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The VCS document library

Which Verra document answers which question — the rules, procedures, templates and guidance an AFOLU project actually touches, each linked to Verra's own copy.

Flora Carbon AI··7 min read
Afforestation project site under satellite monitoring

The Verified Carbon Standard programme is governed by a layered set of documents — a programme guide, the VCS Standard, methodology requirements, procedures, templates and guidance — of which 26 are relevant to a land-based project, all published by Verra on its own site.

Key facts

  • The VCS Program is a layered document set rather than a single rulebook, and the VCS Program Guide is the document explaining how the layers fit together.
  • VCS Standard v5.0, VCS Program Guide v5.0 and VCS Methodology Requirements v5.0 were all issued on 16 December 2025.
  • A project developer generally works outwards from the methodology, because the methodology sets both the quantification approach and the applicability conditions.
  • AFOLU projects additionally follow the Procedure for Applying the AFOLU Non-Permanence Risk Tool, which sets the buffer pool contribution.
  • Grouped projects — the usual structure for smallholder aggregation — add new instances through the Grouped Project Batch Report Template.
  • Verra publishes 91 programme files in total; this library covers the 26 a land-based project actually touches, leaving out legal signature deeds, auditor accreditation forms, superseded versions and duplicate template variants.
  • Document versions change frequently, so a version shown here is the version at the review date and Verra's own page remains authoritative.

Which VCS document should you read first?

Start with the VCS Program Guide. It is the document that explains how every other document relates to the others, and reading it first saves a great deal of circling. After that, the order that works in practice is the methodology, then the VCS Standard, then whichever procedure documents apply to the project type.

The common mistake is starting with the VCS Standard and expecting it to say whether a particular project is eligible. It will not. Eligibility lives in the applicability conditions of the methodology; the Standard governs everything the methodology does not.

How is the VCS document set organised?

The programme separates rules from procedures from templates, and it is worth knowing which kind of document you are in. Rules say what must be true. Procedures say what steps to follow and in what order. Templates are the forms in which evidence is submitted, and they are the most useful documents to read early, because a template shows exactly what you will be asked to produce.

Reading the Project Description Template before designing a monitoring plan is one of the cheapest pieces of preparation available. It converts an abstract requirement into a concrete list of fields somebody will expect you to fill in.

What is in this library, and what is not?

Verra publishes 91 programme files. That number is larger than it sounds: it counts superseded v4.x versions kept online for legacy projects, the A and B packaging variants Verra issues of every template, and a Spanish translation of a document already listed. This library covers the 26 a land-based project actually touches, grouped by what they do.

What is left out is mostly not reading material: 22 legal representations and deeds signed at registration and issuance, forms for auditors seeking accreditation, registry account paperwork, optional credit-label guidance, and the geological carbon storage documents, which concern a different industry. Everything here links to Verra's own copy, and Verra's full index is linked in the sources below for anyone who wants the rest. None of the documents' text is reproduced: the descriptions are ours and the authoritative wording is theirs.

How current are these versions?

The version shown against each document is the version published at the date this page was last reviewed, stated at the foot of the page. Verra reissues programme documents regularly — the v5.0 series of core rules was issued on 16 December 2025, and the templates were reissued on 9 June 2026.

Treat a version number here as a pointer rather than a guarantee. Every link on this page is re-checked against Verra's site on a schedule, but a document can be superseded between checks, and Verra's page is always the authority. See also the land-based methodology catalogue.

The documents

Every entry links to the publisher’s own copy, which is the authoritative text. Versions move: check the publisher’s page before relying on one for a project decision.

Core rules

Core rules — 6 documents. Titles and versions are as published; each links to the publisher’s own copy.
DocumentVersionDateWhat it governs
VCS Program Guidev5.02025-12-16How the VCS Program works as a whole, and how its documents relate to one another. The orientation document to read first.
VCS Standardv5.02025-12-16The core rules a project must satisfy to be registered under the VCS Program.
VCS Methodology Requirementsv5.02025-12-16The rules a methodology itself must satisfy before it can be approved for use.
VCS Program Definitionsv5.02025-12-16Defined terms used across the programme. The place to settle what a word means in VCS context.
VCS Sectoral Scopes and Project Classification Guidancev5.02025-12-16How activities are classified into sectoral scopes, which determines the applicable rules and the accreditation a validator needs.
Geolocation File Requirementsv5.02026-06-09What spatial data a project must submit to define its boundary, and in what format.

Procedures

Procedures — 7 documents. Titles and versions are as published; each links to the publisher’s own copy.
DocumentVersionDateWhat it governs
Registration and Issuance Processv5.02025-12-16The procedural path a project follows from listing through registration to credit issuance.
Methodology Development and Review Processv5.12025-12-16How a new methodology is proposed, reviewed and approved.
Procedure for Applying the AFOLU Non-Permanence Risk Toolv5.02025-12-16How an AFOLU project assesses reversal risk, which sets its buffer pool contribution.
AFOLU Non-Permanence Risk Report Excel Calculation Toolv4.22023-12-06The spreadsheet in which the non-permanence risk assessment is actually worked through and reported.
Methodology Change – Project Deviation Procedurev4.02024-10-16How a registered project departs from its validated design or monitoring plan without losing registration.
Methodology Change and Requantification Procedurev4.02024-10-16What happens to a registered project when the methodology it used is revised.
Validation and Verification Manualv3.22016-10-19How an accredited body must conduct validation and verification against the programme rules.

Templates

Templates — 11 documents. Titles and versions are as published; each links to the publisher’s own copy.
DocumentVersionDateWhat it governs
VCS Project Description Templatev5.0A2026-06-09The template in which a project sets out its design, baseline and monitoring plan for validation.
VCS Monitoring Report Templatev5.0A2026-06-09The template in which a registered project reports what it monitored during a period.
VCS Validation Report Templatev5.0A2026-06-09The template an accredited body uses to report the outcome of validation.
VCS Verification Report Templatev5.0A2026-06-09The template an accredited body uses to report the outcome of verification.
Grouped Project Batch Report Templatev5.02026-06-09How new instances are added to a registered grouped project — the relevant path for smallholder aggregation.
Loss Event Report Templatev5.02026-06-09How a project reports a reversal such as fire, disease or clearing.
VCS Stakeholder Engagement Plan Templatev5.02026-06-09How a project documents its consultation with local stakeholders.
VCS ESG Risk Assessment Templatev5.02026-06-09How a project identifies and assesses environmental, social and governance risks at validation.
VCS ESG Risk Monitoring Report Templatev5.02026-06-09How a registered project reports on the environmental, social and governance risks it assessed.
VCS Joint Project Description and Monitoring Report Templatev5.0A2026-06-09The combined alternative to filing a project description and a monitoring report separately.
VCS Joint Validation and Verification Report Templatev5.0A2026-06-09The combined report an accredited body files when validation and verification happen together.

Guidance

Guidance — 2 documents. Titles and versions are as published; each links to the publisher’s own copy.
DocumentVersionDateWhat it governs
VCS Guidance: Right to Operate, Sustainable Development, Stakeholder Engagement, and Safeguardsv5.02026-06-09Guidance on demonstrating land and resource rights, safeguards and stakeholder engagement.
Nesting Guidance for REDD+ Projects—2019-12-10How a REDD+ project relates to a jurisdictional accounting programme covering the same area.

Frequently asked questions

What is the current version of the VCS Standard?

VCS Standard v5.0 was issued on 16 December 2025, alongside v5.0 of the VCS Program Guide and the VCS Methodology Requirements. Verra reissues programme documents regularly, so confirm the current version on Verra's own document index before relying on one.

Which VCS document explains how the others fit together?

The VCS Program Guide. It sets out how the programme works as a whole and how the standard, methodology requirements, procedures and templates relate to one another, which is why it is the sensible document to read first.

Which VCS documents apply specifically to forestry projects?

Beyond the core rules, AFOLU projects follow the Procedure for Applying the AFOLU Non-Permanence Risk Tool, which determines the buffer pool contribution, and use the Loss Event Report Template if a reversal occurs. Grouped projects add instances through the Grouped Project Batch Report Template.

Does Flora Carbon AI host the VCS documents?

No. This page catalogues the documents and describes what each one governs in our own words, and every entry links to Verra's own copy. Verra holds the copyright in its programme documents, and its published text is the authoritative version.

Sources

The regulatory facts in this article trace to the following primary sources. Scheme rules, methodologies and procedures continue to evolve, so check the current text before relying on any of it for a project decision.

  1. Verra — VCS Program details and documents

    The programme's own document index, and the authoritative place to confirm the current version of anything listed here.

    Link checked

  2. Verra — VCS Program methodologies overview

    Verra's own overview of the programme's methodologies. Note that verra.org/methodologies/ now redirects here; this is the current address.

    Link checked

Published by Flora Carbon AI · August 21, 2026

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