An Erasmus+ project application by an organisation is evaluated by the National Agency or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) receiving the application, based only on the criteria described in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide. Experts have to read the whole application carefully before completing the quality assessment form. Experts cannot assume information that is not explicitly provided. Our guide on how to plan a Youth Exchange and our guide on Cooperation Partnerships explain two of the project types covered here.
Last updated: November 2026.
How is an Erasmus+ application assessed?
The evaluation of a project proposal means:
✅ Admissibility: a check to verify that the application meets the admissibility criteria.
✅ Eligibility: a check to verify that the applicant and the proposed activities meet the eligibility criteria.
✅ Exclusion and selection: a check to verify that the applicant meets the exclusion and selection (operational and financial capacity) criteria.
⭐ Quality assessment: a quality assessment to evaluate the extent to which the application meets the award criteria, in most cases carried out with the support of independent experts.
🔁 Double funding: a verification that the proposal does not present risks of double funding.
The National or Executive Agency will appoint an evaluation committee to manage the entire selection process. Each award criterion is defined through several elements, which must be taken into account by experts when analysing an application. The elements must not be scored separately. Information relevant for a specific award criterion may appear in different parts of the application and experts must take all of the information into account when scoring the award criterion. Applicants may be asked to provide additional information or to clarify the supporting documents submitted in connection with the application, provided that such information or clarification does not substantially change the proposal. Our guide on National Agencies explains who runs the assessment.
How many points do you need?
An application has to score at least the minimum total score specified in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide for a given action, and at least half of the maximum points for each award criterion:
🔢 Youth Exchanges: at least 60 out of the total 100 points.
🔢 Mobility projects for youth workers: at least 60 out of the total 100 points.
🔢 Youth participation activities: at least 60 out of the total 100 points.
🔢 Small-scale Partnerships: to be considered for funding, proposals must score at least 60 points.
🔢 Cooperation Partnerships: to be considered for funding, proposals must score at least 70 points (out of 100 points in total).
Experts cannot use half points or decimals when assigning scores. Each award criterion has ranges of scores within its maximum number of points, and each range corresponds to a fixed definition of the expected quality standard, so that a coherent approach is implemented across experts and across countries. The quality standards are as follows:
🟢 Very good: the application addresses all relevant aspects of the criterion in question convincingly and successfully.
🔵 Good: the application addresses the criterion well, although some small improvements could be made.
🟡 Fair: the application broadly addresses the criterion, but there are some weaknesses.
🔴 Weak: the application fails to address the criterion or cannot be judged due to missing or incomplete information.
Quantity (of activities planned, of priorities met or results produced) will not be judged in absolute terms but in relation to the capacities and potential of the applicants (and partners, where applicable). Our guide on how to plan a Youth Exchange, our guide on Cooperation Partnerships and our guide on Small-scale Partnerships give the points for each criterion.
What should a Youth Exchange application show?
A Youth Exchange application should show the following under each award criterion:
🎯 Relevance, the youth field: the expert should consider if the applicant organisation forms a genuine part of the field in which the application has been submitted (youth).
🎯 Relevance, why the project is needed: the expert should assess if the rationale for the project is clearly described and if the applicant explains why the project is needed and how the demand for the project has been identified.
🎯 Relevance, learning outcomes: the expert should consider whether the learning outcomes are clearly defined in line with the identified needs and whether they are achievable through the proposed activities.
🎯 Relevance, new groups: the expert should assess the extent to which the proposal outlines a plan or intention to reach out to organisations and groups of young people who have never or not regularly benefitted from the opportunities offered by this action in the past.
🛠️ Project design, phases and tasks: the expert should consider whether the description of the different phases is clear and complete and shows that the participating organisations have planned the division of tasks, activity programme, working methods, practical arrangements, involvement of participants and follow up measures satisfactorily.
🛠️ Project design, accessible activities: the expert should consider how organisations have designed the proposed activities in an accessible and inclusive way.
🛠️ Project design, green travel: the expert should consider the content of the project's activities and objectives, as well as the practical aspect of maximising the use of funding opportunities offered by the Programme to support environmentally sustainable means of travel.
🛠️ Youthpass and recognition: the reflection process, the identification and documentation of the participants' learning outcomes, and the use of European transparency and recognition tools, in particular Youthpass, have to be appropriate.
📋 Project management, safety: the expert should assess how the project plans to address the issue of protection and safety of participants, and which measures are in place to prevent and reduce risks.
📋 Project management, tasks: the expert should assess if all relevant tasks and responsibilities have been covered and clearly assigned and distributed among the persons implementing the project.
📋 Project management, evaluation: the expert must assess the extent to which the participating organisations have put in place measures to evaluate the different phases of the project and to carry out a final evaluation of the activities and their outcomes.
📋 Project management, visibility: the expert must consider how the participating organisations have (together, if relevant) reflected on measures aimed at enhancing the visibility of their project and the visibility of the Erasmus+ Programme in general.
📋 Project management, after the funding: the expert should assess the extent to which the project incorporates mechanisms and/or activities or develops practices that have the potential to survive the duration of the funding.
Our guide on what a Youth Exchange is explains the format, our guide on inclusion support covers participants with fewer opportunities, our guide on green travel covers sustainable travel, and our guide on dissemination and impact covers sharing results.
What changes for youth worker and Youth participation projects?
Mobility projects for youth workers and Youth participation activities are each assessed on three award criteria. Some elements belong to one format only:
🧑🏫 Youth workers, needs: experts should assess the extent to which the project and the proposed activities address the needs of development of the participating youth workers and youth work organisations.
🧑🏫 Youth workers, selection: measures for selecting youth workers have to be appropriate and in line with the youth worker definition in the legal base.
🧑🏫 Youth workers, system development: experts should assess the extent to which (if applicable) the proposed system development and outreach activities are contributing to the development of the youth work environment. If applicable, the tools and practices proposed under system development and outreach activities have to be appropriate and can be replicated and inspire other organisations.
🗳️ Youth participation, European added value: a Youth participation project has to provide a European added value.
🗳️ Youth participation, forms of participation: a Youth participation project has to make use of alternative, innovative and smart forms of youth participation.
🗳️ Youth participation, no partners: in the case of Youth participation activities with no partner organisations, the expert should consider how the organisation will share tasks and responsibilities internally, and the involvement of potential external stakeholders in the project. If the project will be supported by one or more coaches, the envisaged cooperation and relevance of their expertise in relation to the objectives of the project should be considered.
Our guide on Mobility of Youth Workers and our guide on Youth Participation Activities explain the two formats.
What should a partnership application show?
Cooperation Partnerships and Small-scale Partnerships are scored in these categories of award criteria: relevance of the project, quality of the project design and implementation, quality of the partnership and the cooperation arrangements, and impact. The applicants should read the award criteria in detail and address all the award criteria elements in the project application. Each partnership project must address at least one of the priorities of the action. If the proposal does not provide convincing evidence that the proposal is relevant to at least one priority, the expert must score as "Weak" the award criterion "Relevance of the project" and the whole project must be rejected as a consequence.
The expert should verify if the proposal includes one or more participating organisations that are newcomers to this action or that are considered less experienced organisations, and on which the impact expected from the participation in the project would be particularly high. Proposals which are found to offer poor value for money will have a lower score and fewer chances to be selected for funding. In case the expert finds the proposed deliverables entirely insufficient to justify the total requested grant, award criterion 'Quality of project design and implementation' should be scored below the minimum threshold (half of the maximum points of the award criterion) and consequently, the proposal should be rejected. Our guides on Cooperation Partnerships and Small-scale Partnerships cover the formats, our guide on how lump sum funding works covers the grant amount, and our guide on how to find project partners covers the partnership.
Can you use AI, copy content or pay someone to write it?
All applications for projects and accreditations must contain original content authored by the applicant or partner organisations or consortium members jointly applying for a grant. Where a third-party content is referred to, proper attribution and acknowledgment of intellectual property rights must be given. Failing to meet these criteria through acts of plagiarism makes a proposal ineligible for consideration. If applicants consider the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for the application, applicants should be conscious of the potential of plagiarism. Applicants should exercise careful consideration to ensure the application's appropriateness and accuracy, its compliance with intellectual property regulations and its original content.
Applicants are strongly advised against relying on external entities or individuals for drafting of the application. No other organisations or external individuals can be paid or otherwise compensated for drafting the application or any subsequent reports, as such costs will not be reimbursed or considered as eligible under the grant's terms. All proposals are automatically screened by the National Agencies and the Executive Agency to detect double funding and plagiarism risks. If the application content is similar to an already funded or to be funded project, a critical similarities report will be generated. If the applicant gives no justification, the detected similarities might lead to rejection of the proposal. If experts notice during the assessment that the same or similar text appears in two or more applications submitted under a given selection round, they must inform the National Agency immediately. Our guide on National Agencies explains who decides.
Which form, language and time apply?
For actions managed by the Erasmus+ National Agencies, applications (including annexes) must be submitted electronically via the application forms available in the Opportunities section of the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps website. Applications sent by post, courier service, fax or email will not be accepted. In case of actions managed by a National Agency, the electronic form must be completed in one of the official languages used in EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme. The applicant must also sign and submit a Declaration on Honour in the requested format at the same time as submitting the application. Applications must be submitted only to one National Agency or to the Executive Agency. For actions managed by the Erasmus+ National Agencies, the deadline for submission of electronic forms is always set at 12:00:00 (midday Brussels time), whatever the day of the deadline. Our guide on the Organisation ID explains the OID, and our guide on National Agencies explains where to apply.
What happens after you submit?
All applicants will be informed about the evaluation result through an evaluation result letter. Successful applications will be invited for grant preparation; other ones will be put on the reserve list or rejected. The evaluation summary will be used by National Agencies to provide feedback to applicants, and justification for rejection decisions, so experts must pay particular attention to clarity, consistency and appropriate level of detail. If the applicant believes that the rejection of their proposal was based on an error in the selection procedure, the applicant can submit a complaint following the deadlines and procedures set out in the notification letter on the outcome of the evaluation. Complaints must focus on aspects concerning the evaluation of the proposals, not their merits. Repetition of the content of the proposal or disagreements with the result or reasoning of the technical evaluation will not be considered.
In the case of Key Action 1 projects managed by the Erasmus+ National Agencies, the notification of the award decision and the signature of the grant agreement will take place, indicatively, 4 months after the submission deadline. In the case of Key Action 2 projects managed by the Erasmus+ National Agencies, the notification of the award decision and the signature of the grant agreement will take place, indicatively, 5 months after the submission deadline. National Agencies usually announce the results of project applications within 3 to 6 months on average; this applies across countries, not only one. Our guide on how to run an Erasmus+ project covers the work that follows an award.
What makes applications fail?
For a Solidarity or Youth Participation project, evaluation can differ from country to country, so detailed lists of mistakes are not reliable; the biggest problem is not reading the Programme Guide and not knowing it well. If a proposal is rejected on any of the admissibility, eligibility, exclusion and selection grounds or does not pass any of mandatory criteria, the other criteria will not be evaluated. Depending on the approach chosen by the National Agency, the 'Relevance' criterion may be assessed first and if the criterion scores below the minimum threshold required for funding, the evaluation process may be discontinued, and the proposal rejected at that stage. Experts cannot assume information that is not explicitly provided. Our guide on Erasmus+ accreditation covers another application route.
Frequently asked questions
Can we submit the same project twice?
No: in case of multiple submissions of the same application by the same applicant to the same or different National Agencies, all applications will be rejected. Should almost identical or similar applications be submitted by the same or different applicants to the same or different National Agencies, they will all be subject to a specific assessment and may all be rejected. Our guide on National Agencies explains where to apply.
Can a consultant write our application?
Applicants are strongly advised against relying on external entities or individuals for drafting of the application. No other organisations or external individuals can be paid or otherwise compensated for drafting the application or any subsequent reports, as such costs will not be reimbursed or considered as eligible under the grant's terms. Our guide on National Agencies explains who decides.
How many points do we need?
Youth Exchanges, Mobility projects for youth workers, Youth participation activities and Small-scale Partnerships need at least 60 points, and Cooperation Partnerships need at least 70 points. Our guide on how to plan a Youth Exchange shows the criteria for one format.
Can we complain about the score?
Only about the procedure: complaints must focus on aspects concerning the evaluation of the proposals, not their merits. Repetition of the content of the proposal or disagreements with the result or reasoning of the technical evaluation will not be considered. Our guide on National Agencies explains who runs the assessment.
What should you do before you write?
The applicants should read the award criteria in detail and address all the award criteria elements in the project application. Organisations can open a page on Youth Works Hub to publish opportunities and posts. Youth Works Hub checks what organisations publish from their own pages, but the content organisations share from their own profiles is entirely the responsibility of those organisations. The Youth Works Hub pages below cover the next steps.
Related pages: how to plan a Youth Exchange · Cooperation Partnerships · Small-scale Partnerships · how lump sum funding works · how to run an Erasmus+ project · dissemination and impact
👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=erasmus-projects
