Technical Updates


Thursday, 13 January 2022
New Trademark License Agreement Coming Soon


FSC individual certificate holders applying for new or renewed certification will need to sign a new Trademark License Agreement (TLA, version 6) starting January 20, 2022.

The TLA is a legal document that governs the relationship between FSC and the certificate holder, granting the right to use the FSC trademarks for both on-product labelling and promotional use. The specific rules governing the use of the FSC trademarks by certificate holders are set out in FSC-STD-50-001. FSC regularly revises the TLA to comply with the latest legal requirements and to ensure that the integrity and credibility of the FSC certification scheme is upheld and protected.

Currently only applicable to businesses applying for – or renewing – an individual certification, the new TLA can be signed electronically within the FSC Certification Portal. The new agreement updates compliance with data protection regulations (such as the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union) and strengthens the integrity of the FSC system related to false claims.

To access the FSC Certification Portal, certificate holders should first create a profile on FSC Connect. The new TLA will then be made available to sign electronically via DocuSign.

For more information, please consult the Frequently Asked Questions document or contact Jenna Mueller (j.mueller@us.fsc.org).