The growth of the voluntary carbon market has fueled demand for new validation/verification bodies (VVBs). New VVBs may be located anywhere in the world and have two main pathways to receive VCS authorization:

• Approval under a VCS-approved GHG program such as the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a Designated Operational Entity (DOE)
• Accreditation by an International Accreditation Forum (IAF) member body such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) for ISO 14065 scope VCS

Once accreditation is achieved via one of the above pathways, organizations are then invited to complete and submit VVB Application Form found on our Program Document page.

International Accreditation Forum (IAF) member bodies are encouraged to develop accreditation programs for ISO 14065 scope VCS. Interested IAF bodies should contact VCS directly.

Suspension or Loss of Accreditation

A VVB becomes inactive when its accreditation is terminated or suspended by the body under which it is accredited, or if the VCS suspends or terminates its agreement with the VVB. An inactive or suspended VVB cannot issue VCS validation or verification reports until the VCS reinstates its eligibility.