01 Background, · Objectives and Scope The EU Humanitarian Partnership Certificate is an EU quality certificate for humanitarian non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The certificate aims to promote the concept of a long-lasting quality partnership based on professionalism, diversity, capacity to respond to humanitarian needs in line with humanitarian principles, adherence to agreed rules and standards. It promotes the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of aid, ensuring that EU-funded humanitarian aid actions are implemented in the most appropriate, rapid, efficient and effective manner. The certificate is a prerequisite for NGOs to apply for funding for action grants under the Humanitarian Aid Programme. The certification procedure validates the status of an NGO as EU humanitarian partner, checks that it is a humanitarian organisation, checks administrative and financial management, operational capacity, financial capacity and certifies compliance with partnership principles including transparency and accountability, humanitarian principles and ethical standards, compliance and internal control. The certificates will be valid for HIPs launched until the end of 2034 and up until the end of projects funded under that period.
02 Timetable · and Submission Deadlines This is a continuously open call without cut-off dates, which will normally remain open until 30 June 2033 and covers the entire duration of the 2028-2034 MFF programming period. The call opens on 15 October 2026. Applications can be submitted at any moment in time until the final deadline. Organisations that would like to participate as of 1 January 2028 should submit their applications before 31 March 2027. Applications received after this date cannot be guaranteed timely processing. Evaluation and information on evaluation results/award takes approximately 3-4 months. Once submitted, applications will immediately be sent to evaluation and cannot be resubmitted.
03 Admissibility · Requirements and Documents Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System. Paper submissions are not possible. Applications must be complete and contain all requested information and required annexes. Applications consist of: Application Form Part A (contains administrative information about the organisation, filled in directly online); Application Form Part B (contains technical description, downloaded as template, completed and re-uploaded as PDF); and mandatory annexes including independent assessment report by an independent qualified external auditor and Declaration of Honour. Applications must be readable, accessible and printable. Part B is limited to maximum 10 pages, with evaluators not considering additional pages. Annexes do not count towards the page limit. Minimum font size is Arial 9 points, page size A4, with margins of at least 15mm. Applications must be submitted before the final deadline.
04 Eligibility · Criteria for Participants Applicants must be independent, non-profit-making, autonomous, non-governmental organisations with a clear humanitarian purpose spelled out in their statutory documents. They must be transparent and accountable and deliver aid in line with the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, clearly reflected in mission statement or internal documentation. Organisations must be established in an eligible country: EU Member State (including overseas countries and territories) or eligible non-EU countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein). They must have their main headquarters in an EU Member State, non-EU country receiving EU aid, or exceptionally a non-EU donor country. Natural persons are not eligible. Entities subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 TEU and Article 215 TFEU are not eligible. Entities subject to EU conditionality measures under Regulation 2020/2092 are not eligible. All applicants must register in the Participant Register before submission.
05 Financial · and Operational Capacity Requirements Applicants must have stable and sufficient resources to successfully implement EU humanitarian aid projects and contribute their share, including sufficient experience in projects of comparable size and nature. Financial capacity is assessed through key elements including certified audited financial statements for past two consecutive financial years with satisfactory audit opinion; liquidity (quick ratio) higher than 0.5 for last two accounting periods; positive equity for last two accounting periods; and operating income exceeding EUR 2,000,000 for each of last two accounting periods. Partners with valid 2021-2027 certificate and FCA not older than 18 months do not need financial status reassessment. Operational capacity is assessed through project design and project management capabilities. Applicants subject to EU exclusion decisions or exclusion situations (bankruptcy, breach of social security or tax obligations, grave professional misconduct, breach of key obligations in EU contract) cannot receive a certificate. Non-exclusion is verified in the independent assessment report and checked in context of funding applications.
06 Evaluation · and Award Procedure Applications are subject to formal evaluation procedure. They are checked for formal requirements (admissibility and eligibility) and then evaluated against award criteria. Both eligibility check and evaluation are based on findings in the assessment report submitted as part of the application and other available information. DG ECHO may request additional information if needed. Applications that pass the evaluation are included in the award list. All applicants are informed about evaluation results via evaluation result letter. Successful applications are awarded the certificate; other applications are rejected. Successful applications are included in the public list of EU humanitarian partners. Applicants can request not to be included in this list by contacting [contact removed]. Information on the list is shared with Member States including names of organisations rejected or removed due to suspension or withdrawal. If applicants believe the evaluation procedure was flawed, they can submit a complaint following deadlines and procedures in the evaluation result letter.
07 Award · Criteria and Scoring Methodology Award criteria are included in two blocks of detailed criteria that are part of the independent assessment report. Block 1 covers Eligibility, financial capacity, exclusion and minimum requirements with 21 yes/no questions covering legal status (NGO status, headquarters, autonomy and independence, non-exclusion), humanitarian principles (humanitarian purpose, humanitarian principles, humanitarian aid experience), financial status (certified audited financial statements, liquidity, equity, operating income), systems (segregation of duties, accounting system, procurement procedures), and responsibility and accountability (compliance with EU values, responsibility for implementation, ensuring quality of proposals, transfer of financial support, selection of implementing partners, monitoring and oversight, reliability of reporting). Block 2 covers Operational capacity and additional suitability requirements with 13 questions scored 0-10 covering principles (ethics, anti-fraud and anti-corruption, PSEAH and child protection, safety and security of staff), operational capacity (project design, project management), compliance with rules (humanitarian, operational, personal data protection), and internal control (governance and risk management, human resources, budgeting and accounting, audit trail and document management). Minimum requirements are scored as fulfilled or not fulfilled; additional suitability requirements are scored with points.
08 EU · Humanitarian Partnership Certificate Requirements The certificate requires organisations to undertake multiple commitments. Organisations must respect applicable EU, international and national law including EU Humanitarian Aid Regulation 1257/96, Article 214 TFEU, European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, and national laws. They must respect fundamental humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law in armed conflicts. They must take into account EU policy principles of policy coherence, complementarity, efficiency and effectiveness. They must comply with minimum standards including proposing activities based on qualitative and impartial needs assessment, defining clear and verifiable objectives, implementing actions per EU policy objectives and standards, ensuring results-oriented delivery with safety and dignity, respecting ethical values and highest ethical standards, designing culturally appropriate actions, ensuring locally-led response, ensuring zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, considering humanitarian-development-peace nexus, strengthening community capacities, providing fair working conditions with staff safety focus, implementing environmental management policy or signing Climate Charter, and ensuring effective coordination. Organisations must ensure transparency and accountability through procurement procedures ensuring best value for money, effective internal control systems with segregation of duties, informing Commission of grave professional misconduct, maintaining accurate accounting systems, providing timely reports with audit trail, and facilitating access for EU representatives. To uphold the certificate, organisations must ensure continuous compliance, full implementation of principles, clear communication of principles to all staff, regular transparent information exchange, and promote visibility of EU-funded actions.
09 Application · Form Information Requirements The Application Form consists of two parts. Part A contains structured administrative information about the applicant organisation and is generated by the IT system based on information entered into Portal Submission System screens. Part B is a narrative technical description that must be downloaded as a template from the Portal Submission System, completed, and re-uploaded as a PDF file. Part A includes general information such as call reference, topic, type of action, proposal number, proposal acronym, type of model grant agreement, language, proposal title (max 200 characters), duration in months, keywords, and how the project contributes to European Commission priorities. Part B references the independent assessment report for all substantive criteria across Block 1 (eligibility, financial capacity, exclusion and minimum requirements) and Block 2 (operational capacity and additional suitability requirements). Part B includes sections on experience, financial status, systems, responsibility and accountability, principles, operational capacity, compliance, internal control, and declarations. The application must be prepared by the applicant and submitted via the Portal. Character and page limits apply: normally 10 pages maximum for Part B, minimum font size Arial 9 points, page size A4, margins at least 15mm.
10 Declaration · of Honour Commitments The Declaration of Honour (DoH) must be filled out by the applicant, printed on their letterhead and signed by their legal representative, then scanned as PDF and uploaded in the Portal Submission System. The DoH confirms that the information provided for the application is correct and complete, that legal status information in the Participant Register is correct and complete, and that the applicant commits to comply with eligibility criteria and all other conditions set out in call conditions for the entire duration of the certificate. The applicant undertakes to comply with obligations and requirements set out in the certificate. For applicants subject to Articles 138 and 139 of the EU Financial Regulation, the DoH confirms they are NOT subject to administrative sanctions (exclusion or financial penalty decisions) and are NOT in exclusion situations including bankruptcy, breach of social security or tax obligations, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, links to criminal organisations, money laundering, terrorism-related crimes, child labour, human trafficking, significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations under EU contracts, irregularities, or creation under different jurisdiction to circumvent legal obligations. The applicant acknowledges that granting authority must be informed of changes that may impact the certificate or its award.
11 Independent · Assessment Report Purpose and Content The Independent Assessment Report is a comprehensive ex-ante assessment of a non-governmental organisation applying for an EU humanitarian partnership certificate. It is conducted by an independent qualified external auditor and must be submitted as part of the application. The assessment provides the European Commission (DG ECHO) with reasonable assurance on conditions for receiving the certificate. The report must be composed of two parts: Terms of Reference signed by the organisation and auditor, and the Assessment Report issued on auditor's letterhead, dated, stamped and signed by the auditor, which includes the Assessment Questionnaire. The assessment validates the organisation's status as humanitarian partner, checks administrative and financial management, operational capacity, financial capacity and compliance with partnership principles. The assessment is based on ISAE 3000 standards and International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The report includes an Executive Summary with assessment scoring and outcome, Engagement Context describing the organisation and assessment criteria, Assessment Work and Findings for both blocks, and Annexes including persons contacted and the Assessment Questionnaire. The assessment covers two blocks: Block 1 (21 yes/no questions on eligibility, financial capacity, exclusion and minimum requirements) and Block 2 (13 questions scored 0-10 on operational capacity and additional suitability requirements). The auditor must apply professional judgment and gather sufficient appropriate evidence to support conclusions.
12 Other · Conditions and Ongoing Obligations Partners must promote the EU Humanitarian Partnership and actions financed by DG ECHO along with their results, while duly respecting and protecting safety and dignity of final recipients. Partners are subject to regular monitoring by the Commission on compliance with certificate conditions. Partners must inform DG ECHO about changes to legal entity data (name, address, legal representatives, legal form, organisation type changes) and changes in legal, financial, technical or organisational situation that may call into question compliance with certificate conditions or create conflicts of interest. Partners must inform DG ECHO without delay about any instances of grave professional misconduct such as sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, regardless of whether the partner is receiving EU humanitarian funding. If requested, partners must provide additional or other documentation or information in timely, comprehensive and transparent manner. If problems are identified, appropriate remedial measures notably in form of action plan will be agreed with partner. Persistent lack of cooperation or material breach of commitments undertaken under partnership may lead to suspension or withdrawal of certificate, as may non-compliance with information and coordination obligations. Information on suspensions and withdrawals may be shared with EU Member States as part of updates to list of EU Humanitarian Partners. DG ECHO may suspend or withdraw the certificate if partner no longer complies with conditions or is suspected to be in material breach of commitments. During suspension, organisation will not be eligible to apply for funding under Humanitarian Aid Programme. Withdrawal means partner will no longer be eligible to apply for grants and ongoing grant agreements may be terminated if reasons for withdrawal affect partner's ability to properly implement.