How does a European Union (EU) importer actually buy Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) certificates: where does it log in, who does it pay and where do the certificates appear?

The authorised declarant opens the CBAM Registry and picks how many certificates to buy, with the price filled in automatically. It is then sent to the Commission's common central platform to pay, and comes back to the Registry where the certificates appear. The declarant buys from the Member State where it is established. Sales start on 1 February 2027.

The three steps, as the Commission describes them

1. The authorised declarant accesses the CBAM Registry and selects how many certificates to purchase. The rest of the information, such as price, is filled in automatically.
2. On choosing to pay, the declarant is redirected to the common central platform (CCP) and enters payment details there. The purchase is from the Member State where the declarant is established (Questions and Answers (Q&A) 3.2).
3. After payment, the declarant is redirected back to the CBAM Registry, where the certificates are available.

Who can do it

• Only authorised declarants have access to the CBAM Registry, so only they reach the CCP. The CCP is accessible only from the Registry.
• Declarants buy certificates from the Member State where they are established, so that is who the importer pays. The Commission sets the CCP up after a joint procurement procedure with the Member States.
• The CCP starts operations on 1 February 2027, and from then declarants can buy at any time.

After you hold certificates

Certificates are for the buying declarant only (Q&A 3.4). Our page on selling certificates back covers what can happen to them once bought.

What the Commission does

Q&A 2.7: the Commission manages the CBAM Registry, reviews the declarations, flags any issues to the national authorities, and monitors implementation and circumvention risk. It also manages the central platform for selling certificates.

What Senseible does here

Senseible does not file customs or CBAM declarations, buy certificates or decide who the declarant is.

• Can unused certificates be sold back?
• How many certificates to hold each quarter
• How the certificate price is set
• Senseible for CBAM

Sources: European Commission, CBAM Questions and Answers, last updated 15 October 2026, questions 2.7, 2.8, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. The CCP opens on 1 February 2027. Check the Commission's CBAM registry pages for any change to the steps once sales start.