Can our Verra validation finish before the public comment period ends?
No. Verra's rules say the validation and verification body (VVB) must not begin validation until the 30-day public comment period has begun, and must not complete it until the period has ended. The project is also listed as under validation before the opening meeting, and your replies to comments are evaluated.
The order of events
- The project is listed with Verra as under validation before the VVB's opening meeting with you. The opening meeting marks the start of validation.
- Validation does not begin until the 30-day public comment period has begun.
- During the period, comments can be submitted to Verra. The VVB evaluates your response to each comment received.
- Validation cannot be completed until after the 30-day period has ended.
Comments that arrive outside the window
If a comment reaches Verra outside the 30 days, the VVB doing the next validation or verification evaluates your response to it.
What to do
- Reply to every comment in writing and keep a log of what you said.
- Plan the validation timeline around the 30 days, including the site visit.
- Do not promise a registration date to a buyer before the comment period has run.
Example: a comment period from 1 to 30 September
- 5 September: opening meeting. Allowed, because the period has begun
- 20 September: site visit
- 30 September: comment period ends
- Earliest completion of validation: 1 October, after the period has ended
Dates are an example. Verra sets the actual period for each project.
What Senseible does here
Senseible keeps the dated records a VVB will use during validation, so questions arriving during the comment period can be answered from documents. It does not register projects or issue credits; Verra and your validation and verification body do.
Sources: Verra, VCS Standard v5.0 (16 December 2025), sections 4.1.5 to 4.1.7
Last reviewed 2026-11-04. Section numbers are from VCS Standard v5.0; re-check them when Verra publishes a new version.