Short answer: a CBAM certificate is an electronic certificate that corresponds to one tonne of CO2e of embedded emissions in imported goods. It is bought by the authorised CBAM declarant in the EU, not by the producer outside the EU. For 2026 the price is set per quarter: EUR 75.36 for Q1 and EUR 75.28 for Q2.
When your EU customer talks about "certificate cost", they mean an amount they will pay themselves, not a document you obtain. Its size depends on the embedded emissions of your product. This article explains CBAM certificates from the text of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and its implementing regulations. The information was read from the sources on 13 October 2026.
What is a CBAM certificate?
The legal definition is short: a CBAM certificate is a certificate in electronic format corresponding to one tonne of CO2e of embedded emissions in goods (2023/956 Art. 3(24)). It is not a paper document, and it is not a compliance certificate issued to a producer.
A certificate exists to be surrendered: it is offset against the embedded emissions declared for imported goods (Art. 3(25)). Each one has a unique identification number, and its price and date of sale are recorded in the CBAM registry (Art. 20(5)).
Who buys CBAM certificates?
The authorised CBAM declarant in the EU. Goods in scope may be imported only by an authorised CBAM declarant (Art. 4), and that status requires being established in a Member State (Art. 17(2)(c)). Where the importer is not established there, the indirect customs representative obtains the status (Art. 5(2)). Each Member State sells certificates to the declarants established in it (Art. 20(1)).
So a producer outside the EU neither buys nor surrenders certificates. The producer's part is data. An operator may ask to be registered in the CBAM registry (Art. 10(1)). A registered operator determines the embedded emissions, has them verified and may disclose that information to a declarant (Art. 10(5), 10(7)).
An importer whose imports stay below 50 tonnes of net mass in a calendar year is exempt. The exemption does not cover electricity or hydrogen (Art. 2a, Annex VII).
How is the CBAM certificate price set?
The price is not negotiated. The Commission calculates it from allowance auction prices in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) (Art. 21). The method is in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2548.
| Period | How the price is calculated | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Emissions for the year 2026 | Quarterly average of auction clearing prices, weighted by auctioned volume. The price of the quarter of importation applies. | 2023/956 Art. 21(1a); 2025/2548 Art. 1 |
| From 1 January 2027 | Weekly volume-weighted average of auction clearing prices. | 2023/956 Art. 21(1); 2025/2548 Art. 5 |
A quarterly price is calculated in the first calendar week after the quarter ends and published on the first working day of the following week (2025/2548 Art. 1(2), 4(1)). A weekly price is published on the first working day of the week after the auctions (2025/2548 Art. 8(1)). Prices are in euro, rounded to the nearest cent (2025/2548 Art. 1(5), 5(4)).
What is the CBAM certificate price in 2026?
These are the quarterly prices published on the Commission's "Price of CBAM certificates" page:
| Quarter | Price per certificate | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | EUR 75.36 | Published on 7 April 2026 |
| Q2 2026 | EUR 75.28 | Published on 6 July 2026 |
| Q3 2026 | EUR 82.32 | Published on 5 October 2026 |
| Q4 2026 | Not yet published | The page gives 4 January 2027 as the publication date |
The figures were read from the Commission's page on 13 October 2026. For Q4 the page gives 4 January 2027 as the publication date. Note that goods imported in January and in August 2026 are priced differently, because the price of the quarter of importation applies (2025/2548 Art. 1(6)).
When does the sale start and when are certificates surrendered?
The sale starts on 1 February 2027, on a common central platform managed by the Commission (Art. 20(1), 20(2)). Certificates for goods imported in 2026 are therefore bought in 2027, at the 2026 quarterly prices.
- 30 September 2027: first CBAM declaration and surrender, for 2026. Every 30 September after that (Art. 6(1), 22(1)).
- End of each quarter from 2027: the declarant holds certificates for at least 50 % of the embedded emissions imported since the start of the year (Art. 22(2)).
- 31 October: last day to request repurchase of excess certificates, at the price originally paid (Art. 23(1), 23(3)).
- 1 November 2027: certificates bought for 2026 emissions are cancelled without compensation (Art. 24(2)).
How many CBAM certificates are needed?
The number follows from three elements (Art. 6(2)(c)): total embedded emissions, less the reduction for a carbon price paid in a third country (Art. 9), less the adjustment for free allocation in the EU ETS (Art. 31).
The adjustment is governed by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2620. It equals the "specific embedded free allocation" per tonne multiplied by the mass imported (Annex, point 2). The per-tonne figure is built from three values: the CBAM factor for the year, the cross-sectoral correction factor and the CBAM benchmark for the good (Annex, point 3.1). The CBAM factor is 97,5 % in 2026, 95 % in 2027 and 90 % in 2028, and no factor applies from 2034 (Directive 2003/87/EC Art. 10a(1a)). The correction factor is 100 % for 2026 to 2030 (Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1862 Art. 1).
A common mistake: the adjustment is not a percentage of your own emissions. It is calculated from the benchmark. In 2026 the adjustment per tonne equals the benchmark multiplied by 0,975. If the embedded emissions of your product are above the benchmark, the whole difference requires certificates in 2026 as well. Where default values are used in the declaration, the adjustment is also calculated with the default benchmark (2025/2620 Art. 3). For electricity the adjustment is zero (2025/2620 Art. 1(2)).
Is a carbon price paid in your country deducted?
The Regulation allows it. Where actual emissions are used, the declarant may claim a reduction for a carbon price effectively paid in a third country, net of rebates and other compensation (Art. 9(1)). The documentation is certified by an independent person (Art. 9(2)). Where default values are used, a reduction may be claimed only by reference to yearly default carbon prices, which the Commission may make available as from 2027 (Art. 9(4)).
How a carbon price converts into a number of certificates is left to an implementing act (Art. 9(5)). In the source we hold, a copy of the Commission's legislation page dated 1 October 2026, that act was not among the adopted acts. No figure for the reduction can be given today.
What does the certificate cost mean for a producer?
Your customer pays, but your product sets the number. The lower your embedded emissions, the fewer certificates your customer surrenders.
The second point is data. Embedded emissions are determined either from actual emissions or by reference to default values (Art. 7(2)). Default values carry a mark-up: for cement, iron and steel, aluminium and hydrogen it is 10 % for 2026, 20 % for 2027 and 30 % from 2028 (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621 Annex I, as corrected by 2026/1740). Actual values must be verified by an accredited verifier (Art. 8(1)). The calculation itself is explained in how embedded emissions are calculated. For the mechanism as a whole, see what is CBAM.
The Registamp CBAM module calculates embedded emissions per product from your installation data and prepares the summary for your customer. To estimate the certificate load, try the free simulator. See the CBAM module page.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For your own case, refer to the regulations and, where needed, a specialist.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2023/956, CBAM (consolidated text of 20 October 2025, as amended by 2025/2083): eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/956/oj
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2548 on the calculation and publication of the certificate price: eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/2548/oj
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2620 on the free allocation adjustment: eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/2620/oj
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621 on default values: eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/2621/oj; correction 2026/1740: eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/1740/oj
- Directive 2003/87/EC, Art. 10a(1a) (CBAM factor): eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2003/87/oj
- Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1862 on the cross-sectoral correction factor: eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2026/1862/oj
- European Commission, Price of CBAM certificates page (read on 13 October 2026): taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu