Consultation open: Revision of FSC’s Chain of Custody standards

The public consultation is open from 15 November 2025 to 25 January 2026. We invite all interested stakeholders to share their views on the draft revisions of FSC’s Chain of Custody (CoC) standards. Your feedback is essential to ensure the standards remain effective, clear, and relevant.

 Provide Feedback on the Revised Standards

We have now developed two draft revised Standards (FSC-STD-40-004 V4-0 Chain of custody certification and FSC-STD-20-011 V4-4 Specific requirements for certification bodies - Chain of Custody).

We encourage you to visit the consultation platform, download and review the draft standards and associated materials, and provide your feedback on all the areas that interest you. Key topics we seek your feedback on:

On chain of custody certification (FSC-STD-40-004):

• FSC Claims
• Group and multisite certification requirements;
• Reclaimed material;
• Leasing and take-back;
• False claims;
• Core Labour Requirements; and
• Outsourcing.  

On chain of custody evaluation requirements (FSC-STD-20-011):

• Evaluation of contractors;
• New methodology for evaluation of Core Labour Requirements; and
• Remote audit

To participate in the consultation in English or Spanish, see here. For French, see here. Review the handout on how to participate in the consultation and tips on providing feedback to maximize your participation impact.

Get Involved: Webinars to Help You Learn More

Stakeholders can learn more about the draft revisions and how to get involved in the consultation process by participating in our webinars.

The first webinar occurred on Tuesday, 18 November 2025. A recording of the webinar will be uploaded to the FSC Chain of Custody revision page shortly.

The second webinar will take place on Wednesday, 3 December 2025, 16:00 – 17:30 CET with simultaneous translation into Spanish and French. Please register here.

What’s Happening in the Revision Process?

FSC is revising its Chain of Custody (CoC) standards to

• make them clearer, more practical, and better aligned with current needs;
• update certain requirements to reflect technological advances in addressing integrity issues; and
• improve consistency in how different types of certification bodies handle CoC certification.

We’ve now developed two draft revised standards:

• FSC-STD-40-004 V4-0: Chain of Custody Certification
• FSC-STD-20-011 V4-4: Specific requirements for Certification Bodies – Chain of Custody

These drafts reflect feedback collected from the conceptual phase consultation and inputs received from all stakeholders during other engagements. To improve the drafts, we would like to hear from you to ensure these revisions address the needs of all stakeholders.

For more information on the purpose of the revision and the history of this process, please visit the process page and the revision page.