# After Gold Standard lists our project, how long until validation must be done?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/gold-standard-validation-within-two-years-of-listing

Two years. Validation, ending when the auditor submits the validation report, must be completed within two years of the listing date. A five-year renewable certification cycle starts once the project reaches Certified Design status. Listing alone does not give certification.

## The order of steps

1. Preliminary review and listing, with key project information and a draft stakeholder consultation report.
2. Contract an approved VVB and give it the full project documents.
3. Tell Gold Standard validation is starting and when it should finish.
4. Validation: ends when the VVB submits a final report with no open non-conformities or corrective action requests.
5. Gold Standard design review. Success gives Certified Design status.
6. A five-year certification cycle begins, with verification and performance review.

## What the draft consultation report must show

At least the consultation date, the list of invited stakeholders, the invitation method, the information shared and the feedback received.

## Listed is not certified

Listing makes your documents public and lets you promote the project as Claims Guidelines allow. It gives no guarantee of certification.

## Example with made-up dates

- Listed: 15 March 2026.
- Validation report due by: 15 March 2028.
- Counting back, contract the VVB by early 2027 to leave time for corrective actions.

Example only.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible is not a registry or an auditor. Its dated records show when equipment ran and what it used, which the validator will ask about.

- [Carbon credit signals](https://senseible.earth/carbon-credits)
- [Stakeholder meeting rules](https://senseible.earth/answers/gold-standard-stakeholder-meeting-rules)
- [Verra or Gold Standard: which to choose](https://senseible.earth/answers/verra-or-gold-standard-which-to-choose)

Sources: [Gold Standard for the Global Goals, Principles and Requirements v2.1 (January 2025), 5.1.1, 5.1.11 to 5.1.17](https://globalgoals.goldstandard.org/standards/101_V2.1_PAR_Principles-Requirements.pdf)

Last reviewed 2026-11-03. Read from version 2.1 (31 January 2025), which listed an update for 5 December 2025. Check for a newer version before relying on it.