# Is the CBAM Transitional Registry still used now that the definitive period has started, or do I use the CBAM Registry?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/is-the-cbam-transitional-registry-still-used

The Transitional Registry was for the quarterly CBAM reports of the transitional period, the last of which covered October to December 2025. From 1 January 2026, authorised declarant status, annual CBAM declarations and certificates run through the CBAM Registry. Keep your own copies of the transitional reports you filed.

## What each system was built for

- CBAM Transitional Registry: quarterly reports of embedded emissions by reporting declarants, for imports from 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2025, under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1773. No payment was due.
- CBAM Registry: the definitive period system for applications for authorised CBAM declarant status, annual declarations, and the account in which CBAM certificates are held and surrendered.

## The last transitional report

The final quarterly report covered imports in the fourth quarter of 2025. Quarterly reports were due one month after the end of each quarter, which put the last one at the end of January 2026. No quarterly reports are due for imports made in 2026 or later.

## What changes for 2026 imports

- Only an authorised CBAM declarant may import covered goods above the annual 50 tonne de minimis.
- Emissions are declared once a year, for the whole year, and must be verified if actual values are used.
- Certificates for 2026 imports are bought and surrendered in 2027; the annual declaration for 2026 is due by 30 September 2027.

## What an Indian exporter should keep

The emissions data you sent buyers for transitional reports is a useful starting point, but definitive declarations need verified actual data or default values. Keep the fuel and electricity records, production figures and the method you used, because a verifier will ask for the year's full evidence, not the quarterly summaries.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible keeps document-backed fuel and electricity records and offers a CBAM cost calculator, so an exporter can give buyers the same evidence for each year. It does not access either registry, file reports or declarations, or verify embedded emissions.

- [CBAM definitive period](https://senseible.earth/answers/cbam-definitive-period)
- [How a non-EU producer registers in the CBAM Registry](https://senseible.earth/answers/how-non-eu-producer-registers-cbam-registry)
- [Become a CBAM authorised declarant](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/become-cbam-authorised-declarant)

Sources: [European Commission DG TAXUD: CBAM definitive regime](https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/cbam-definitive-regime_en), [European Commission DG TAXUD: CBAM legislation and guidance, including Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1773](https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/cbam-legislation-and-guidance_en), [Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 amending the CBAM Regulation](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/2083/oj)

Last reviewed 2026-10-15. Access to archived transitional reports and Registry procedures are set by Commission guidance; check the DG TAXUD pages for current rules.