Buying guide / FSC
FSC for pallets
and wood packaging – traceability and purchasing requirements
When buying pallets or wood packaging with FSC requirements, you need to get three things right: the FSC claim, the company selling the products and the documentation for the items you order.
Register information checked on
In this guide
01 / Start here
The short answer
A valid FSC certificate shows that the operations specified in the certificate are covered by FSC Chain of Custody certification. It does not mean that every pallet or packaging product the company sells is supplied with an FSC claim.
An FSC claim is the seller’s statement in the sales documentation identifying the FSC category under which the products are sold. Where required, the claim also includes a percentage or the word Credit.
Specify your FSC requirements when requesting a quotation. Check the company and product scope in the FSC register, then make sure the correct claim and certificate code can be linked to your delivery. Read FSC’s guidance on buying certified products.
02 / Traceability
What is FSC Chain of Custody?
FSC Chain of Custody, or CoC, is a certification system for the traceability of forest-based materials. It covers how businesses identify and handle materials during production and trade, and how they document purchases and sales.
Traceability depends on both material handling and the controlled flow of information through the supply chain. Find out more about FSC Chain of Custody.
Certificate codes and trademark licence codes serve different purposes
- The certificate code identifies the Chain of Custody certificate. It is used when an FSC claim is passed on through sales documentation. An example is SGSCH-COC-070650.
- The trademark licence code identifies the licence to use FSC trademarks under the applicable rules. An example is FSC-C195594. It is used for labelling and marketing and does not replace the certificate code in sales documentation.
You can use either code to find the correct register entry. Neither code is itself an FSC claim for a particular product or delivery. The distinction is explained in FSC’s trademark guidance, question 17.
03 / Your purchasing requirements
What should you check before ordering?
Decide which FSC claim you need
If your customer or purchasing policy requires a particular FSC claim, specify which one. The term “FSC” alone does not identify the material category or claim required for your order.
| Claim | What it means | What you need to specify |
|---|---|---|
| FSC 100% | The forest-based material comes from FSC-certified forests. | Is this the origin requirement you need the forest-based parts of your pallets or packaging to meet? |
| FSC Mix | This material category may include FSC-certified material, reclaimed material and controlled wood. Controlled wood is not the same as wood from FSC-certified forestry. | Which complete claim do you accept: FSC Mix with a stated percentage, or FSC Mix Credit? |
| FSC Recycled | The forest-based material comes entirely from reclaimed sources. | Which claim should appear in the documentation? What requirements for reclaimed material, if any, must it demonstrate? |
These claims apply to the forest-based material. Metal nails, for example, are not covered by a claim about forest origin. Read FSC’s explanation of its labels.
Understanding percentages and Credit
The FSC Mix percentage is calculated using the claim-contributing inputs for a product group over a defined claim period. Credit means that the quantity sold with the claim is covered by the company’s credit account. Neither the percentage nor Credit therefore identifies the origin of every board in an individual pallet.
Even when an FSC Recycled claim includes a percentage, all the forest-based material comes from reclaimed sources. Find out more about FSC claims and control systems.
Check the company selling the products
The manufacturer and seller may be different legal entities. A trader that takes legal ownership of the goods and resells them with an FSC claim needs to be covered by valid CoC certification. This applies even if the goods are delivered directly from the factory. The manufacturer’s certificate does not automatically cover a separate company that sells and invoices the goods.
Check who your contracting party is, who owns and sells the goods, and which certificate covers the sale. Different rules may apply to carriers and certain other service providers that do not take legal ownership of the goods. Not every business that physically handles the goods therefore needs its own certificate. Read FSC’s questions and answers on CoC and trading.
An FSC logo on a website, a particular wood species or a production location does not show which claim applies to your order. A product label can provide information about the product, but you still need to check that the documented FSC requirements for your order have been met.
04 / Company and scope
Current FSC documentation for Mielec
Traceability / Chain of Custody
FSC – Mielec
- Certificate code
- SGSCH-COC-070650
- Certificate holder
- GLF Polska Mielec Sp. z o.o.
- Trademark licence code
- FSC-C195594
- Stated expiry date
- Status when the register was checked
- Valid on
- Selected registered product scope
- W10.1: solid wood packaging
W10.3: pallets and skids
Register extract dated . Check the current status before ordering.
The FSC claim for your specific order needs to be confirmed separately.
GLF Polska Mielec Sp. z o.o.
The register check on showed that certificate SGSCH-COC-070650 was valid for GLF Polska Mielec Sp. z o.o., with a stated expiry date of 13 November 2028. The trademark licence code is FSC-C195594.
The registered scope includes W10.1, solid wood packaging, and W10.3, pallets and skids, with FSC Mix and FSC 100% listed as registered categories. The claim available for a particular product and order needs to be confirmed separately. View Mielec’s current FSC register entry.
Mielec’s certificate applies to the named company and the registered scope. It does not automatically cover other companies or production sites within the GLF group. Before ordering, confirm the selling company, the relevant site, the product and the claim.
View our published certificates and documentation and find out more about our operations in Mielec.
About older FSC documentation for Träab
Träab’s former certificate BV-COC-132921 / FSC-C132921 has been terminated since 30 March 2026, according to the register check on . The expiry date in the historical PDF does not change the register status. A replacement certificate for Träab was not verified in this check. See Träab’s register status and GLF’s certificate history.
05 / From requirements to order
How to specify clear order requirements
State which product the requirement applies to, the FSC claim you accept and the documentation you need. Ask the seller to confirm these details in the quotation and check them against the order confirmation.
An example order specification
This order is for 200 wooden pallets manufactured to example drawing EX-P1, revision A. All pallets must be sold and delivered with the FSC Mix Credit claim. The selling legal entity and its FSC CoC certificate code must be stated in the quotation and order confirmation. The invoice and delivery note must clearly identify these pallets as the products to which the claim applies. They must also state the quantity and certificate code. The documents must be traceable to each other and to the order. Any change to the claim or seller must be approved in writing before delivery.
This example illustrates how a purchasing requirement can be written. It does not describe an actual GLF order or promise that a particular FSC specification is available. The seller needs to verify which claim can be offered for the product and sale concerned.
In this example, the buyer has chosen to require these details in the quotation, order confirmation, invoice and delivery note. The FSC standard does not require the same information to be repeated in all of these documents in every case.
Custom wooden crates shown in GLF’s product presentation. The FSC claim for a particular product and order needs to be confirmed separately.Discuss requirements and possible designs
06 / Check the documentation
How to check certificates and order documentation
Check the register in five steps
- Find the correct register entry. Open FSC Search and search for the company’s legal name, certificate code or trademark licence code.
- Check the company and its operations. Compare the company name and address with the seller’s details. Check “Group members / sites” if other companies or sites are involved.
- Check the current status. Read the status, the date of the most recent status update and the expiry date. A PDF showing a future expiry date is not sufficient if the register shows that the certificate is terminated or suspended.
- Check the product scope. Open “Products” and check the product category, activity and registered claims. Check the wood species too if it is relevant to your requirements.
- Record your check and the date. Keep the evidence with your order documentation. Check the status again before delivery if time has passed or the details have changed.
FSC’s register guide shows where to find company, site and product information. Checking the register does not replace checking the claim for your delivery.
Check the claim for the products you ordered
FSC’s CoC standard requires sales documents for products sold with an FSC claim to include:
- the seller’s name and contact details,
- information identifying the buyer,
- the document date,
- the product description and quantity,
- the seller’s FSC certificate code,
- a clear FSC claim for the relevant products.
If the sales document does not accompany the goods and the information is needed to identify the products, the delivery document must include the corresponding details. In that case, it must also refer to the sales document so that the two can be linked.
If the claim and certificate code are provided in a separate supplementary document, this arrangement must be permitted by the standard and approved by the certification body.
For finished, FSC-labelled products at the end of the supply chain, the standard allows the claim to be stated as, for example, “FSC Mix”, without a percentage or Credit information in certain cases. Once omitted, this information must not be reinstated further down the supply chain. If you need to pass the claim on, agree on complete documentation from the outset. See FSC’s CoC standard, section 5.
Check the product details and quantities in the documents against the products you have actually received. If an invoice includes both FSC products and other products, it must be clear which line items the claim applies to. If anything is unclear, request accurate, traceable documentation before accepting the delivery as meeting your FSC requirements.
07 / Systems and customer requirements
FSC and PEFC: checks and differences
FSC and PEFC are separate certification systems with their own standards, registers and claims. Both may be included in a purchasing policy, but your checks need to follow the requirements of the system specified for the order.
| Check | FSC | PEFC |
|---|---|---|
| Chain of Custody standard | FSC-STD-40-004 and applicable supplementary requirements. | PEFC ST 2002:2020 and applicable rules. |
| Company and scope | Check the CoC certificate and relevant product groups in FSC’s register. | Check the CoC certificate and relevant product groups in PEFC’s register. |
| Claim for the delivery | Identify the accepted FSC claim and the relevant certificate code. | Identify the accepted PEFC claim and the relevant certificate number. |
| Customer requirements | An FSC requirement must be supported by FSC documentation. | A PEFC requirement must be supported by PEFC documentation. |
A certificate under one system does not itself provide evidence under the other. If the end customer allows alternatives, specify which claims are accepted. Find out more in FSC’s CoC standard and PEFC’s CoC standard.
08 / Before ordering
Checklist before ordering
09 / Next step
Include FSC requirements in your enquiry
Describe the requirements your pallets or packaging need to meet. When buying custom pallets, special packaging or custom boxes and wooden crates, you can specify FSC requirements alongside dimensions, materials, loading conditions and quantities. State your required FSC claim and the documentation you need in your request for a quotation. We can then discuss your requirements, possible designs and the documentation for your specific order.