EUDR Enforcement: Competent Authorities, Checks, Customs and Penalties

The Commission list updated on 12 October 2026 names authorities for 24 of the 27 Member States, and checks start on 30 December 2026.

The Regulation (OJ L 150, 9.6.2023, p. 206) entered into force on 29 June 2023 and is amended by Regulations (EU) 2024/3234 and 2025/2650 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2102. The enforcement rules of the EU Deforestation Regulation below cover authorities, national law, dates, cooperation and four tools; each of the 12 topics in Table 1 has its own page.

Table 1. The 12 EUDR enforcement pages

What Is a Competent Authority Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1115?

A competent authority is an authority designated under Article 14(1) (Article 2(32)); every Member State designates one or more. Article 14 sets four rules, listed below.

1. Designation: one or more authorities responsible for the obligations of the Regulation (Article 14(1)).
2. Notification: names, addresses and contact details to the Commission by 30 December 2023 (Article 14(2)).
3. Public list: the Commission publishes the list and updates it regularly (Article 14(3)).
4. Capacity: adequate powers, functional independence and resources (Article 14(4)).

Article 14 has applied since entry into force on 29 June 2023, because Article 38(2) does not list it, and no amending act has changed it.

Article 14 opens Chapter 3 (Articles 14 to 25) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, read in the consolidated text of 18 September 2026.

Which Competent Authority Enforces the EUDR in Each Member State?

The Commission list "Designated Competent Authorities in accordance with Article 14, para 2", updated on 12 October 2026, names at least one authority for 24 of the 27 Member States (Article 14(3)).

Table 2 copies the names from the Commission list of competent authorities and adds national law status.

Table 2. The EUDR competent authorities list (Commission list updated 2026-10-12; national law as of 2026-10-24)

Source: Commission list, updated 12 October 2026; national law as of 24 October 2026 from national gazettes and authority pages. "Not yet reviewed" means no national text was checked; it does not mean no law exists.

Three organisation models appear: Bulgaria, Italy, Latvia and Lithuania split competence by commodity; Austria, France, Portugal and Romania name several bodies without a split; Croatia and Spain use coordination. The only other entry is the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland; no EEA EFTA state is listed. The EUDR applies in Northern Ireland but not in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway; the rules on where the EUDR applies cover each territory.

National pages can lag: as of 24 October 2026, the Finnish Food Authority's English page still gives the superseded dates 30 December 2025 and 29 June 2026.

Which Member States Have No Competent Authority on the Commission List?

Greece, Malta and Poland show no authority on the Commission list updated on 12 October 2026, although Article 14(2) required notification by 30 December 2023. A blank entry does not establish that no authority exists.

The version updated on 1 February 2024 showed no authority for 12 states: Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Poland has a draft law, UC101, not adopted.

Which Member States Have a National EUDR Law?

As of 24 October 2026, Denmark and the Netherlands have adopted national EUDR implementing rules; Germany, Poland and Spain have bills or drafts, and Italy a delegation law. National law matters because Member States lay down the penalty rules and notify them to the Commission (Article 25(1)). Seven confirmed statuses are listed below.

• Denmark: executive order BEK nr 1440 af 20/11/2025, in force since 1 January 2026.
• Netherlands: Wet van 17 juli 2024 (Stb. 2024, 242, published 2 September 2024) and Besluit van 13 januari 2025 (Stb. 2025, 45); entry into force not established.
• Germany: no law in force; bill BT-Drs. 21/8278 of 30 September 2026, first reading 8 October 2026, planned entry into force 30 December 2026.
• Poland: draft UC101 at the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers (stage of 23 October 2026), not adopted.
• Spain: no law adopted; draft law cleared for processing on 17 June 2025.
• Italy: delegation law L. 13 giugno 2025, n. 91, Article 26, in force since 10 July 2025.
• Austria: no federal norm citing Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 found in RIS (searched 24 October 2026).

Hungary designated Nébih by Decree 351/2024. (XI. 21.), and Swedish proposals sit in SOU 2025:17 of 14 February 2025; other national texts are not yet reviewed.

When Does EUDR Enforcement Start? The Application Dates in Force

Checks, interim measures, corrective action, customs controls and substantiated concerns apply from 30 December 2026 (Article 38(2)); Articles 14, 15, 25, 27 and 28 have applied since the EUDR entered into force on 29 June 2023. Article 25 penalties bite only once Articles 3 to 13 apply and national penalty law exists.

These application dates in force come from Regulation (EU) 2025/2650. Operators that are natural persons or micro or small undertakings established as such by 31 December 2024 face the enforcement articles from 30 June 2027 (Article 38(3)); products in the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 apply from 30 December 2026. Every other date sits with the application dates in force.

Table 3. When the enforcement articles apply

Articles 28(1) and 38 as replaced by Regulation (EU) 2025/2650.

How Do Competent Authorities Cooperate, Share Information and Report?

Member States may give operators technical assistance and guidance that takes SMEs and natural persons into account (Article 15(1)), and the Commission may issue guidelines to harmonise implementation (Article 15(5), inserted by Regulation (EU) 2025/2650). Authorities and the Commission also monitor trade patterns for circumvention (Article 15(3)).

The main EUDR guidance, Guidance C/2026/3896 and FAQ Version 5 (April 2026), is non-binding (Article 15(5)); see EUDR guidance.

Authorities cooperate with each other, customs, the Commission and, if necessary, third countries (Article 21(1)). Potential non-compliance that could affect more than one Member State triggers an immediate alert, enabling withdrawal or recall in all Member States (Article 21(4)).

By 30 April each year, each Member State reports publicly on the previous calendar year: check plans, number and results of checks, quantities checked, corrective action and penalties (Article 22(1)). The Commission services publish a Union-wide overview by 30 October (Article 22(2)).

Authorities exchange due diligence statements and simplified declarations through the EUDR Information System (Article 21(3)), described under EUDR Information System.

What Do Checks, Customs Controls, Substantiated Concerns and Penalties Involve?

Competent authorities check at least 1 %, 3 % or 9 % of operators, non-SME downstream operators and non-SME traders each year, by the risk class of the country of production (Article 16(8) to (10)). For high-risk origins, EUDR checks also cover 9 % of the quantity of each relevant product (Article 16(9)).

EUDR penalties follow six types in Article 25(2)(a) to (f): fines, confiscation of products, confiscation of revenues, exclusion from public procurement and funding for at most 12 months, a temporary market ban and a ban on simplified due diligence. The maximum fine for legal persons must be at least 4 % of total annual Union-wide turnover (Article 25(2)(a)), a floor for the national maximum, not a fixed fine.

EUDR at customs means the DDS reference number or declaration identifier reaches customs before release for free circulation or export, except export by a downstream operator (Article 26(4)). Release is no proof of compliance (Article 26(10)).

Substantiated concerns under the EUDR may come from any natural or legal person (Article 31(1)). The authority informs the submitter of the follow-up within 30 days of receipt, unless national law states otherwise (Article 31(3)).

How Have Competent Authorities Prepared for 30 December 2026?

In an exercise reported by the European Forest Institute on 1 February 2026, the German and Dutch competent authorities simulated checks of a coffee operator's due diligence system and four shipments. The Commission's simplification review COM(2026) 191 of 4 May 2026 reports EU-funded voluntary compliance inspections ("dry runs") and an Informal Enforcement Working Group on the EUDR chaired by Member States.

Every rule on this page is checked against EUR-Lex, Commission and national sources; see our methodology and fact-checking.

This guide explains the rules; it is not legal advice for an individual case.

How Does EUDR Enforcement Connect to Compliance, Country Risk, Delays and the EUTR?

Enforcement tests what the rest of the EUDR requires: the compliance steps, the country risk class and the dates in force. The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) still applies until 31 December 2029 to timber produced before 29 June 2023 and placed on the market from 30 December 2026 (Article 37).

Is There a Grace Period or Another EUDR Delay Before Enforcement?

No: a six-month grace period was proposed in COM(2025) 652 of 21 October 2025 and never adopted; as of 24 October 2026 no further postponement is proposed. Each earlier EUDR delay is documented with the act that decided it.

Which EUDR Country Benchmarking Class Sets the Check Rate?

The check band follows the country of production under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1093: 140 low, 4 high, every other country standard. The high-risk countries are Belarus, North Korea, Myanmar and Russia; EUDR country benchmarking lists every class.

What Does EUDR Compliance Require Before a Check?

Before a check, an operator holds its due diligence system, records and statements, and keeps responsibility when it uses consultants or an authorised representative (Articles 4(3) and 6(1)). No software or certificate is mandatory; the steps of EUDR compliance run in order.