Accreditation requirements for the Verified Carbon Standard

Scheme requirements for the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program are in accordance with the VCS Rules and is defined by VCS document Program Definitions.

This includes: 

• VCS Program Guide
• VCS Standard
• Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) Requirements
• Jurisdictional and Nested REDD (JNR) Requirements
• Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) Requirements

For information on the VCS Program and the VCS Rules, please refer to the most recent versions of the VCS program documents available on the VCS program website.

Accreditation requirements for all verification and validation bodies

• ISO/IEC 17029:2019 Conformity assessment — General principles and requirements for validation and verification bodies
• ISO 14065:2020 General principles and requirements for bodies validating and verifying environmental information
• ISO 14066:2023 Environmental information — Competence requirements for teams validating and verifying environmental information
• IAF MD 4:2023 IAF Mandatory Document For The Use Of Information And Communication Technology (ICT) For Auditing/Assessment  Purposes
• IAF MD 6:2023 IAF Mandatory Document for the Application of ISO 14065:2020

Scheme owner / regulator (scheme)

• Verra (Verified Carbon Standard, VCS)

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VCS Rules and Requirements