PEFC extends certification deadline for 2013 Chain of Custody standard to Dec. 31, urges companies to transition to 2020 standard; 2013 versions will automatically expire on Jan. 1, 2024

November 14, 2023 (press release) –

Important update for companies still certified against the 2013 version of the PEFC Chain of Custody standard. After 31 December 2023, certificates issued against the 2013 version of PEFC ST 2002 and PEFC ST 2001 will no longer be valid.

This is an extension from the previously announced date of 14 November 2023, to enable all certification bodies to complete the issue of 2020 certificates to their certified companies.

There will be no further extensions and therefore, from 1 January 2024 any remaining 2013 certificates will automatically lose their validity and will be shown as expired on the PEFC database.  

Transitioning to the 2020 standards

To be certified against the 2020 versions of the PEFC Chain of Custody and PEFC Trademarks standards, companies need to adapt their chain of custody management system and procedures to the revised requirements.

To use the PEFC label, all companies who pass the transition audit to the 2020 version will need to sign a new, mandatory PEFC trademark usage contract, in accordance with the PEFC Trademarks standard.

Once your trademarks usage contract is signed, you can request access to the PEFC Label Generator, to start producing PEFC trademarks in line with the 2020 PEFC Trademarks standard and request for any exceptional use as mentioned under PEFC ST 2001:2020 8.4.

Chain of custody certified companies

If you are a company still certified against the 2013 standard, please contact your certification body urgently to complete your transition to the 2020 standard. You must obtain your 2020 certificate and sign the new trademark contract before the end of 2023.

If you have received preconditions as part of a transition audit, these will need to be closed out before 31 December 2023, otherwise there will be a gap in certification.

Certification bodies

If you have client organisations still certified to the 2013 standard, please ensure that you complete all technical review and issue the new 2020 certificates before 31 December 2023.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: technical@pefc.org 

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.