Can Verra validation and the first verification happen together?

Yes. VCS Standard v5.0 says validation may occur before or at the same time as the first verification, and the same body may do both, subject to the rotation rules. The project must be listed with Verra as under validation before the opening meeting, and validation cannot finish until the 30-day comment period ends.

What the standard allows

• Validation may occur before or at the same time as the first verification.
• The same validation and verification body (VVB) may do both, noting the limits on how long one body can stay on a project.
• For validation you hand over the project description, evidence of the right to operate and supporting data. For verification you add the validation report and the monitoring report for the period.

The order it must follow

1. The project is listed with Verra with the status under validation before the opening meeting. The opening meeting is the start of validation.
2. Validation does not begin until the 30-day public comment period has begun.
3. Validation is not completed until after that period has ended.
4. The VVB evaluates your response to every comment received.

Why combine them

For a plant that has been running for a while, one visit can cover the design and the first period's data. The cost is that any weakness in either shows up in the same audit, so the project description and the first monitoring report need to be consistent before it starts.

Example: the earliest finish (example dates)

• 1 March: project listed with Verra as under validation.
• 8 March: the 30-day public comment period opens. The opening meeting, which starts validation, can be held on or after 8 March.
• The period ends on 7 April (8 March + 30 days). Validation can be completed only after 7 April. The first verification can be done alongside it.

Example dates to show the order. Real dates depend on Verra's listing and the VVB's schedule.

What Senseible does here

Senseible keeps dated fuel and power invoices, so the first monitoring period's evidence is ready as soon as the validation visit is booked. Verra approves the VVB and registers projects; Senseible does neither.

• Carbon credits
• The 30-day public comment before validation ends
• Can the same verifier act every year
• When the verifier must visit

Sources: Verra, VCS Standard v5.0 (16 December 2025), Sections 3.24.2, 3.24.3, 4.1.4 and 4.1.5

Last reviewed 2026-11-04. Section numbers are from VCS Standard v5.0 (16 December 2025); re-check them when Verra publishes a new version.