Europass CV: the European Union's CV format

Europass is not a country's custom but a common format offered by the European Union, with an online builder that produces the CV for you.

Source. Europass, an official website of the European Union, "Create your Europass CV", read on 12 November 2026: europass.europa.eu. This page summarises that official advice in our own words. It is careers advice, not law; employers differ, and the page may have changed since we read it.

What Europass is

Europass is an official European Union service, managed by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. Its website describes the Europass CV as "one of the best-known CV formats in Europe", easy to use and familiar to employers and education institutions. It can be used, the site says, to apply for a job, for education or training opportunities, and for volunteering.

How it works

1. Create a Europass profile. You first enter your education, training, work experience and skills into a profile on the Europass site. The site describes the profile as the place to keep a record of all your skills, qualifications and experiences.
2. Create CVs from the profile. Once the profile is complete, you can create as many CVs as you want: select which information to include, pick a design, and the builder does the rest.
3. Download, store and share. You can download the CV, keep it in your Europass Library, and share it with employers, with EURES (the European job mobility portal) or other job boards.

The site says CVs can be created, stored and shared in 31 languages.

The site's advice on a good CV

The page gives five headings of advice: present your experience clearly; tailor your CV; make it readable; use reverse chronological order; polish and fine-tune. It reminds applicants that a CV is the first opportunity to communicate skills and experience to a future employer, a snapshot of who you are.

When to use a Europass CV

• When an employer, university or programme in Europe asks for it by name. Some European programmes and institutions do.
• When applying across several European countries and you want one familiar structure.
• As a starting point, when you are unsure what a CV in a particular European country should contain.

It is not compulsory, and individual countries keep their own customs. The German Federal Employment Agency, for example, calls the Europass template a solid basis but adds that many employers prefer a more individual CV; see our Germany page. Where an employer gives no instruction, a clean CV in the custom of that country is equally acceptable.

For an Indian applicant

• Language levels. European applications commonly describe language ability on the Common European Framework scale, from A1 to C2. Europass has a place for this. Rate yourself honestly; a certificate, where you have one, supports the claim.
• Qualifications. Give Indian degrees with their full names and the awarding university. A European reader may not know Indian grading, so state the grade with its scale.
• Personal details. The builder lets you choose what to include. What is customary differs by country: compare our Germany and United Kingdom pages, which differ sharply on date of birth and photograph.
• Dates. Use the day-month-year order usual in Europe, or write the month in words.
• Your data. A Europass profile is an online account holding personal information. Read the site's own page on managing your personal information before you create one.

Europass and this site

We do not copy the Europass template or host a version of it; the genuine builder is on the official site, and a CV made there is recognised as Europass. Use the link in the source box, and check that the address ends in europa.eu. Our guides can help you decide what to put into it: CV sections for the headings, and length and layout if you export and edit the result.

Other Europass tools

The same site offers a cover letter builder and a self-assessment of digital skills, and carries information on learning and working in Europe. Rules on visas and the right to work or study are set by each country and are not part of Europass.

Questions people ask

Other countries

CV guides

General guidance. This page gives general suggestions, reviewed in November 2026. If an institution, employer or country gives its own form, format or instruction, follow that. Every person, institution and publication in our examples is invented. Nothing here is legal, immigration or professional advice.