A valuer’s guide to EVS-IA 2026

• Structure 1 of 4 · Part A · Normative

• Structure 2 of 4 · Part B · Guidance

Part A is mandatory: EVS-IA 1 to 5 (Market Value, other bases of value, the qualified intangible asset valuer, the valuation process, and reporting) together with the European Valuers’ Code of Conduct.

Part B is advice, not mandatory. B.1 Valuation Methodology covers identification and classification, evidence and data reliability, and detailed frameworks for the income, market and cost approaches. B.2 is a guidance note on the content of the valuation report.

• Structure 3 of 4 · Part C · Background

• Structure 4 of 4 · Scope

Context and resources

What counts as an intangible asset

Part C explains the EU legal setting: intellectual property and related rights, digital and data regulation, competition law, and financial and corporate reporting. It helps valuers judge how legal constraints affect an intangible asset and its value.

An identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance that can generate economic benefits and be analysed on its own. It is identifiable if separable or arising from contractual or legal rights, in line with IAS 38. Goodwill and early-stage positions are covered where adapted principles apply.

• Core rule 1 of 4 · EVS-IA 1

• Core rule 2 of 4 · EVS-IA 1

The amount an intangible asset should exchange for at the valuation date between a willing buyer and seller at arm’s length, after proper marketing, acting knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion. It uses market-participant licensing and royalty practices and excludes owner-specific synergies.

The use that would maximise the asset’s value for market participants, regardless of current use. It counts only if technically feasible, reasonably probable and legally permissible. Goodwill has no separate use, so the concept applies only to identifiable intangibles.

• Core rule 3 of 4 · EVS-IA 3

• Core rule 4 of 4 · EVS-IA 4

The qualified intangible asset valuer

Value the rights, not a label

A natural person with a business degree or MBA, another degree plus a TER-BV-level postgraduate qualification, or a recognised finance or intangible valuation certificate; at least three years’ intangible valuation experience; a code of conduct; indemnity insurance; CPD; and any required licence.

The subject is a specific intangible asset or a defined bundle of rights, such as ownership, usage or licensing rights. The valuer must consider ownership, exclusivity, licence terms, transfer limits, duration and territory, and adjust for differences in control, scope or use.

■ Structured summary

EVS-IA 2026, part by part

The left column covers the mandatory standards in Part A and the foundations of Part B.1: identification, evidence and approach selection. The right column covers the method frameworks for the income, market and cost approaches, the report guidance note, and the EU legal background.

Standards and foundations

Methods and context

EVS-IA 1 Market Value: definition, market-participant assumptions, highest and best use, assumptions and special assumptions, and exclusion of transaction costs and taxes.

EVS-IA 2 Other bases: equitable, fair, synergistic, investment and liquidation value, collateral realisation and non-going-concern assumptions.

Income approach basics: attribute earnings only to rights actually conferred, assess the business model, and set economic life, growth, margins, taxes and discount rates. Contributory asset charges (CACs) reward supporting assets.

EVS-IA 3 The Qualified Intangible Asset Valuer: qualifications, experience, insurance and CPD; written disclosure of conflicts; joint valuers; and liability.

Relief-from-Royalty: for trade marks, software, content and patents where a market participant would license; evidence-based royalty rates and market-participant effective tax rates.

EVS-IA 4 The Valuation Process: written terms, purposes (including licensing, transfer pricing and royalty setting), business and market analysis, modelling, the rights being valued, uncertainty, discount rates and records.

Multi-Period Excess Earnings (MPEEM): for customer relationships, platforms and data-driven models; isolate the cash flows and deduct CACs, with reasonableness tests.

EVS-IA 5 Reporting the Valuation: an objective written report valid at the valuation date only, special issues, a signed compliance statement, and valuation review.

Incremental Cash Flow and With-and-Without: compare scenarios with and without the asset; suited to cost savings, approvals, exclusivities, licences and damages work.

Scenario and real-options analysis as supporting tools.

Code of Conduct, then B.1 I Identification: legally grounded rights, accounting intangibles, intangible economic positions, composite assets, goodwill and useful life.

Market approach: comparable transactions, royalty benchmarking, comparable uncontrolled transactions (CUT) and market multiples, with caution on headline rates and bundled deals.

B.1 II Evidence: a four-tier hierarchy and reliability tests, with EU-specific factors.

B.1 III Approaches: suitability, internal consistency, triangulation, reasonableness tests and qualitative assessment.

Cost approach: reproduction cost for an exact recreation, replacement cost for the same utility by a modern route; include obsolescence and cross-check against income results.

B.2 Content of the Valuation Report, and C.1 EU legislation: IP rights, digital and data rules, competition law, and financial reporting.

• Bases of value 1 of 4 · EVS-IA 2

• Bases of value 2 of 4 · EVS-IA 2

Equitable value reflects identified parties and their interests. Fair value follows IFRS 13 for financial reporting. Synergistic and investment value are also defined. The basis follows the purpose, legal context and users; the asset’s features drive only the method.

The net amount recoverable from disposing of a specific intangible under an orderly (OLV) or forced (FLV) liquidation, after all directly attributable costs. The valuer considers the national insolvency and enforcement framework, relying on legal advice where needed.

• Bases of value 3 of 4 · EVS-IA 2

• Bases of value 4 of 4 · EVS-IA 2

Intangibles as collateral

Non-going-concern assumptions

For lending, the valuer tests transferability and enforceability under third-party control, recoverable benefits only, market depth, enforcement risk and realisation time. Market Value is then only a reference; the basis should fit enforcement, such as liquidation or disposal value.

Where continued operation or use is not expected, the valuer adopts liquidation, replacement or recovery scenarios. In that case goodwill has no economic value, and only identifiable intangible assets with separable commercial utility may be valued.

■ Two checklists

Two checklists every EVS-IA assignment needs

EVS-IA 4 lists the minimum terms of engagement, which must be agreed in writing; without them the valuation does not comply. EVS-IA 5 sets what the report must deliver, and the B.2 guidance note suggests fuller content.

Engagement (EVS-IA 4)

Report (EVS-IA 5)

1. Parties: the client, any other user of the report, and the valuer’s identity and status, with a conflict-of-interest statement and any previous involvement.

1. Form: in writing, reliable and comprehensible, objective and impartial, and neither ambiguous nor misleading.

2. Subject and purpose: the purpose of the valuation and the precise identification of the intangible asset and the nature and extent of the rights being valued.

2. Instructions: the instructions, the basis and purpose of the valuation, and every matter agreed in the terms of engagement.

3. Basis and date: the basis or bases of value and a specific valuation date.

3. Analysis: the analytical processes, methodology and results, including environmental findings, data sources and documented financial adjustments.

4. Assumptions and investigation: assumptions and special assumptions, the scope of investigations, reliance on client information, and reliance on other professionals.

4. Opinion: a clear and unequivocal opinion of value at the valuation date, valid at that date only; a reasoned range only where agreed.

5. Use and liability: restrictions on publication and the extent of any duty of care.

5. Conflicts: if instructed despite a potential conflict, the conflict, its notification to the client, and the safeguards used.

6. Compliance and fee: compliance with EVS-IA and the fee. Expand these minimums to reflect law, custom and professional requirements.

6. Special issues and risks: matters that could affect value, such as pending litigation or expiring licences needed to use or exploit the asset, and material uncertainty.

7. Compliance: a statement that the signing valuer is responsible to the client and has conformed to EVS-IA, with the extent of and reasons for any departure or omitted step.

• Practice point 1 of 4 · Identification

• Practice point 2 of 4 · Evidence

Identification is a valuation judgement, not a legal or accounting label. Legal rights start from the instrument that grants them. Data, AI models, platforms and know-how are economic positions, reflected through cash flows rather than valued alone. Assembled workforce falls into goodwill.

Rank evidence in four tiers: direct market data such as arm’s-length licences, then secondary indicators such as royalty studies, then model-derived evidence, and last, hypothetical assumptions. Downgrade or exclude evidence shaped by strategy, distress, bundling or partial disclosure.

• Practice point 3 of 4 · Useful life

• Practice point 4 of 4 · Uncertainty and rates

Economic life, not legal life

Uncertainty and discount rates

Useful life is an economic judgement that may be shorter than legal protection, especially for technology. Consider expiry and renewal, technological change, competition, dependence on other assets, regulation and brand erosion. An indefinite life needs evidence of lasting utility.

Assess uncertainty from evidence quality, model dependence and market conditions; where material, report a reasoned range, scenarios or a material-uncertainty statement. Disclose how discount rates are built and adapt them to asset-specific risk, not just business-level inputs.

✱ Keep learning

Read the official text, then go deeper

This guide is Valuvix’s independent summary of European Intangible Asset Valuation Standards 2026; we are not affiliated with or endorsed by TEGOVA. The official text is published by TEGOVA and always prevails. Use this page to orient yourself, then rely on the standard itself, and see our EVS-BV 2026 guide for business valuation and our IVS 2025 guide for the international benchmark.