Gold Standard Fees

These FAQs refer to the Gold Standard Fee Schedule

Changes to the Gold Standard Fee schedule from 05 December 2024

• What are the key changes in the fee schedule from 05 December 2024? 
• When will these fees come into force? 

Registry Fees

• What is an Annual Registry Account Fee?
• What is an Account Reactivation Fee?

Project Reviews and Credit Issuance Fees

• What is a Preliminary Review? Project Design Review? Performance Review?
• If I have paid a design review fee before 05 December and the final issuance fee is after 05 December, will I be paying more for my certification cycle? 
• If an invoice has been issued but not paid, can/will the invoice be issued against this new fee schedule?  
• What are the review fees for Programme of Activities?
• Is there a discount for microscale projects? How is this applied for microscale PoAs/VPAs? 
• What is the difference between a cash fee project and Share of Proceeds (SOP) project?
• Are there special considerations for projects located in Least Developed Countries? 
• What is the payment schedule for fees? Will this impact the timeline of my project review? 
• Are there provisions to request an expedited review? 

Other Labels and Impact Certification

• When will the new Article 6 label fee come into force? And at what stage will the fee be applied? 
• Are there fees associated with other labels, such as CORSIA, CCP, Gender or removals versus avoidance credits? 

Credit Transfers, Retirements and Cancellations

• When and how often will the per credit fees for transfers, retirements and cancellations be issued?
• Does the transfer fee include any exceptions?
• What constitutes a cancellation fee and how it is applied? 

Fees for Other Services

• What happens to the fee in the case that a Deviation Reconsideration Request is overturned?
• What are the fees for VVBs? 

Changes to the Gold Standard Fee schedule from 05 December 2024

What are the key changes in the fee schedule from 05 December 2024? 

Project review and credit issuances 

• Registry fee remains $1000 per year (pro-rata), with no additional fee for other Gold Standard applications, such as the SDG Impact Tool or digital assurance platform.  
• Consistent fees applied across all activity types (Energy, Forestry, Agriculture etc.) 
• Design review fees are fixed rather than variable for more predictability and to help remove potential upfront barriers. 
• The review fees and crediting period renewals for Microscale projects/PoAs are discounted by 40% to continue supporting smaller projects and developers. 
• Programme of Activities: Real case VPAs and 1st VPA (as per PoA hierarchy) are charged the full review fee with subsequent regular VPAs discounted by 40%. For Microscale PoAs, the 40% discounted fee also applies.  
• Least Developed Countries issuance fees are discounted by 20% for cash model and 33% for SOP model. 

Other fees  

• A reconsideration of a deviation will be charged at $1000, to be discounted from next applicable fee for any decisions overturned.  
• Introduction of a per-credit fee for transfers, retirements, cancellations to support the increase in administration and infrastructure costs.  
• New Article 6 Labelling fee to cover new services to be administered by Gold Standard.  
• Introduction of methodology review fees with reimbursement options for methodology developers. 
• Consolidated fee structure for VVB services, including approval, reapproval, annual management, and auditor inclusion management. 

Full details are available in the Gold Standard fee schedule. 

When will these fees come into force? 

All updated fees will come into force from 05 December 2024. The only exceptions are credit transfers, retirements and cancellations and the updated Impact Registry re-activation fee, which will be applied from 01 Jan 2025.

Registry Fees

What is an Annual Registry Account Fee?

This is the annual fee paid to Gold Standard for the maintenance and improvement of the Gold Standard Registry. It is paid by every account holder except account holders whose sole relationship to Gold Standard is as an NGO Supporter. (NGO Supporters who are also project developers must pay this fee.)

What is an Account Reactivation Fee?

The Account Reactivation Fee must be paid to lift an account out of suspension. An account may be suspended for reasons including, but not limited to, non-payment of fees.

Project Reviews and Credit Issuance Fees

What is a Preliminary Review? Project Design Review? Performance Review?

The Gold Standard for Global Goals Principles and Requirements and the step-by-step guide to certification provide more information on the different stages and relevant reviews within the certification cycle. 

If I have paid a design review fee before 05 December and the final issuance fee is after 05 December, will I be paying more for my certification cycle? 

If the original design review fee has been paid, the balance will be calculated and automatically deducted from your issuance invoice. 

If an invoice has been issued but not paid, can/will the invoice be issued against this new fee schedule?  

The only invoice that would be re-issued is for the design review fee. This is to simplify the process at issuance by reducing the need to retroactively calculate and apply the balance. All other issued invoices shall be paid. 

What are the review fees for Programme of Activities?

Design Certification and Performance reviews for Programme of Activities (PoAs) are charged at the full fee for Real Case PoAs and 1st VPA (as per PoA hierarchy) with subsequent regular VPAs discounted by 40%. For crediting renewal reviews the full fee will be charged for all PoAs and VPAs (both Real Case and Regular). 

Is there a discount for microscale projects? How is this applied for microscale PoAs/VPAs? 

Microscale project activities apply a 40% discount on all project review and crediting renewal fees. 

For microscale PoAs: Real case microscale VPAs and 1st VPA (as per PoA hierarchy) are charged at 40% of the full review fee with subsequent regular microscale VPAs discounted by an additional 40%. 

What is the difference between a cash fee project and Share of Proceeds (SOP) project?

A carbon project can choose the Cash-Per-Credit Fee Structure or the Share of Proceeds Fee Structure. In the former, the project pays all of its fees in cash. In the latter, a project can pay a portion of its fees in carbon credits (VERs): 2% of the total issuance for VER projects. 

Are there special considerations for projects located in Least Developed Countries? 

Yes, Least Developed Countries are discounted by 20% for cash model and 33% for SOP model. 

What is the payment schedule for fees? Will this impact the timeline of my project review? 

Payment schedules: Payment terms for review invoices will be 30 days. Reviews may start before payment is made. Note: Review decisions will be released once payment has been successfully received. See Standards, Assurance Model Update for more information. 

Are there provisions to request an expedited review? 

We do not have any provisions for an expedited performance review. Review requests are to be submitted via the Gold Standard Assurance Platform. They will be allocated to expert reviewers on a first come, first serve basis. We are confident that there are enough reviewers to ensure that timelines are met with regards to project reviews.

Other Labels and Impact Certification

When will the new Article 6 label fee come into force? And at what stage will the fee be applied? 

This fee will come into force from 05 December. In most cases, these fees will be applied at issuance, alongside the issuance fees. 

Are there fees associated with other labels, such as CORSIA, CCP, Gender or removals versus avoidance credits? 

Currently there are no fees associated with other labels, such as CORSIA, CCP, Gender or removals versus avoidance credits.

Credit Transfers, Retirements and Cancellations

When and how often will the per credit fees for transfers, retirements and cancellations be issued?

For 2025, there will be one invoice for the full year, issued and payable at the end of the year. From the start of 2026, these fees will be issued quarterly. 

Does the transfer fee include any exceptions?

Currently, the transfer fee includes all transfers with no exceptions. We are doing some additional analysis on this fee to assess whether there are potential cases for exemption, including the complexity and resources required to manage any potential exemptions. This is due to be completed early next year. 

The transfer fee will come into force from the 01 January 2025 and the fees will be invoiced at the end of 2025. If any updates to the transfer fee are made, these will be applied accordingly before invoicing.

What constitutes a cancellation fee and how it is applied? 

If credits are cancelled, as opposed to retired, a fee for the cancellation will be charged. An example of a cancellation would be if a project chose to de-register and "undo" their issuance, so that they could issue credits under another standard.

Fees for Other Services

What happens to the fee in the case that a Deviation Reconsideration Request is overturned?

In case the deviation decision is overturned, the fee will be credited back to the project developer.

What are the fees for VVBs? 

Fees for VVB approval are located on the VVB fee schedule.

For any remaining questions please contact us at help@goldstandard.org