# How do I check that a carbon credit has actually been retired on the Verra or Gold Standard registry?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/how-to-check-carbon-credit-retirement

Ask the seller for the retirement record: project ID, serial number range, quantity, vintage, retirement date and the beneficiary named. Then find that record yourself in the public Verra Registry or Gold Standard Impact Registry and check every field matches. A seller's PDF certificate alone does not prove retirement.

## What to ask the seller for

- The registry and project ID (a Verra VCS ID or a Gold Standard GS ID).
- The full serial number range of the retired units and the number of units (one unit is one tonne of CO2e).
- The vintage period and the retirement date.
- The beneficiary name and retirement reason as entered in the registry. It should name your company, or say the retirement was made on your behalf.

## Step by step lookup

1. Open the public registry yourself from verra.org or goldstandard.org. Do not use a link inside the seller's email.
2. Go to the retirements or cancellations view and search by project ID, then by serial number.
3. Check the serial range matches exactly. A Verra serial encodes the project ID, the vintage dates and the unit block, so a range that belongs to another project or vintage is an immediate red flag.
4. Check the quantity, retirement date, beneficiary and retirement reason match what you were sold.
5. Open the project page and check its status, methodology and any labels you paid for, such as a CCP label or a corresponding adjustment.
6. Save the registry record as PDF or screenshot with the date, and keep it with the invoice and contract.

## Warning signs

- The units show as active or transferred, not retired. Then someone can still sell or use them.
- The beneficiary is the broker or blank, and the seller will not change it. Your claim then rests on their word.
- The same serial range appears in more than one buyer's certificate.
- The seller offers only a self-made certificate with no registry serial numbers.

## What a correct retirement lets you claim

A retirement in your name supports a claim that you compensated for that many tonnes of that vintage. It does not reduce your Scope 1, 2 or 3 inventory, which you still report gross; credits are disclosed separately.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible does not issue, hold, transfer or retire carbon credits and is not linked to any registry, so check retirements in the registry itself. Its eligibility signals and marketplace listings are not a retirement record.

- [What to check before buying carbon credits](https://senseible.earth/answers/what-to-check-before-buying-carbon-credits)
- [Should I sell or retire my carbon credits?](https://senseible.earth/answers/should-i-sell-or-retire-my-carbon-credits)
- [How to vet a carbon credit platform](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/how-to-vet-a-legitimate-carbon-credit-platform)

Sources: [Verra Registry public retirement reports and VCS Program Guide (verra.org)](https://verra.org), [Gold Standard Impact Registry (goldstandard.org)](https://www.goldstandard.org)

Last reviewed 2026-10-15.