Chain of custody training for certification bodies

Discover the options for training your auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers.

Chain of custody training for certification bodies

To carry out PEFC chain of custody certification according to PEFC ST 2003:2020, auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers must attend a PEFC recognized training.

There are two types of training - initial and refresher:

  1. Initial training is for auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers that are not yet qualified to undertake PEFC chain of custody audits
  2. Refresher training is for auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers that are already qualified

Auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers must complete a refresher training once every two years and when there is a new issuance of the PEFC Chain of Custody or Trademarks standards. Following the publication of the 2020 PEFC Chain of Custody and Trademarks standards, qualified individuals need to attend a refresher training before auditing against them. 

The training helps ensure your personnel are up-to-date with the PEFC Chain of Custody standard and our expectations, clarifications and interpretations. It also allows us to exchange experiences and to receive valuable feedback on the implementation of the standard.

Only chain of custody training recognized by PEFC International is valid for the continued qualification of personnel.

Chain of custody training options

We provide two options for your auditors, reviewers and certification decision makers to receive chain of custody training.

Training organized by PEFC

The first option is attending a training organized by PEFC. Our training sessions, both initial and refresher, are conducted regularly throughout the year, online and in-person (when the situation allows). These sessions can be organized by PEFC International or a PEFC national member, ensuring they are held in a variety of languages and time zones.

All training organized by PEFC is carried out by recognized PEFC International Technical Experts. These experts have all be trained to ensure they carry out high-quality, harmonized chain of custody training, coordinated at the international level. All upcoming training sessions are listed on our website.

By choosing to train your auditors through PEFC organized training, you have the freedom to pick the sessions in the language and time that suits you, while being assured that all the training is of the same high-quality. With all the sessions in one place, it’s easy to find, select and register for the training that is right for your auditors. 

Find out more…

PEFC recognition of certification body internal training

The second option is to join the PEFC Training Recognition Programme (TRP), enabling certification bodies to get formal recognition of their internal PEFC chain of custody training programme. This means you train your own auditors in compliance with PEFC requirements, qualifying them to carry out audits against the 2020 PEFC Chain of Custody standard.

One of the main benefits of the TRP is that you do not need to plan how and when every individual participant can attend a training organized by PEFC. Instead, you can decide when to train them.

The TRP can be particularly beneficial to larger certification bodies with many auditors, reviewers and certification decisions to train, as there is a 75% discount applied when 50 or more participants are trained.

Find out more…

Contact us

If you want any further information about either training option, you can contact us at training@pefc.org 


Important notice

Following the publication of the PEFC Chain of Custody Guidance (GD 2001), auditors who received refresher or initial training between August 2020 and 30 April 2021 have the validity of their training extended until 31 July 2023.

PEFC contact

Linda Matole

Training Officer

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