Europass CV
The EU-standard CV, as a Word file you can actually edit — including the CEFR language grid. The official site stopped offering a download in 2020.
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Used for
EU and EEA applications, EURES, EPSO, and employers across Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands
Europass is the European Union's own CV standard. It exists so that a qualification earned in one member state is legible to an employer in another, and it is the expected format for EURES listings, EPSO applications to the EU institutions, and a great many public-sector and academic roles across the bloc.
There is a practical problem with it, and it is the reason this page exists. Until the 2020 relaunch, the European Commission published a downloadable Word template. It no longer does — Europass is now an online editor built on a profile you create and log into, and there is no official file to take away. Every "official Europass Word template" you will find today is a third-party recreation. This one is too, and says so.
The format's distinguishing feature is the CEFR language grid: listening, reading, spoken interaction, spoken production and writing, each rated A1 to C2 separately. It is more granular than the single "fluent" line most CVs carry, and for multilingual applications in Europe it is genuinely the thing being assessed.
One honest caveat. The default Europass output is verbose and, in its online form, laid out in a way that parses poorly. Where an employer asks for Europass, use it. Where they do not, a plain single-column CV usually serves you better — this template keeps the Europass structure but drops the layout choices that cause parsing failures.
What makes this format different
Personal information
Name, address, phone, email, and optionally nationality and date of birth. Europass has historically prompted for more personal data than is wise elsewhere — nationality and date of birth are genuinely expected in parts of the EU and genuinely inadvisable for UK, Irish and North American applications. Include them only where the destination expects them.
About me
Three or four lines. Unlike a US summary, this is descriptive rather than promotional — European public-sector readers in particular treat overt self-marketing as a negative signal. State what you do, at what level, and in which domain.
Work experience
Reverse chronological with month and year. Europass expects the employer's name, town and country, and the sector — more institutional context than an Anglo-American CV carries, because the reader may not recognise the organisation.
Education and training
Qualification, awarding institution, dates, and where possible the EQF level. The European Qualifications Framework level is the mechanism that makes a degree comparable across borders, and it is the single most useful field on the form for a cross-border application.
Language skills — the CEFR grid
The distinctive section. Mother tongue first, then each other language rated separately for listening, reading, spoken interaction, spoken production and writing, on the A1–C2 scale. Rate yourself honestly: these are frequently tested at interview for EU institutional roles, and an inflated C1 is found out quickly.
Digital skills, driving licence and additional sections
Digital competences follow their own EU framework and can be listed plainly. A driving licence category is expected in much of continental Europe and omitted almost everywhere else. Publications, projects, conferences and volunteering go at the end, and only if relevant.
Mistakes specific to this format
- Rating every language C2. The CEFR grid exists precisely to stop the vague self-assessment that "fluent" allows, and interviewers for EU roles test it.
- Using Europass where the employer did not ask for it. Outside EURES, EPSO and the public sector, a plain single-column CV is usually the stronger document.
- Carrying nationality, date of birth and a photo into applications outside continental Europe. What is routine in Italy or Spain is a discrimination risk in the UK, Ireland and North America.
- Filling every prompted field because the form offers it. Europass will happily let you produce five pages. Two is the working maximum.
- Leaving the EQF level blank on a cross-border application. It is the field that makes your qualification comparable, and it is the reason the format exists.
- Assuming the online editor's output is ATS-safe. Its default layout is one of the reasons this Word version exists.
Download the template
A blank Word document with the structure, headings and spacing already set, and an italic prompt under each section explaining what belongs there. Delete the prompts before you send it.
- Single column with standard headings — no tables, text boxes or graphics
- Verified to parse cleanly through the same library CVEdge uses to read uploads
- Editable in Word, Google Docs or Pages
- No account, no card, no watermark
A recreation of the European Union's Europass CV structure. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or issued by the European Commission. The official Europass service is at europa.eu/europass.
Questions about the Europass CV
Where is the official Europass Word template?+
There is not one any more. The European Commission withdrew the downloadable template in the 2020 relaunch; Europass today is an online editor built on a profile you create at europa.eu/europass, and the output is generated rather than downloaded as a source file. Every "official Europass template in Word" circulating online is a third-party recreation of the format. This page's file is one as well, and is not affiliated with the European Commission.
Is a Europass CV ATS-friendly?+
The format's structure is fine; its usual presentation is not. The online editor's default output uses layout constructs that parse unreliably, which is a real problem given how many EU employers run the same applicant tracking systems as everyone else. The version here keeps the Europass sections and the CEFR grid but renders them as a single column of plain text with standard headings, so the content survives the parse.
Do I have to use Europass to apply for jobs in Europe?+
No, and it is often the wrong choice. It is expected for EURES listings, EPSO applications to the EU institutions, many public-sector roles, and some academic and research posts. For private-sector applications in Germany, France or the Netherlands, the national convention or a plain single-column CV typically reads better — a Europass CV sent to a Berlin startup can look like the applicant did not know what else to send.
What are CEFR levels and how should I rate myself?+
The Common European Framework of Reference grades language ability from A1 (beginner) to C2 (near-native), and Europass asks you to rate five skills separately rather than giving one overall level. A rough guide: B1 is managing everyday situations, B2 is working comfortably in the language, C1 is operating professionally including in meetings and writing, C2 is effectively native. Most people are stronger at reading than at spoken production, and the grid is designed to show exactly that.
Should I include a photo on a Europass CV?+
It depends entirely on the destination country. Normal in Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and much of central Europe; inadvisable in the UK and Ireland, where employers frequently discard applications carrying photos to avoid discrimination claims. Europass makes the photo optional, which is the correct default — add it only when applying somewhere it is expected.