FSC CoC (FSC Chain of Custody) is the certification confirming that a business controls FSC material from purchase to sale, so its products can be sold with FSC claims that buyers can trust. It is issued by an independent, accredited certification body against the standard FSC-STD-40-004 V3-1.
This guide explains FSC CoC in plain terms: how the chain works, when a business needs certification, the FSC claim types and the most common terms.
1. What Is FSC CoC?
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is an international organisation that sets standards for responsible forest management.
Chain of Custody (CoC) is the sequence of businesses that material passes through from the forest to the final product: harvesters, sawmills, paper mills, packaging plants, furniture makers, traders and so on.
For a product to be sold with an FSC claim, FSC requires an unbroken chain of certified businesses covering every change in legal ownership of the product. If any business in the chain owns the goods without being certified, the FSC claim is broken and businesses further down cannot sell the product as FSC.
2. FSC CoC vs FSC FM
| FSC FM (Forest Management) | FSC CoC (Chain of Custody) | |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | Forest owners and managers | Businesses that process, manufacture or trade forest products |
| Confirms | The forest is managed to FSC principles and criteria | FSC material is controlled correctly as it passes through the business |
| Examples | Forest enterprises, smallholders in an FM group | Sawmills, paper mills, packaging plants, furniture factories, traders |
FSC's forest management principles are covered in the 10 principles of the FSC standard.
3. When Does a Business Need FSC CoC Certification?
According to FSC, a business needs CoC certification when it takes legal ownership of FSC products and does at least one of the following:
Sells products with FSC claims on sales documents (invoices, delivery notes).
Applies FSC labels to products.
Manufactures or changes the composition or physical form of products sold with FSC claims (e.g. printing, cutting, assembling, repacking).
Promotes products as FSC certified (except as permitted below).
When CoC certification is usually not needed:
Businesses that do not take legal ownership of the goods, such as agents and brokers who only connect buyers and sellers.
Retailers and end users that buy and resell finished, FSC-labelled products without changing them. To promote these products with FSC trademarks, they can use a promotional licence instead of CoC certification.
Check specific cases with a certification body, as every supply chain operates differently.
Example: A trading company buys FSC paper and resells it to a printer, with "FSC Mix 70%" on the invoice → the trader needs CoC, because it owns the goods and makes an FSC claim on its documents. If the company only brokers the deal, with goods shipped directly from mill to printer and no purchase or sale in its name → it usually does not.
The process, documents and costs of certification are covered in FSC CoC certification: process and costs.
