Registration before applying

• Funding & Tenders Portal: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home
• Every participant in a Portal proposal must be registered and hold a PIC before submission.
• Erasmus+ National Agency actions: register in the Organisation Registration system for Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps and obtain an OID: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-esc/index/organisations/register-my-organisation
• Both registers require an EU Login account first.

Sources: Online Manual: Registration and validation of your organisation (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026 (European Commission, Version 1, 2025-11-12)

• Create an account: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/cas/
• Accounts are personal; the organisation is registered separately in the Participant Register.
• Two-factor authentication: pilot from December 2025, gradual mandatory roll-out January to June 2026 for concerned users (May 2026: 110,722 of 386,413 concerned users activated). Methods include the EU Login mobile app, security key, national eID or passkey.
• Practical: set up 2FA on a phone well before a deadline; a lost device during submission week blocks access.

Sources: Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026 (European Commission, Version 1, 2025-11-12); EU Funding and Tenders Portal and EU funding & me mobile app (presentation, Tour de Capitales) (M. Saenz Perez-Aradros, European Commission DG RTD (hosted by Slovenian ministry), 2026-05-19)

• Check first: Funding & Tenders Portal > How to participate > Participant Register > Search a PIC. Try several name variants (English and local language, with and without abbreviations). URL: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/participant-register-search
• Also check whether another department or faculty of the same institution already holds a PIC; ask the central research office or EU office.
• If none exists: Register your organisation > Registration wizard. Prepare legal name, legal form, registration number, VAT number, address, public/private and non-profit status.
• Drafts can be saved (My Organisations > Continue Registration); incomplete drafts are deleted after one year.
• The PIC can be used for a proposal immediately after registration. It stays 'declared/not validated' until the Central Validation Service checks it.
• The person who registers becomes the Self-registrant and is the contact for validation until a LEAR is appointed.
• Since 2026 the register checks VAT numbers in real time during registration (release 2026.4, 2026-06-04).
• One PIC is valid for all programmes; an organisation that already has a PIC does not register again.

Sources: Online Manual: Registration and validation of your organisation (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026 (European Commission, Version 1, 2025-11-12); IT How To: Participant Register (release notes) (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, releases 2026.1 (2026-02-04) to 2026.8 (scheduled 2026-10-12))

• Role: manages legal and financial data, assigns roles, appoints Legal Signatories (LSIGN) and Financial Signatories (FSIGN) who e-sign grants and cost claims.
• Must be employed by the institution, typically in central administration.
• Appointed by a legal representative with authority to commit the institution. For universities, Rector, Vice-Rector, President, Vice-President, Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor are recognised by default.
• Organisation validation comes first; the LEAR request is usually started by the Central Validation Service in parallel.
• Steps: Self-registrant enters LEAR and legal representative details (My Organisations > View organisation details > Authorised users/LEAR > Add LEAR); LEAR completes EU Login; legal representative signs the system-generated appointment letter; documents uploaded; validation; LEAR activates account.
• Documents: signed appointment letter (blue ink or eIDAS qualified e-signature), ID or passport copies of legal representative and LEAR, proof of the legal representative's function. Keep originals.
• Replacing a LEAR follows the same procedure as a new appointment.

Sources: Online Manual: LEAR appointment and validation (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page; embedded image dated 2025-11-06 (accessed 2026-10-14)); EU Funding & Tenders: Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment (European Commission / Central Validation Service (REA), V5.0, 2024-02-01); Online Manual: Registration and validation of your organisation (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14))

• When: only if a proposal is successful, during grant preparation. Applies to beneficiaries and affiliated entities; associated partners and subcontractors are not validated.
• Communication runs only through the Participant Register (My Organisations); e-mail is not used.
• Standard documents: signed Legal Entity Form (public or private), official VAT document or proof of VAT exemption not older than one year, registration extract or act of establishment/statutes.
• Status-specific documents on request, e.g. proof of recognition as a higher education establishment, or of research as main objective for a research organisation.
• If an organisation does not respond in time, validation may be refused or finalised on the available information.
• Once validated, the PIC and LEAR remain valid for future proposals; keep data current through the LEAR.
• Lead times: no official processing time is published. Practical recommendation (not an official rule): prepare documents before the call deadline so that grant preparation is not delayed.

Sources: Online Manual: Registration and validation of your organisation (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); EU Funding & Tenders: Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment (European Commission / Central Validation Service (REA), V5.0, 2024-02-01); Call document CERV-2026-CITIZENS-TOWN-TT (Town-Twinning), section 6 (European Commission / EACEA, V1.0, 2026-04-28)

• Statuses checked: private or public body, non-profit, SME, mid-cap, NGO, international organisation, research organisation, secondary or higher education establishment.
• SME self-assessment wizard is only required where SME status is an eligibility criterion or gives an advantage; otherwise SME status is self-declared in the Legal Information tab.
• SME documents (if requested): ownership structure, shareholders, approved financial statements, governance documents, including linked and partner entities.
• A university spin-off or a private art school may need the SME check; a public university normally does not.

Sources: Online Manual: Registration and validation of your organisation (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); EU Funding & Tenders: Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment (European Commission / Central Validation Service (REA), V5.0, 2024-02-01)

• General Portal rule: assessed for beneficiaries and affiliated entities, except public bodies, international organisations and participants requesting EUR 60,000 or less. Programmes may set other rules.
• Horizon Europe: only the coordinator, and only if the requested EU funding for the action is EUR 500,000 or more (Regulation 2021/695, Art. 27); may be checked for others if there are grounds for doubt.
• Erasmus+: exempt are public bodies and education/training organisations that received over 50% of annual revenue from public sources in the last two years; grants up to EUR 15,000 exempt; EUR 15,001 to 60,000 checked via declaration on honour; above EUR 60,000 documents may be requested.
• When required, the Central Validation Service asks for documents during grant preparation (typically last two closed financial years: profit and loss account, balance sheet; audit report in some cases).
• A valid assessment by the Central Validation Service can be reused for 18 months.
• Private universities, foundations and private art and design schools should not assume the public-body exemption; status depends on national law.
• A self-check simulator exists on the Portal for some programmes; it is not a formal assessment.

Sources: Online Manual: Financial capacity assessment (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); EU Funding & Tenders: Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment (European Commission / Central Validation Service (REA), V5.0, 2024-02-01); Regulation (EU) 2021/695 establishing Horizon Europe, Article 27 (Financial capacity of applicants) (European Parliament and Council, Official Journal of the EU, 2021-04-28); Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026 (European Commission, Version 1, 2025-11-12)

• Centralised actions (managed by EACEA): applicants, affiliated entities and associated partners register in the Funding & Tenders Portal and use a PIC.
• National Agency actions: register once in the Organisation Registration system and use the OID; upload a Legal Entity Identification Form there. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-esc/index/organisations/register-my-organisation
• Using another organisation's OID in an application requires its explicit consent; multiple OIDs for one entity can be treated as misrepresentation.
• ECHE is required before applying to the National Agency for higher education mobility projects (incl. blended intensive programmes, where coordinating and receiving HEIs need an ECHE). These correspond to the codes KA131 and KA171 used in National Agency forms.
• HEIs in EU Member States and associated countries need a valid ECHE to take part in Cooperation Partnerships and Small-scale Partnerships.
• ECHE: annual call; awarded for the programme period up to 2027, with extended validity for projects starting in the final year.
• Find the National Agency: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/contacts/national-agencies

Sources: Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026 (European Commission, Version 1, 2025-11-12); Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (European Commission, Erasmus+ website, last updated 2025-09-26); Erasmus+ National Agencies (European Commission, Erasmus+ website, last updated 2026-06-19)

• Submission via the Electronic Submission System on the call's topic page; paper submissions are not possible.
• Beneficiaries and affiliated entities register before submission and are validated by the Central Validation Service if selected.
• Use the forms inside the Submission System; those on the topic page are for information only.
• Creative Europe Desks give free national advice: https://culture.ec.europa.eu/resources/creative-europe-desks

Sources: Call document CERV-2026-CITIZENS-TOWN-TT (Town-Twinning), section 6 (European Commission / EACEA, V1.0, 2026-04-28); Online Manual: Registration and validation of your organisation (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); Creative Europe Desks (European Commission, Culture and Creativity website, last updated 2026-08-03)

• 12 weeks before deadline: identify the EU office or research office; ask whether the institution has a PIC (and OID for Erasmus+) and who the LEAR is.
• 10 weeks: every team member who will edit the proposal creates an EU Login and activates two-factor authentication.
• 8 weeks: check PIC via the Participant Register search; check that legal name, address and VAT data are current. For Erasmus+ National Agency actions, check OID and, for HEIs, a valid ECHE.
• 8 weeks: ask each partner for its PIC (or OID); new partners without one register now.
• 6 weeks: if no PIC exists, complete the registration wizard; note who becomes Self-registrant.
• 6 weeks: check whether financial capacity documents might be needed (coordinator role, grant size, private status) and locate the last two closed financial statements.
• 4 weeks: confirm the coordinator's PIC is entered in the Submission System and partners are added by PIC.
• Before deadline: prepare the validation set (Legal Entity Form, VAT proof under one year old, statutes or establishment act, proof of the legal representative's function) so that grant preparation is not delayed if selected.
• Submit at least 48 hours before the deadline (practice recommended in EACEA info sessions).

Sources: Online Manual: Registration and validation of your organisation (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page (accessed 2026-10-14)); Online Manual: LEAR appointment and validation (European Commission, EU Funding & Tenders Portal, no date shown on page; embedded image dated 2025-11-06 (accessed 2026-10-14)); EU Funding & Tenders: Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment (European Commission / Central Validation Service (REA), V5.0, 2024-02-01); Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026 (European Commission, Version 1, 2025-11-12)