No. Under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), a forest or farm certification can feed into the operator’s risk assessment, but only where its information meets the regulation’s own data rules. It never replaces the operator’s due diligence. The Commission’s guidance says plainly that certification is not a “green lane”, and that certified material mixed with material of unknown origin does not comply.
What can a certificate contribute?
It counts as complementary information. The Commission’s guidance lists what to test a scheme against:
1. Does it use the same cut-off date, 31 December 2020? 2. Does it trace each product to its plot by geolocation? 3. Does it keep certified material apart from material of unknown origin? 4. Is its evidence conclusive and verifiable?
Where a scheme passes those tests, its data can help the operator show negligible risk. The operator still collects the full information the regulation asks for and signs the statement itself.
What does certification not do?
It does not shift responsibility, and the regulation obliges no one to use it: not operators, not producers and not producing countries. The guidance treats self-declaration schemes as weaker, because they lack independence and impartiality. Mass balance, where certified and uncertified material are mixed and counted on paper, is not acceptable, according to the Commission’s guidance.
Example: a “70% certified” label
Example. A timber product carries a label saying 70% of its wood is certified. The operator still has to find out whether the other 30% was checked for geolocation and deforestation. The guidance says due diligence must cover the product in its entirety.
Is there any shortcut?
One, for wood only. Timber with a valid FLEGT licence, issued under a partnership agreement between the EU and the producing country, is deemed legal. That covers the legality test only, not the deforestation test.
What is still open?
Industry asked for green lanes for certified products during the Commission’s simplification review of May 2026, and none was adopted. The Commission plans a public repository of certification schemes before the regulation applies in December 2026. The cut-off date answer explains the evidence a scheme has to match.
Where this comes from: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, Articles 9, 10(2) and 10(3) and 11; Commission guidance, OJ C/2026/3896, section 10; Commission simplification review, COM(2026) 191, sections 3.2.3 and 4.4.
More on this: EUDR guide · EUDR compliance
Reviewed by Team GreenSutra on 26 October 2026.