amended CBAM Regulation on 20/10/2025, adjustments were made to the scope of application of the CBAM Regulation (Article 2), among other things, which also affect who needs the status of an authorized CBAM declarant in order to import CBAM goods.
The following persons require CBAM-approved declarant status in order to import CBAM goods from 01/01/2026:
Indirect customs representatives:
You need this status as soon as you want to submit a customs declaration for the release of CBAM goods for free circulation in your own name but on behalf of an importer—regardless of whether the importers you represent have already exceeded the 50-ton bulk threshold.
Importers of CBAM goods (except hydrogen and electricity) exceeding 50 tons per year:
You need the status of “authorized CBAM declarant” before you exceed the 50-ton mass threshold with your imports of CBAM goods. Submit your application for authorisation well in advance of exceeding the mass threshold to avoid an import ban.
Importers of hydrogen or electricity:
You need to have the status of an authorized CBAM declarant in order to import these goods.
The following persons do not need to have CBAM registrant status in order to import CBAM goods from January 01/01/2026:
Importers of CBAM goods (except hydrogen and electricity) below 50 tons per year:
You do not need CBAM authorized declarant status to import these goods.
If an importer of CBAM goods who is not registered as an authorized CBAM declarant exceeds the specified quantity threshold during the course of the year, the competent authority will determine this. In this case, the import of the goods will initially be stopped and the importer will be requested to submit an application for authorisation (see Article 25a(3) of the CBAM Regulation).
Until the status of an authorized CBAM declarant is granted, this importer will not be able to import CBAM goods into the EU. In addition, the competent authority may initiate penalty proceedings against the importer for exceeding the quantity threshold without the status of an authorized CBAM declarant (see Article 26, paragraphs 2 and 2a of the CBAM Regulation).
Exemption until until 31/03/2026:
Importers who have not yet obtained CBAM registrant status before exceeding the 50-tonne threshold but have already submitted an application for registration (by 31/03/2026, at the latest) may provisionally import CBAM goods above the threshold even without registration status until a decision on the application for registration has been made. Indirect customs representatives who have submitted an application for authorisation before their first import in 2026 (by 31/03/2026) may also continue to import CBAM goods until a decision on this application has been made (Article 17(7a) of the CBAM Regulation).
Please note, however, that if the application for authorisation is rejected, penalties may be imposed in accordance with Article 26(2) and (2a) of the CBAM Regulation.
Importers or indirect customsrepresentatives established in Germany can submit an application for authorisation (Article 5 of the CBAM Regulation).
You must submit the application for authorisation in the CBAM Registry (Article 5(3) of the CBAM Regulation). This new portal is accessible in parallel to the CBAM Transitional Registry.
As before, you can access the CBAM registry via the customs portal, just as you did the CBAM transitional registry. If you are already registered in the CBAM transitional registry, your access to the CBAM registry will be automatically activated by German customs. If you are not yet registered on the customs portal, you will find detailed instructions on the requirements and procedure on the customs website. To access the customs portal – and thus the CBAM registry – you will need an certificate.
Applications for authorisation can be submitted from the end of March 2025. The processing time for applications is expected to be a maximum of 120 days if you submit your application after15/06/2025, and a maximum of 180 days if you submit your application before this date (Article 4(5) of the authorisation Implementation Regulation). We recommend that you allow sufficient time for the application process to ensure that all information is correct and that you have all the necessary documents available.
Once you have been granted the status of an approved CBAM declarant, you are able to access your CB
Information required for your application for authorisation
For your application for authorisation in accordance with Article 5(5) of the CBAM Regulation, you must provide the following information in German:
Name, address and contact details;
EORI number;
main business activity carried out in the EU;
a certificate from the tax authority in the Member State where the applicant is established stating that the applicant is not subject to an outstanding recovery order for national tax debts;
a declaration of honour stating that the applicant has not been involved in any serious or repeated infringements of customs and tax law, market abuse rules, or committed any serious offence relating to their business activities in the five years prior to the year of application;
evidence demonstrating the applicant's financial and operational capacity to fulfil their obligations according to the CBAM Regulation;
an estimate of monetary value and volume of goods the applicant intends to import into the customs territory of the EU, broken down by type of goods for both the calendar year of the application and the following calendar year;
names and contact details of the persons on whose behalf the applicant is acting, if applicable.
The following tables list the documentation required when completing your online application in the CBAM Registry. Table 1 lists those documents that you must submit as attachments in the Authorisation Management Module. Table 2 specifies the information that you must provide either through mandatory yes/no fields or as free text entries.
Reference to legal text
Required documents (to be uploaded in the Authorisation Management Module)
CBAM Regulation:
Article 5(5)(d)
Current certificate from the tax office responsible for the applicant stating that no collection orders for tax debts are pending (not older than three months at the time of application).
You can locate the appropriate tax office by using a search function on the following website:
Annual financial statements for the last three financial years (for companies and sole traders only); and,
For the third year, if no final annual accounts are available yet, provisional annual accounts (profit and loss statement and balance sheet documents) may be submitted initially. The final annual accounts must then be submitted at a later date.
Please upload the documents in the Authorisation Management Module to the following location:
Name, address and contact details (email address and phone number)
If you are acting as an indirect customs representative, you must provide the name, email address and phone number of each person you are representing, along with the start date and, if applicable, the final date of your representation activities for each person. Please also provide the EORI number of the persons concerned, if available.
Please provide this information at the following location:
You will need the EORI number to be able to log in to the CBAM registry through the Customs Portal. More information is available on the Customs Authority’s Website.
CBAM Regulation:
Article 5(5)(c)
Main business activity
In the CBAM Registry, you must specify your main business activities at the following location:
Within the authorisation module of the CBAM registry, a form for the declaration of honour is provided. In accordance with Article 5(5)(e) of the CBAM Regulation, you must submit two declarations of honour to the CBAM Registry by ticking two boxes at the following location:
AUTHORISATIONS > New application > Activity details (tab) > Declaration of honour (field)
CBAM Regulation:
Article 5(5)(f)
and
Authorisation Implementing Regulation: Article 10
Financial and operational capacity
You need to enter the following information at: AUTHORISATIONS > New application > Financial and operations details (tab)
Data access (Yes/no field). Please accept the ‘Data access status’. This information is subject to confidentiality in accordance with Article 13 of the CBAM Regulation and the relevant Section 11 of the TEHG.
AEO status (Yes/no field)
If you have the status of an ‘authorised economic operator’ (AEO), you can specify your type of status (‘AEOC’, ‘AEOF’ or ‘AEOS’) and your AEO number.
Legal form and size of the company under which you intend to act as an authorised CBAM declarant. You must select one of the predefined company sizes in the application form of the authorisation module (micro, small, medium, large), which are differentiated by the number of employees and annual turnover. Please select the larger company size if you fall into the higher category according to one of the criteria.
Number of individuals responsible for CBAM reporting and controls within the organisation where you intend to act as an authorised CBAM declarant for CBAM goods
Length of time the organisation you intend to work for as an authorised CBAM declarant has been established (mandatory for companies and sole traders only)
Company number/commercial register number of the organisation (mandatory for companies and sole traders only)
Financial information (mandatory for companies and sole traders only)
You must provide the following information for each of the last three years:
currency,
information whether you had a net profit or net loss this year (please add either ‘Profit’ or ‘Loss’),
value of this net profit/loss,
turnover,
your current assets
and your short-term liabilities.
CBAM Regulation:
Article 5(5)(g)
Information about goods
Estimated monetary value and estimated volume of goods imported into the EU customs territory broken down by type of goods, for the calendar year of the application and in the following calendar year.
You must make a separate entry for imports by country of origin and CBAM sector (electricity, cement, iron and steel, fertilisers, hydrogen and aluminium) at: AUTHORISATIONS > New application > Activity details (tab) > Goods (field)
Please provide the following information:
description of goods (CN codes),
estimate of the quantity and value of goods for the calendar year in which the application is submitted,
estimate of the volume and value of goods for the upcoming calendar year,
EU Member States where you have been or are likely to be involved as an importer of or customs declarant for CBAM goods (for the calendar year of the application and the previous calendar year).
Amendments to a previously submitted application
If any of the information you provided in your application changes after you submitted your application, you must submit a change request in the AMM and update the information in accordance with Article 2 of the Authorisation Implementing Regulation before a decision on authorisation is made. This is necessary to ensure that the competent authority makes its decision based on complete and up-to-date information.
For adjustments relating to the criteria in Article 5(5)(d) to (g) of the CBAM Regulation, you must explicitly justify your changes in the AMM. For adjustments relating to Article 5(5)(a) to (c) and (h) of the CBAM Regulation, the changes will be sent in the AMM directly. The competent authority may extend the deadline specified in Article 4(1) of the Authorisation Implementing Regulation by 30 calendar days if your change request requires re-consideration.
Information, including videos and guidelines on the application procedure, can also be found on the European Commission's Website. This information is regularly updated by the European Commission, so we recommend regularly checking its website.
In accordance with the definitions in Article 3 of the CBAM Regulation, for the purposes of this Regulation, the term explicit capacity allocation refers to the allocation of cross-border transmission capacity separately from electricity trading.
In accordance with Article 5(4) of the CBAM Regulation and Article 8 of the Authorisation Implementing Regulation, special rules apply to persons who have been allocated electricity import capacity through explicit capacity allocation who also nominate this import capacity.
These persons do not need to submit an application for authorisation through the Authorisation Management Module in the CBAM Registry. Instead, they must submit the following documents to DEHSt, the competent national authority, within one month of having declared the import of electricity into Germany in the customs declaration. This enables DEHSt to register this information in the CBAM Registry:
the relevant customs declaration for the import of electricity,
name, address and contact details,
EORI number,
information on the main business activity carried out in the EU,
a declaration stating that the capacity for importing electricity has been allocated to that person and that this import capacity has been nominated,
documents supporting the declaration as per point e).
Until you have been granted the status of ‘authorised CBAM declarant’, you must use the TARIC document code Y195 in your customs declarations to indicate that you are importing electricity that has been allocated to you on the basis of an explicit capacity allocation. This will ensure that these imports are not blocked.
You can submit the documents either via the CBAM Transitional Register or by post.
Via the CBAM Transitional Registry
If you already have access to the CBAM Transitional Registry, you can submit the required documents there using the ‘Request’ function. To do so, click on Requests > Create Request > select ‘NCA’ under Organisation, enter ‘CBAM Zulassung Einführer von Strom / V 3.7’ in the Title field and upload documents via ‘Choose file’.
By post
Please send the documents to the following address:
German Environment Agency
German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt)
City Campus - Building 3, Entrance 3A Buchholzweg 8 13627Berlin Germany
Please state ‘CBAM Zulassung Einführer von Strom / V 3.7’ as the subject of the documents.
Requirements for granting authorisation
Once you have submitted your application for authorisation in the CBAM Registry, it will be reviewed by the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) at the German Environment Agency as the competent authority in compliance with Article 11 of the CBAM Regulation, or by the authority whom we have delegated responsibility to. For authorisation as a CBAM declarant, we will review your information in accordance with the requirements of the CBAM Regulation and the Authorisation Implementing Regulation based on the following criteria:
the applicant has not been involved in any serious or repeated infringement of customs or tax law, market abuse rules or the CBAM Regulation or delegated or implementing acts adopted under the CBAM Regulation, and, in particular, has not committed any serious offence in the five years prior to the application.
the applicant has provided evidence about their financial and operational capacity to fulfil the obligations under the CBAM Regulation.
the applicant is established in the Member State where the application has been lodged.
the applicant has been assigned an EORI number in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No. 952/2013.
Note: Security deposit
Applicants who were not continuously established in the two financial years prior to the year of application must provide a security deposit in accordance with Article 17(5) of the CBAM Regulation. In Germany, only bank guarantees from a financial institution operating in the Union are accepted as security deposits.
If a security deposit is required for approval as a CBAM declarant, you will be asked to provide one separately during the application process. Only then must a security deposit be applied for and deposited with the DEHSt.
The following information is intended for applicants who have been asked to submit a security deposit during the application process.
Please carefully note the requirements for the security deposit and the instructions for sending it. This will help to avoid delays in processing or rejection of the security deposit.
Processing time
You will have received a deadline for submitting the security deposit via the CBAM registry. If the issuance takes longer, please notify us in the CBAM registry via the function ‘My applications and authorisations’ > [Select application] > Actions > Adjust application. However, authorisation can only be granted after the security deposit has been submitted and accepted. If the deadline is exceeded by a longer period, the application may also be rejected. In this case, we will inform you in advance of our intention to reject the application.
Review
Once the security deposit has been successfully reviewed, you will receive your authorisation as a CBAM declarant via the CBAM register.
Adjustment: Under certain circumstances, it may be necessary to adjust a security accepted for approval as a CBAM declarant at a later date.
Return
In addition to the legal obligation under Article 5(7) of the CBAM Regulation, please also keep your details in the CBAM Registry up to date for this reason. The return shall be made in accordance with the criteria set out in Article 17(7) of the CBAM Regulation after it has been established that the criteria have been met.
A security deposit pursuant to Article 17(5) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 (CBAM Regulation) must meet the following minimum requirements:
Basic requirements
Type of security deposit: Bank guarantee, payable on first demand Guarantor: Financial institution operating in the European Union Deposit: Original to be submitted to the DEHSt (see instructions for submission) Signature: Authorised signature and date Language: German
Form and content of the security deposit
Heading:
The guarantee document must be headed with the term ‘security deposit’ or ‘bank guarantee’.
Guarantor:
Guarantor credit institution – name and address (see basic requirements)
Beneficiary:
Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, represented by the President of the Federal Environment Agency, Wörlitzer Platz 1, 06844 Dessau-Roßlau
The payee is the Federal Treasury in.
Debtor:
Applicant for authorised CBAM declarant status (natural or legal person): name and address, EORI number
Description of underlying transaction:
The Federal Environment Agency has received the application dated XXX (application reference number CBAM-DEXXXXXXX) for authorisation as a CBAM declarant under Article 5 of the CBAM Regulation. The security deposit in question serves to ensure compliance with the criteria set out in Article 17(2)(b) of the CBAM Regulation, in accordance with Article 17(5) of the CBAM Regulation.
Guarantee obligation:
The guarantor assumes an unlimited, directly enforceable guarantee under German law towards the beneficiary, payable on first demand, in the full amount (the amount is already specified in the assessment notice sent to you in the CBAM register).
The guarantor waives the defence of preliminary proceedings (Section 771 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). The guarantor can only be called upon to make payment in cash to the Federal Cash Office in within two weeks. The guarantee is unlimited in time; it expires upon return of this guarantee certificate to the guarantor.
Place of jurisdiction and applicable law:
The place of jurisdiction is Berlin. German law applies.
Please follow both the steps below in the CBAM registry and the procedure for filing
In the CBAM registry
In the CBAM registry, the mandatory fields in the relevant section must be completed and submitted. To do this, please enter the mandatory fields marked with an asterisk in the ‘Guarantee details’ section of the ‘Submit guarantee registration’ process. Under ‘form of guarantee’, please select the entry ‘Undertaking given by a guarantor’. Uploading a scan for informational purposes is recommended, but the original document is decisive for the authority's verification of the security deposit.
Entries in the register and uploading the document are not sufficient. The security must also be sent by post in the original to the German Emissions Trading Authority, as described below.
By post
In addition to the steps in the CBAM registry, the original guarantee document must be sent by post to the following address:
German Environment Agency
German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt)
City Campus - Building 3, Entrance 3A Buchholzweg 8 13627Berlin Germany
The EORI number and application reference provided in the security deposit are sufficient for allocation purposes.
The original security deposit must be submitted to the DEHSt. Please carefully review the information you received in the CBAM registry and the list of documents to avoid unnecessary delays or rejection of the security deposit.
We will also provide background information on the calculation method for security deposits in the near future.
Note: Application processing by entrusted persons
In Germany it is anticipated that applications for authorisation of CBAM declarants will be processed by an authority with delegated powers to do so (Section 11 (4) of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act (TEHG)). This ‘delegation of authority' enables a legal entity under private law, a partnership with legal capacity or another suitable body whom has been delegated the authority to carry out the application procedures for authorising CBAM declarants. On 04/07/2025, the Federal Environment Agency appointed KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft GmbH as the so-called delegated authority. Once the appointment has become final, it will be announced in the Federal Gazette in August.
The DEHSt is responsible for legal and technical supervision of the authority (Section 11 (6) TEHG). The appointment is initially intended to run until the end of 2026, subject to earlier termination or extension. The tasks of the authority include:
the review of applications for authorisation from CBAM applicants,
the implementation of the consultation procedures conducted via the CBAM registry,
the decision on applications for authorisation in accordance with the applicable legal bases,
where relevant, the determination of the amount of a guarantee and,
where relevant, the withdrawal and revocation of status as an authorised CBAM declarant.
The authorisation has no effect on you as the applicant. As before, you can submit an application for authorisation via the CBAM registry of the European Commission.
Please send any enquiries and notifications regarding current applications to us via the legally prescribed communication channel – the CBAM registry – at
> AUTHORISATIONS > My applications and authorisations > View application > Actions > Adjust application
Please use this function for all matters relating to this application, even if they do not concern direct adjustments to the content of the application. We will respond to your concerns there.
