Amendment (change to the grant agreement)

A grant agreement may be amended – provided the change does not call the award decision into question or breach equal treatment of applicants. That is the boundary an amendment may not cross.

When it is required

For all substantive changes: adding a beneficiary or terminating participation, changing the coordinator or its bank account, changes to the description of the action, changes to the start date, duration or reporting periods, changes to the budget annexes.

Within the description of the action, an amendment is needed for: a substantial change of tasks or their distribution, changes to eligible in-kind contributions or subcontracting, adding or removing agreement options, and substantial changes to deliverables.

When it is not – and this saves weeks

Budget transfers within budget flexibility. In Horizon Europe there is no flexibility cap at all.

A change of name or address – updating the Participant Register is enough. The same for bank details and for mergers and takeovers.

A change to a deliverable's due date – no amendment.

Procedure and deadlines

The request is made and signed directly in the portal's amendment tool; the coordinator does this on the beneficiaries' behalf. It must state reasons and carry supporting documents.

Then the crucial part: the receiving party has 45 days to sign or to formally notify disagreement. And a rule worth remembering: if no reply arrives, the request is considered rejected. Silence is not consent.

An amendment enters into force on the day the receiving party signs, and takes effect from that date or from another date stated in it – so it can be retroactive.

What an amendment cannot do

The general terms and conditions that apply to all EU grants cannot be changed – only project-specific data and the agreement options are open.

Nor can the consortium be changed in a way that affects the call's eligibility conditions, or the tasks changed so far that the action no longer fits the topic.

And critically for planning: even if the project is extended, the maximum grant amount is not increased. An extension must be requested before the project ends and separately justified.

Lump sum specifics

Work packages already completed and paid cannot be amended. And for an amendment to be taken into account when a report is assessed, it must be completed before that assessment begins.

The most common mistake

Requesting too late. Given the 45 days and the fact that silence means rejection, requests should go in well in advance of the date the change is meant to take effect.