Public consultation on certification statements and minimum audit duration

May 20, 2026

FSC launches a public consultation from 20 May to 3 July 2026 on two draft Advice Notes related to FSC certification body requirements.

The consultation invites stakeholders to review the proposed updates and provide feedback before FSC finalizes the Advice Notes.

What is FSC consulting on?

FSC seeks feedback on the following draft Advice Notes:

ADV-STD-20-001-13 – Certification statement (FSC Regulatory Module)
Clarifies certification statement wording for organizations using the FSC Regulatory Module, including reference to due diligence processes (e.g. information collection, risk assessment, and risk mitigation).
ADV-STD-20-007-28 – Minimum audit duration (Forest Management)
Introduces a minimum audit duration baseline for Forest Management certification audits and clarifies expectations for audit planning, reporting, and justification of audit time.

These targeted updates aim to support clearer certification outputs and more consistent audit practices across certification bodies.

FSC addresses the corresponding Chain of Custody (CoC) update on minimum audit duration through the ongoing CoC revision and its dedicated public consultation, which also opened on 15 May 2026.

Background

These Advice Notes address areas identified through an ongoing FSC scheme review by the German national accreditation body, DAkkS. They reflect FSC’s efforts to ensure conformance of certification body requirements with relevant ISO standards, while supporting a robust certification system.

FSC developed these updates through an accelerated normative process. Such processes would normally include a focused consultation. However, to enable timely implementation and to address the importance of audit duration requirements within the Forest Management certification framework, FSC has extended the consultation period from 30 to 45 days and opened the consultation to a wider public audience.

How to participate

Stakeholders can participate through the FSC Consultation Platform via the consultation link.

Supporting webinars

FSC will host two webinars during the consultation period to present the draft Advice Notes and respond to stakeholder questions. Interpretation is available for Spanish and French.

Please register in advance via Zoom using the registration links below to receive the joining details:

Contact

For questions, please contact: systemdevelopment@fsc.org.