The directive entered into force on 18 March 2026, the twentieth day after its publication in the Official Journal on 26 February 2026.

Article 6 is one sentence: the directive enters into force on the twentieth day following publication in the Official Journal. The Official Journal reference on the record is OJ L 2026/470 of 26 February 2026. Counting twenty days from 26 February 2026 gives 18 March 2026, and Article 49(2a) as amended confirms that date when it confers the delegated power from 18 March 2026.

Entry into force is not the same as application. The directive binds the Member States from that date, but the national measures that create duties for companies are due later, and the substantive reporting thresholds apply to financial years, not to calendar dates. The distinction is the same one that Article 5 makes: a date for governments, a date for national law, and a date for the company's financial year.

For the record, the entry into force date is fixed and does not depend on a delegated act. The delegated acts that follow, including the voluntary standards and the limited assurance standards, have their own dates and their own conditions. The site records each one separately and does not treat an entry into force date as the date a company must comply.

Why it matters

Search results often say the directive is 'in force from 2026' and leave the reader to guess what that means. The precise answer is useful: the instrument is in force, the national measures are not yet due, and the company's first reporting year is a separate calculation.

Dates

Published 26 February 2026; in force 18 March 2026.

What to do

  • Use 18 March 2026 only as the legal starting point, never as a company filing date.
  • Keep the national transposition date and the financial year start as separate fields in the plan.

Source

Article 6, Directive (EU) 2026/470, OJ L 2026/470, 26 February 2026. Our statement, not the instrument verbatim.

Not legal advice; does not certify. A reading of the article and the duties inside it, not a substitute for the Official Journal text or the national transposing measure.