The cut-off date is 31 December 2020. Under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), a commodity counts as deforestation-free only if the land it grew on has not been converted from forest since that date. Wood must also have been harvested without degrading the forest since then. Proof works plot by plot, using coordinates, land-use evidence and records that can be checked.
What counts as forest, and as deforestation?
Forest means land of more than 0.5 hectares with trees taller than 5 metres and canopy cover of more than 10%, or trees able to reach those levels where they stand. Land mainly in farm or urban use is not forest. Deforestation means turning forest into farmland, and the size of the conversion does not matter. Agricultural plantations, including crops grown under tree cover in agroforestry, are farmland under the regulation, not forest.
How is it proved?
The operator starts from the geolocation of every plot and the production date. It then holds evidence that is “adequately conclusive and verifiable” that no plot was deforested after the cut-off. In practice that means maps or satellite images of land use on and after 31 December 2020. The Commission’s guidance says its own forest map is optional and carries no legal value, so any suitable maps or data may be used. Land registers and cadastral maps can back up the imagery. Checking authorities may use satellite data too, such as the EU’s Copernicus programme.
Example: two coffee plots
Example. A grower has two coffee plots. Plot A was cleared of forest in 2019, before the cut-off, so on this test its coffee can comply. Plot B was cleared in 2021. Everything from Plot B is barred, whatever the size of the clearing.
Which dates should not be confused?
| Date | What it means |
|---|---|
| 31 December 2020 | Deforestation cut-off |
| 29 June 2023 | The regulation entered into force; products produced before it are outside its scope, with a later exception for older timber |
| 30 December 2026 | Obligations start; see whether EUDR has been delayed |
The cut-off itself has not moved since 2023. The general review due by 30 June 2030 will consider whether to change it and whether to add other wooded land.
Where this comes from: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, Articles 1(2), 2(3) to 2(6), 2(13), 9(1) and 34; Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, Article 1; Commission guidance, OJ C/2026/3896, section 11.
More on this: EUDR guide · EUDR compliance
Reviewed by Team GreenSutra on 26 October 2026.