Can any CBAM verifier verify our plant, or does it need our sector?

It needs your sector. CBAM verifiers are accredited for numbered activity groups, such as I for cement or VIII for iron, steel and aluminium products. A verifier without the group covering your goods may not verify your plant, and other verifiers check this scope before relying on its report.

The groups on a CBAM accreditation certificate

• I: calcined clay, cement clinker, cement, aluminous cement.
• II: hydrogen, ammonia.
• III: nitric acid.
• IV: urea, mixed fertilisers.
• V: sintered ore, pig iron, DRI, crude steel.
• VI: ferro-alloys (FeMn, FeCr, FeNi).
• VII: unwrought aluminium.
• VIII: iron or steel products, aluminium products.
• L: carbon capture, use and storage. LI: electricity imported into the EU. LII: indirect emissions.

Match your plant before you match the price

• Re-rolling mill making bars, coil or pipes from bought billets or slabs: VIII.
• Sponge iron plant with an electric furnace and a rolling mill: V for the DRI and crude steel, VIII for the rolled products.
• Ferro-alloy smelter: VI.
• Aluminium smelter casting ingots: VII. Extruder making profiles from bought billet: VIII.
• Cement or clinker plant: I, which always comes with LII, because indirect emissions count for cement.
• Urea or NPK plant: IV with LII; an ammonia unit adds II.
• Sinter plant: V with LII. Other iron, steel and aluminium goods do not count indirect emissions, so a plant needing only VI, VII or VIII does not need LII.

Indirect emissions cannot stand alone

No verifier can be accredited for LII by itself. It comes only together with group I, II, III, IV or V, and a body granting those groups must check the verifier's competence on indirect emissions too. If your goods carry indirect emissions and you buy electricity under a power purchase agreement or over a direct line, ask whether the team has checked smart meter data, single line diagrams and PPAs before.

It also matters for your suppliers

When you use a supplier's verified figure for a precursor, your verifier checks that the supplier's verifier held a valid accreditation for that sector at the time. A Raipur sponge iron supplier verified by a firm accredited only for group VIII would not pass. Ask your precursor suppliers for their verifier's scope as well as the report.

Three questions for every quote

1. Which activity groups are on your CBAM certificate, and which national accreditation body issued it?
2. Will the accreditation still be valid when you issue our verification report?
3. Will the lead auditor speak English and will one auditor on the team speak our language? The Commission requires both.

What Senseible does here

Senseible's CBAM Suite records your production processes and goods by CN code, which makes it clear which activity groups your verifier must hold before you ask for quotes. Senseible checks your report in-house; the CBAM verification and report come from an accredited verifier holding the right groups: a Senseible partner, or a firm you choose.

• What your EU declarant needs from you
• Checks on a precursor supplier's report
• Finding a CBAM accredited verifier

Sources: European Commission, Guidance on CBAM verification and accreditation (24 August 2026), sections 2.1.2, 9.2.3 and 9.2.4 (Table 11), European Commission, CBAM Questions and Answers (15 October 2026), questions 5.6 and 5.19

Last reviewed 2026-10-29.