Verified Carbon Standard Version 5

The VCS Version 5: Overview of VCS Program Updates and Effective Dates (PDF) document provides a list of all VCS Version 5 updates and their effective dates. This should be the first document that stakeholders refer to when they have questions about program updates.

In this document, updates are given a unique ID number to enable easy cross-reference. They are grouped in three categories: updates affecting project design, updates related to procedures, and updates related to methodology development. Stakeholders should note the following:

• Some updates apply to all projects, and some updates apply only to certain projects
• Effective dates are typically based on date of submission of a project request (e.g., listing request, registration request, verification approval request)

Most VCS Version 5 requirements become effective from 1 January 2027. If your project start date occurs before 1 January 2027, certain VCS Version 5 requirements do not yet apply until the next crediting period renewal or verification approval that includes a baseline reassessment submitted after 1 January 2030 (i.e., updates related to demonstrating the right to reductions and removals and the right to operate [V5#14], updates related to stakeholder engagement [V5#16, V5#58], and updates related to social and environmental safeguards [V5#17, V5#23]).

If you’re developing a new project under the VCS Program, whether to use the VCS Standard, v4.7 or the VCS Standard, v5.0 depends on the timing of your initial registration request. Most VCS Version 5 updates take effect from the date of initial registration request, and more information is available in the VCS Version 5: Overview of Program Updates and Effective Dates (PDF) document for VCS Version 5.

Since the registration request can only be submitted after validation is completed, the key factor is how long you expect validation to take. If you anticipate the validation process extending beyond 1 January 2027 or you expect that your registration request will be submitted after 1 January 2027, it’s best to plan ahead and develop your project under VCS Version 5.

Verra has released two versions of each template: 5.0A and 5.0B. Project proponents and validation/verification bodies (VVBs) must use the version that aligns with the effective dates of VCS Version 5 updates that apply to their projects.

Version 5.0A templates must be used by projects with a project start date that occurs prior to 1 January 2027. These templates enable projects to continue reporting on certain requirements set out in the VCS Standard, v4.7 because the updated requirements in the VCS Standard, v5.0 do not yet apply to these projects. These requirements include the updates numbered in the VCS Version 5: Overview of VCS Program Updates and Effective Dates (PDF) document as follows:

• V5#14 (right to operate and right to reductions and removals)
• V5#16 (stakeholder engagement requirements)
• V5#17 (safeguard requirements)
• V5#23 (ecosystem conversion safeguards)
• V5#58 (financial transparency for benefit sharing)

Projects with a project start date that occurs prior to 1 January 2027 must eventually transition to the version 5.0B templates at their next crediting period renewal request or verification approval request that includes a baseline reassessment submitted on or after 1 January 2030.

Version 5.0B templates must be used by projects with a project start date that occurs on or after 1 January 2027. These templates enable projects to report on all requirements set out in the VCS Standard, v5.0. See the VCS Version 5: Overview of VCS Program Updates and Effective Dates (PDF) document for more details.

The updated templates must be used for all project requests submitted to Verra after 1 January 2027. This includes projects with audits that are already underway. If project proponents anticipate that their initial registration request, verification approval request, or crediting period renewal request will be submitted after 1 January 2027, both project proponents and VVBs must transition to the use of the new templates.

Verra is currently developing the joint project templates for use under VCS Program Version 5 and CCBS Version 3 and aims to make them available in early November. When available, the joint templates will have an effective date of 1 May 2027, from which date all joint VCS and CCB project submissions must be submitted using the updated joint templates. The table below sets out the templates to be used based on the date of the project request submission. Note that the guidance below also applies to the corresponding validation/verification report templates.

For project requests submitted prior to 1 January 2027

For project requests submitted between 1 January 2027 and 1 May 2027

For project requests submitted after 1 May 2027

Yes, voluntary adoption of the updated VCS Version 5 templates before the 1 January 2027 effective date is possible and encouraged. Projects may choose to be validated or verified against VCS Version 5 before their effective dates in the following cases:

• They follow all updated VCS Version 5 requirements, noting that they can still apply effective date exemptions related to project start date and listing deadlines.
• The project uses an applicable VCS Version 5 project description or monitoring report template.
• The VVB assesses the project against VCS Version 5 requirements and uses and applicable VCS Version 5 validation or verification report template.

Similarly, projects may adopt the version v5.0B templates early if the project start date is prior to 1 January 2027, where all relevant requirements set out in the VCS Standard, v5.0 are applied.

In general, we do not approve exemptions related to program update effective dates. Please see the latest version of the Exemption Request Procedure, available on the VCS Rules and Requirements page.

The requirement to list a project on the Verra Registry project pipeline within one year of the initial crediting period start date is only effective for pipeline listing requests received after 1 January 2027 (see section 3.8.2 of the VCS Standard, v5.0, available on the VCS Rules and Requirements page). This means that if a project is listed before 1 January 2027 (as either under development or under validation), then the updated listing deadline does not apply.

The updated safeguard and stakeholder engagement updates are V5#14 (right to operate and right to reductions and removals), V5#16 (stakeholder engagement requirements), V5#17 (safeguards requirements), V5#23 (ecosystem conversion safeguards), and V5#58 (financial transparency for benefit sharing). These apply only to projects with a start date after 1 January 2027. All projects must transition to VCS Version 5 safeguard requirements after 1 January 2030.

These can be found in the VCS Standard, v5.0. In general, any new projects registering after 1 January 2027 must apply these new crediting period lengths and baseline reassessment intervals. Projects that are registered before this date have more time to transition. See VCS Version 5: Overview of VCS Program Updates and Effective Dates (PDF), update ID V5#101, for more information.

New grouped project requirements include changes to the application of capacity limits, limiting an eligibility area to not span more than one country, requiring the Grouped Project Batch Report when adding new instances, and only permitting instances to be added in the monitoring period they were implemented in. To view these requirements, see Section 3.5 of the VCS Standard, v5.0. For information on how these new requirements apply to registered projects, please see update V5#78 of the VCS Version 5: Overview of VCS Program Updates and Effective Dates (PDF).