Revised FSC US Forest Stewardship Standard (V2)

The revision aligns the U.S. standard with FSC International’s updated Principles & Criteria (V5) and International Generic Indicators (IGIs), while also addressing key stakeholder priorities. Regular updates are required to ensure consistency with global standards.

• Publication Date: January 1, 2026
• Effective Date (Transition period begins): April 1, 2026
• Transition Period Ends: September 30, 2027

During the transition period (April 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027), both the current and revised standards are valid. The Version 2 standard becomes valid for audits on April 1, 2026 and the Version 1 standard will no longer be valid after September 30, 2027.

To maintain certification, certificate holders must fully conform with the revised standard before the end of this period.

During the transition period, a certificate holder’s regular audit schedule is expected to continue. Because of the 18-month transition window, some certificate holders may undergo two audits during this period. As both the old and new standards are valid during this time, it is possible to be audited under V1.1 first, then shift to V2 before the next audit and the end of the transition period.

• If the first V2 audit is a re-certification audit, all aspects of the revised V2 standard will be evaluated.
• If the first V2 audit is a surveillance audit:
  • The requirements in Section 10 of FSC-STD-20-007 will apply – this means that certain criteria are required to be audited, and the V2 standard will be used for these.
  • CBs have some flexibility for audit timing for the remaining V2 new/changed elements and unchanged elements of the standard. Based on the CB's assessment of risk they may decide to audit lower risk elements after the transition period has ended.

All major non-conformances assessed during the transition period must be resolved prior to the end of the transition period, or the certificate holder will lose their FSC certification. This does not apply to minor non-conformances, which will remain on the normal timeline. We highly recommend that certificate holders do not wait until the very end of the transition period to have their first V2 audit.

However, all certificate holders must be in conformance with all aspects of the revised standard before the end of the transition period, and auditors will likely ask for evidence that this happened even if the evaluation of that element doesn’t occur until after the transition period ends.