This document is currently binding, as of February 10th, 2026. It will remain binding until July 1st 2026.
What is this document about?
As part of the roll-out of version 1.4 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard for farm and supply chain, Regenerative Agriculture Standard v1.0 and Supply Chain Requirements version 1.5, the implementation of these programs will be done in a phased approach. Certificate Holders (CHs) shall follow the information below to determine which certification platform they are required to use based on the start date of their audit and migration status.
When and how to use this document?
CHs and Certification Bodies (CBs) shall use this document to prepare for audits and understand which documents become effective on which dates. The documents will be implemented gradually, with some documents having become binding on October 1st, 2025. In determining their certification process for audits and endorsements after October 1st, 2025, CHs and CBs must use this policy.
Overview of Changes in this version
Section | What has changed |
Title | Changed title to Phased Implementation of the Rainforest Alliance Certification Programs to include Regenerative Agriculture Standard v1.0 and Supply Chain Requirements v1.5 |
What is this document about? When and how to use this document? | Text amended to include all programs extending the scope of the policy. |
2. Implementation of Requirements | Addition of certification documents corresponding to the programs effective from March 1st, 2026. |
3. Implementation of Assurance Rules | Extension of the deadline for audits to occur in the old RACP to March 31st, 2026. Addition of Assurance Rules effective as of March 1st for CHs in the new RACP. |
3.1 Certification and Auditing Rules for Farms | Addition of certification and auditing rules applicable for CHs implementing the Rainforest Alliance Regenerative Agriculture Standard in the new RACP. |
3.2. Certification and Auditing Rules for Supply Chain | Addition of applicability of the Certification and Auditing Rules for Supply Chain v1.1 for audits beginning from March 1st and later. |
3.2.1 Supply Chain Actor Scenarios | Supply Chain actor scenarios updated. |
3.2.3 | Certificate and License expiring between October 1st and February 1st extended to March 31st |
1. Introduction
In the sections below we outline which documents become applicable for CHs depending on their audit date and migration status.
2. Implementation of Requirements
All audits conducted between October 1st, 2025, and February 28th, 2026, are subject to the corresponding Farm or Supply Chain Requirements of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard. The following documents had the effective date of October 1st, 2025:
Sustainable Agriculture Standard version 1.4 Farm Requirements
Sustainable Agriculture Standard version 1.4 Supply Chain Requirements
All audits conducted on or after March 1st, 2026, are subject to the corresponding Sustainable Agriculture Standard, Regenerative Agriculture Standard or Supply Chain Requirements. The Sustainable Agriculture Standard Farm Requirements remains in force since its effective date of October 1st, 2025. The following documents become effective on March 1st, 2026, and replace the respective previous versions where applicable:
3. Implementation of Assurance Rules
For CHs in the old RACP this Phased Implementation Policy shall be used, and the audit start date must be no later than March 31st, 2026.
For audits conducted between February 1st and February 28th, the following Assurance Rules apply to CHs in the new RACP until further notice:
For audits as of March 1st the Assurance Rules listed below will become effective for CHs in the new RACP.
On August 1st, 2025, the checklist for version 1.4 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard became visible in the Rainforest Alliance Certification Platform (RACP). CHs that started their audit on October 1st or later must (re) confirm their scope in the RACP to see the updated checklist. If a CH has difficulty (re)confirming their scope and accessing the new checklist, they should reach out to customer success via customersuccess@ra.org for assistance.
3.1 Certification and Auditing Rules for Farms
To support the transition to version 1.4 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard the following instructions are provided for some CHs as follows,
CHs migrated to the new RACP with audits starting February 1st or later: Farm CHs shall implement version 1.1 of the Certification Rules and version 1.1 of the Auditing Rules.
CHs migrated to the new RACP with audits starting prior to February 1st: Farm CHs shall implement version 1.0 of the Certification Rules and version 1.0 of the Auditing Rules.
Non-migrated CHs in the old RACP: Farm CHs shall implement version 1.0 of the Certification Rules and version 1.0 of the Auditing Rules and audits must start no later than March 31st, 2026.
CHs implementing the Rainforest Alliance Regenerative Agriculture Standard, Farm Requirements shall operate in the new RACP and implement version 1.1 of the Certification Rules, version 1.1 of the Auditing Rules and the Policy on the Implementation of the Regenerative Agriculture Standard.
3.1.1. Collection and Auditing of Indicator Data
As part of the roll-out of version 1.4 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard, CHs are required to collect the data as outlined in the Indicator Annex. CHs shall navigate to the “Indicator Data” section of the RACP where they can request the survey link for the indicator questionnaire(s). CHs are required to fill in the applicable indicator data using the indicator questionnaire. Once completed, the CH shall submit the form(s) to make them available to the CB. The CB will then have access to the indicator data questionnaire as part of the “Audit Preparation” documents in RACP. The CB can then check progress and validate the indicators or reject them.
The CB shall audit whether each indicator is complete, credible, and consistent. In case the data does not meet these criteria, the CB shall issue a nonconformity (NC) on that indicator data point, and the CH shall correct the data. In such a case the CB shall reject the questionnaire in RACP for the CH to correct the data. The CB shall then verify the closure of the NC(s). NCs on indicator data must be closed in the stipulated timeline of 10 weeks from the last date of the audit.
3.2. Certification and Auditing Rules for Supply Chain
For Certificate Holders in the old RACP the new verification levels and corresponding audit frequencies listed in the table below are applicable, aside from these, the Certification Rules v1.0 and Auditing Rules v1.0 for supply chain audits continue to apply. For audits beginning from March 1st and later, only the Certification and Auditing Rules for Supply Chain v1.1 are applicable.
Verification Level | Frequency of audits |
A | No audits |
B | On-site audit every 3 years (no more than 36 months apart) |
C | On-site audit every 2 years (no more than 24 months apart) |
Table 1. Verification Levels (from 2.3.4 of the Certification and Auditing Rules for Supply Chain)
As of August 1st, Supply Chain CHs will receive verification levels based on Table 1 above. Certification Bodies seeking clarification regarding the verification level of a CH should reach out to certification@ra.org.
3.2.1 Supply Chain Actor Scenarios
For non-migrated CHs: CHs shall implement the Phased Implementation Policy and audits must start no later than March 31st, 2026 and the CH will be audited to v1.4 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard up until March 1st, 2026, when v1.5 of the Supply Chain Requirements come into effect.
For migrated CHs with audits starting from February 1st through February 28th: CHs shall implement version 1.0 of the Certification and Auditing Rules for Supply Chain and v1.4 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard.
For migrated CHs with audits starting March 1st or later: CHs shall implement V1.1 of the Certification and Auditing Rules for Supply Chain and the Rainforest Alliance Supply Chain Requirements v1.5
For migrated CHs with audits starting prior to February 1st: CHs shall implement the Phased Implementation Policy.
CHs implementing Regenerative Agriculture for Supply Chain shall operate in the new RACP and implement the Supply Chain requirements v1.5.
3.2.2 Certificate Holders with Licensing and Certificates expiring at different times
For migrated CHs: CHs shall obtain new verification levels in new RACP, and the CB shall generate the certificate in new RACP with correct end date. This end date is determined by the date of the CH's last audit and when their next audit is due OR when the current certificate expires (whichever comes sooner) according to their verification level(s).
For non-migrated CHs: CHs shall obtain new verification levels in old RACP and Rainforest Alliance will generate the license in old RACP with the correct end date. This end date is determined by the date of the CH's last audit and when their next audit is due OR when the current certificate expires (whichever comes sooner) according to their verification level(s).
Note: For these CHs Once the audit for version 1.4 of the Sustainable Agriculture standard has been conducted and finalized and the audit documents are ready to be submitted, the CB shall notify Rainforest Alliance before submitting the license request in the old RACP. After the Rainforest Alliance review, the CH will receive a new certificate with validity dates based on their verification level(s).
3.2.3 Certificate and License Expiring between October 1st and March 31st
If the CH's certificate expires between October 1st and March 31st, they must complete their Standard v1.4 or Supply Chain requirements v1.5 (as of March 1st) audit before obtaining a new certificate and license. The audit start date must be within 9 to 15 months from the start date of their previous license.
Other information
Date of first publication of this document (v 1.0): February 10th, 2026
Documents indicated as “binding” must be complied with for certification. Documents indicated as “non-binding” provide non-mandatory information to help readers understand and implement requirements and other binding content.
Translation Disclaimer
For any question related to the precise meaning of the information in a translation, consult the official English version for clarification. Any errors or differences in meaning due to translation are not binding and have no effect for auditing or certification purposes.
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More information?
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