The European Commission has expanded its practical support for CBAM verification, adding operational guidance and system-access material for verifiers working with non-EU installations ahead of emissions assurance requirements for covered imports.
The package announced on September 28 combines accreditation guidance, registry-access instructions, operational documentation and training resources. Materials include procedures for submitting registration requests, a technical user guide and a manual covering non-EU installation operators and CBAM verifiers.
The Commission said procedures for requesting verifier access had been available since September 1, 2026. Training material also covers registration changes and collaboration requests between verification bodies and installations located outside the EU.
Registry access remains separate from accreditation
Access to the CBAM Registry is one element of the verification process and does not itself establish a verifier’s authority to conduct accredited emissions assurance.
Under the Commission’s framework, importers relying on actual embedded emissions require independent verification by an appropriately accredited body. Creating an account or obtaining system access does not provide accreditation and does not validate emissions calculations prepared by an installation.
For aluminium producers outside the EU, the operational process therefore requires clarity over control and transmission of installation-level emissions information.
Installation records must support verifier access
Operators need to establish which parties control the relevant installation data, who is authorised to share it and how the verifier will obtain the records needed to assess the reported emissions result.
Administrative arrangements can become a separate source of delay from the underlying emissions calculations. An installation may have a technically complete emissions file while unresolved permissions, authorisations or system-access arrangements prevent the verifier from obtaining the necessary evidence.
The Commission’s documentation distinguishes these administrative functions from the substantive verification process. User permissions, collaboration requests and installation records must facilitate the verification work rather than substitute for the independent review itself.
Resolving the transfer of information before reporting deadlines become restrictive can therefore form part of CBAM preparation for aluminium operators. Late corrections to emissions data can create additional difficulties where the personnel holding supporting evidence cannot transmit it through the required systems.
