Energy Savings Certificates: a decree tightens the control …

Decree No. 2026-945 of October 9, 2026 transfers the energy saving obligations defined in Articles R. 221-4 and R. 221-4-1 of the Energy Code to the delegator when the delegate, within the meaning of Article L. 333-1 of the same code, is absent. Published in the JORF No. 0238 of October 11, 2026 under reference NOR ECOR2609170D, it simultaneously tightens the control over the regularity of applications for energy saving certificates (CEE). The text is sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy, and Digital Sovereignty.

A mechanism backed by the 2025 anti-fraud law

The decree is an extension of Law No. 2025-594 of June 30, 2025, against all public aid fraud. It extends the regularity control of CEE applications to those filed in the national register starting from the entry into force of this law, whereas the control mechanism previously dated back to January 1, 2012.

Section 2 of Chapter II of Title II of Book II of the Energy Code is renamed “Control of the regularity of applications for energy saving certificates and the issuance of energy saving certificates (Articles R. 222-3 to R. 222-12)”.

Transfer of obligations to the delegator

The first paragraph of Article R. 221-7 now targets the “delegatee, within the meaning of Article R. 221-5, or the delegate, within the meaning of Article L. 333-1”.
The obligations defined pursuant to Articles R. 221-4 and R. 221-4-1 are transferred to the delegator in the event of the delegate’s failure.
This provision applies to delegation contracts concluded as of the day following the publication of the decree.

Reinforced control from the time of application

Article R. 221-14-2 is rewritten: the identification, evaluation, and risk management mechanisms provided for in the second paragraph of Article L. 221-8 are based on two documents — a document established under the responsibility of the acquirer, dated and signed within twelve months preceding the conclusion of the transfer contract, and a form attached to the contract no later than the date of the certificate transfer order.

The acquirer must notably evaluate the capital control links between the transferor, the first holder, agents, control bodies, and professionals involved in the operations, the nature of the first holder’s active and incentive role, as well as the methods and compliance rates of the controls carried out. The mechanisms are deemed incomplete if any of these elements are not transmitted to the authorized agents or are not compliant.

Controls can now take place as soon as the application is submitted, and breaches are assessed from the date of this submission. Article R. 222-6 redefines a breach as the act of an applicant submitting an application or, for a first holder, obtaining certificates without complying with Section 2 of Chapter I.

Recalculated Sanctions and Extended Archiving

The sanction ceiling in Article R. 222-10 becomes: 0.04 euro per cumac kWh × (volume of EECs requested or issued for the sample operations − volume established by the minister in charge of energy).
The documents in I of Article R. 221-14-2 and the transfer agreement are kept by the acquirers and held at the disposal of agents for up to six years after the transfer of the certificates.
The notification of breaches is addressed to the EEC applicant and covers standardized or specific operations.

An Implementing Order on November 1, 2026

An order dated October 9, 2026 (NOR ECOR2611833A), published in the same JORF n°0238, sets the minimum list of data and indicators to be verified: professional insurance, tax and social security status, financial stability, status of directors and beneficial owners, convictions and sanctions related to EECs, continuous improvement policy, risk management procedures, and consistency between allocated resources and volumes sold.

The provisions of II and III of Article 1 of the decree, as well as those of the order, apply to certificates issued as of November 1, 2026, and integrated into transfer agreements concluded as of that date.

For energy suppliers and obligated parties, the text shifts part of the default risk toward the delegator and increases the documentary burden on certificate acquirers, with controls starting even before issuance. Operators have a few weeks, until November 1, 2026, to adapt their internal procedures and transfer agreements.

Source: JORF n°0238 of October 11, 2026, decree n° 2026-945 of October 9, 2026, NOR ECOR2609170D.