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Chain of Custody

Chain of Custody (CoC) certification provides a guarantee to consumers that any product with the FSC label can be tracked back to an FSC approved source. 

CoC certification is applicable to companies or individuals involved in all successive stages of processing, transformation, trading, manufacturing and distribution of products carrying the FSC label. Companies with multiple operating facilities, can apply for multi-site certification.

• Fact Sheet on Chain of Custody Certification (.pdf)
• New Chain of Custody Standard (FSC-STD-40-004 version 2)
• Who needs Chain of Custody Certification
• Documents

New FSC Chain of Custody Standard approved by FSC Board back to top

In November 2007, the FSC International Board of Directors have approved a “FSC Standard for Chain of Custody Certification” (FSC-STD-40-004 V2), which specifies the management and production requirements for Chain of Custody control with respect to sourcing, labeling (where applicable) and sale of products as FSC-certified, thereby providing a range of options for making FSC claims. The standard will replace the current FSC normative documents for Chain of Custody certification and becomes effective for all new certifications from 2008 onwards, and for existing certificate holders from 2009 onwards. 

To read more about the new standard CLICK HERE.

Who needs Chain of Custody certification? back to top

NOTE on Print Broker Certification

• A print broker MUST be FSC-certified if they purchase FSC-certified paper from the merchant directly and having it delivered to a printer and want the FSC label to be applied. 
  The broker is taking ownership of the FSC product and therefore considered within the 'chain of custody'.  In this situation it is the broker that places the FSC label (and their certification code) on the document.This also means that the broker can choose to work with any printer, certified or not, since they are verifying the paper's authenticity and labeling it.
  
• A print broker DOES NOT need to be FSC-certified if their printer is FSC-certified and purchases the paper from the merchant directly.
  The broker in this case is not taking ownership of the FSC product and therefore not within the 'chain of custody'. In this situation it is the printer that places the FSC label (and their certification code) on the document.

Documents back to top

back to top