4. Verification - Ongoing check of carbon sequestered
When do I verify and how long does it take?
How much does verification cost?
What is verification?
Verification is the ongoing evaluation of the project against the requirements of the Woodland Carbon Code by a body accredited by the UK Accreditation Service. Verification will assess the carbon sequestration that has actually occurred as well as continuing management to the UK Forestry Standard. At verification, the verification body will check that statements about predicted or actual carbon sequestration are materially correct:
- At year 5, with a limited level of assurance
- From year 15 onwards, with a reasonable level of assurance for standard projects and a limited level of assurance for small projects.
When do I verify and how long does it take?
The verification due-date is indicated on your most recent validation or verification statement. The first verification shall be completed five years after the project start date and then at least every 10 years, unless self-assessment is carried out instead. The verification dates are linked to the vintage end dates on the Pending Issuance Units listed at validation.
You should begin the process 18 months before the verification is due. After surveying and submitting your documents, allow 12 months from when you sign a contract with the verifier to converting your carbon units on the UK Land Carbon Registry.
Verifiers are very busy at present. Top tips for a smooth verification:
- Give the verifier as much notice as possible
- Make sure your documents are well completed and accurate
- Make sure you submit all the necessary supporting evidence from your field survey (and other documents to support any changes to your project)
- Respond as quickly as possible to requests for further information, clarification or corrective actions
A verification extension can be given in extenuating circumstances - Contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Verifying groups of projects
Ideally, groups will be formed prior to validation, but it is also possible to form a group for the purposes of verification.
- If a group is formed for verification, the start dates of the projects within the group should be within two years of each other (this also means that their verifications will be due within two years of each other).
- A group requires a Group Manager and Group Agreement (See 2.1 Commitment of landowners and project/ group managers).
- Once projects are grouped, the grouping should remain the same for each subsequent verification.
Who can verify my project?
Organic Farmers and Growers and Soil Association are accredited by the UK Accreditation Service to verify Woodland Carbon Code projects. Soil Association can also provide a quote to undertake both the required site monitoring and the verification check of the site.
| Organic Farmers and Growers | Soil Association |
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Katherine Degg This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
Anne Mari Cobb This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
| T: 01939 291 800 | T: 01179 142 435 |
How much does verification cost?
Third-party verifiers set their fees independently. We recommend getting quotes from both verifiers. As of June 2024, the cost of third-party verification is currently £1,200 to £3,500 plus VAT per project, plus extra for travel and subsistence where a site visit is required.
The cost of verification of a group will be higher, but the cost for each project within the group will be less. For example, the cost per project could be £300 to £1,750 plus VAT depending on the size of the group, plus travel and subsistence where sites are visited.
When your project is verified, Pending Issuance Units are converted to Woodland Carbon Units. There is a minimum fee of £100, plus 5 pence per unit if you convert more than 2,000 units. Go to registry fees.
If you have employed a project developer, they may also charge you for their time to survey your woodland, complete your verification documents and work with the verifier on your behalf. Discuss this with your project developer.
What's the process?
Stage 1. Preparing and submitting documents
Contact a verification body to initiate the verification process ideally 18 months before the verification due date. Start monitoring at this time also (if weather allows).
Ask the verification body to check your survey plan prior to commencing monitoring. See How to Monitor your Project.
Prepare the following documents referring to further guidance on the Woodland Carbon Code.
- From 1 October 2022, you must submit Version 2.2 Project Progress Report to be validated under Version 2.2 of the standard.
You will then agree and sign a contract with Soil Association or Organic Farmers & Growers and, as a minimum, the following documents are required (see Template Documents) - other supporting evidence may also be necessary (see Project Design Document for further details):
- Project Progress Report.
- Full Monitoring Report for each stratum identified in the project (or a Basic Monitoring Report for small projects).
- Photos of the site as a whole and taken at each plot location.
- Map showing plot locations.
- Landowner, Tenant and Agent Contact Details (if any parties have changed since last assessment).
- Landowner/Tenant commitment statement (if any parties have changed).
All signed documents (the commitment statement, group agreement and communications agreement) should be in pdf format and should be a single, coherent, legible, unaltered and complete document.
Where the signee is not the sole owner or is the legal signatory for a trust, company, charity or partnership, they should also confirm their authority to sign the documents.
Stage 2. Project audit
The verifier will audit your project/group against the requirements of the Woodland Carbon Code. The verifier will always visit the site at the year five verification for single projects, but will do so on a risk-based approach for subsequent verifications. Only a sample of projects within a group would be visited by the verifier. Monitoring carried out by an independent third party could be less likely to require a field visit.
You may be asked for further evidence or to address some ‘corrective actions’. The verifier will set out timeframes within which corrective actions should be submitted. This will usually be 30 days.
In some instances, where corrective actions are not quickly resolved, then the project can be verified ‘subject to corrective actions being completed’, provided a Remedial Plan is provided. If corrective actions are not resolved and there is no Remedial Plan, then your project will either be verified with Red status or not verified at all, depending on the severity of concern about the project's success.
If your project is established through natural colonisation/regeneration, we do not expect the same level of successful establishment in the early years.
- If the project demonstrates a stocking density of at least 400 stems per hectare at year 5, with no concerns about browsing levels, the next verification will be at year 15 as normal.
- If there are concerns about the rate of colonisation/regeneration, browsing levels or other health issues of the seedlings at year five then the verifier may require either:
- Further action to promote establishment such as enhanced deer management, direct seeding or enrichment planting, and/or
- An extra verification at year 10 to confirm continued progress
- The natural colonisation/regeneration site should have achieved the target stocking density within the claimable area by year 15, with acceptable grazing/browsing levels.
- If natural colonisation/regeneration is proving more successful than originally stated, any extra sequestration could be claimed from this point.
- If the project is still not sequestering as fast as predicted, then the carbon prediction for future vintages would also be reviewed at this stage.
Stage 3. Project review
Your project documentation will be reviewed by a second verifier-reviewer,and checked by the Woodland Carbon Code Secretariat for consistency/completeness.
If the verification is successful, the verifier will issue a Verification Statement. It will be valid for 10 years (except in exceptional circumstances). The Verification Statement will have a green-amber-red rating.
- Green: This project delivered all carbon units within the current vintage and there are no concerns about the ability of the project to deliver units in future vintages.
- Amber: This project delivered all carbon units within the current vintage, but is verified subject to ongoing corrective actions being completed. Assuming the Remedial Plan to complete these actions is followed, there are no concerns about the ability of the project to deliver units in future vintages.
- Red: This project failed to deliver all carbon units within the current vintage and/or there are concerns about this project’s ability to deliver sufficient units in future vintages.
If your project is classified as 'green' status from year 15 onwards:
- If your project has sequestered more than predicted, any extra units realised will be issued as verified Woodland Carbon Units.
If your project is classified as 'red' status at year 5:
- All Pending Issuance Units from the first vintage will be marked 'Not Delivered'
- The verifier will require your next verification at year 10 rather than year 15
- You will be required to re-assess your carbon prediction and update the Carbon Calculator at year 10 or 15, once the level of establishment is clearer. Any reduction in predicted sequestration will result in Pending Issuance Units from future vintages will be marked 'Not Delivered'.
If your project is classified as 'red' status from year 15 onwards:
- If your survey results confirm less carbon is stored onsite than predicted, then any undelivered Pending Issuance Units will be marked 'Not Delivered'.
- Your next verification will normally be due in 10 years
- You will be required to re-assess your carbon prediction and update the Carbon Calculator. Any reduction in predicted sequestration will result in Pending Issuance Units from future vintages marked 'Not Delivered'.
If there is little or no chance of recovery of the project to deliver carbon in future vintages, the project will not be verified.
Stage 4. Updating the registry and converting Pending Issuance Units to Woodland Carbon Units
In order to update your project and carbon unit status on the UK Land Carbon Registry (see also How to request conversion of Pending Issuance Units to Woodland Carbon Units on registry (pdf), you should:
- Login to the registry to create an 'issuance' of the relevant number of Woodland Carbon Units for the vintage/time period being checked.
- Your verification body will then upload your final documents and Verification Statement to the UK Land Carbon Registry.
- S&P Global will invoice you a verification fee including converting your Pending Issuance Units into verified Woodland Carbon Units and issuing any extra Woodland Carbon Units. On payment, the units will convert in the account in which they are currently held. Go to fees.
- Any Pending Issuance Units not delivered will be marked 'Not Delivered'. If the project has sequestered more than the number of Pending Issuance Units issued, the project developer will receive extra verified Woodland Carbon Units. See Registry rules of use.
Next: Find out how to sell your carbon units
