Regulatory Focus
Illegal Logging Requirements
Illegal Logging
195
Countries Covered
28
Languages
313
Regulatory Sources
This topic covers laws and regulations addressing illegal logging and deforestation by imposing due diligence, traceability, and reporting obligations on importers and traders of wood and wood products, aimed at preventing illegally harvested forest products and products from deforested land from entering domestic and international markets.
Understanding Illegal Logging
Illegal logging and deforestation rules require companies to exercise due diligence, maintain traceability and reporting, and manage legal, financial, and reputational risks when placing forest products on the market.
Frameworks regulating the trade with forest products, including the US Lacey Act, Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Act, Vietnam’s VNTLAS, Indonesia’s SVLK, and the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), mandate due diligence alongside specific reporting, registration, licensing, and certification requirements to ensure legality and prevent illegal logging.
Companies are required to adopt tailored compliance measures, typically involving:
- Implementing risk-based systems to verify legality, such as information gathering, risk assessment, and mitigation
- Submitting declarations or records, such as the US Lacey Act import declarations
- Registration
- Obtaining export licenses
- Obtaining certification to proof the legality exported timber products
We track a broad range of binding laws, implementing regulations, and international instruments that govern the placing of timber and forest-risk products on the market. Our coverage spans illegal logging, timber legality, deforestation-free supply chains, import and trade controls, and related due diligence, reporting, and certification obligations across key global jurisdictions.
Our coverage includes, but is not limited to:
- CITES: International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Convention, 1973
- Albania: Approving Rules for the Handling, Use, Sale, Export, Import, Administration and Transport of Timber and Non-Timber Forest Products, Decision No. 614, 2025
- Australia: Illegal Logging Prohibition Act, 2012
- Australia: Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulations, SLI 2012 No. 271
- Australia: Illegal Logging Prohibition, Rules, December 2024
- Australia: Illegal Logging Prohibition Act, 2012 – Amendment – (on strengthening measures to
- prevent illegal timber trade) Act, 2024
- China: Ecological and Environmental Code, Presidential Order No. 70, 2026
- Denmark: Trade in Timber and Timber Products, Order No. 849/2016
- EU: Making Available on the Union Market and Export from the Union of Certain Commodities and Products Associated with Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Regulation 2023/1115
- EU: Deforestation Regulation, FAQ Document, Version 1.4, April 2025
- EU: Guidance Document on Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on Deforestation-Free Products, Commission Notice, August 2025
- EU: Making Available on the Union Market and Export from the Union of Certain Commodities and Products Associated with Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 – Amendment – (on postponing the application date by 12 months) Regulation (EU) 2024/3234
- EU: Making Available on the Union Market and Export from the Union of Certain Commodities and Products Associated with Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 – Amendment – (on delay and simplified measures for small enterprises) Regulation (EU) 2025/2650
- EU: Making Available on the Union Market and Export from the Union of Certain Commodities and Products Associated with Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 – Proposed Amendment – (on clarifying the list of relevant products) Draft Delegated Act, April 2025
- EU: Obligations of Operators Who Place Timber and Timber Products on the Market, Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 (EU Timber Regulation)
- EU: Establishment of a FLEGT Licensing Scheme for Imports of Timber into the European Community, Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005
- Norway: Implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, Draft Regulation, August 2025
- Croatia: Implementation of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on the Making Available on the Market and the Export of Certain Goods and Products Associated with Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Law NN 151/2025
- South Korea: Sustainable Use Of Timber Act, No 11429, 2012
- South Korea: Sustainable Use Of Timber Act, No 11429, 2012 – Amendment – (on self inspection for producers and importers of wood products, etc) Act No. 20086, 2024
- Japan: Promoting the Distribution and Use of Legally Harvested Wood, Law No. 48, 2016 (Clean Wood Act), Revised in 2023
- Vietnam: Approving Regulations on Forest Product Management – Handling of Forest and Aquatic Products, Circular No. 26/2025/TT-BNNMT, June 2025
- Thailand: Permit for Export of Wood and Lumber, Regulation, B.E 2568, February 2025
- Taiwan: Forest Product Traceability Management Operational Standards, Order No. 1142440491, November 2025
- Peru: Illegal logging and Forest Timber Trafficking, Legislative Decree No. 1220, 2015
- USA: Lacey Act, 16 USC 3371-78, as Amended 2008
- Costa Rica: National Wood Products Certification System, Executive Decree No. 44965-MINAE, 2025
- USA: Lacey Act, 16 USC 3371-78, as Amended 2008 – Proposed Amendment – (on ensuring fair enforcement) House Bill 2239, 2025
- UK: Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulations, SI 2013/233
- UK: Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulations, SI 2013/233 – Amendment – (on EU Exit) Regulations, SI 2018/1025
- UK: Environment Act, 2021
- Indonesia: Timber Legality Assurance System (SVLK), Regulation No. 38/2009
- Thailand: Certification of Timber and Wood Products for Trade or Export, Regulation, B.E. 2563, 2020
- Ukraine: Timber Market, Draft Law, April 2025
We cover standards for our core products that are available from our partner Accuris. These are available through our Product Compliance Solution.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Key regimes include the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the (legacy) EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), the US Lacey Act, the UK Environment Act’s forest risk commodity provisions, and Australia’s Illegal Logging Prohibition Act. These laws restrict the placing of illegally harvested timber or deforestation‑linked commodities and products on the market, and require businesses to exercise due diligence.
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Companies that place timber, timber products, and certain types of other forest-risk products on the market or export them are required to conduct due diligence in many jurisdictions. Operators must assess legality, collect supplier and origin information, and mitigate identified risks before products are made available.
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Coverage generally includes timber and timber products, but extends to packaging, paper and paper products, rubber, tyres, leather and finished goods containing wood components under newer frameworks such as the EU Deforestation Regulation.
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The EU has postponed the application of the EUDR several times, citing concerns over the readiness of the central IT system for due diligence statements and the burden on businesses, particularly SMEs. Amendments adopted in late 2025 formally delayed the main application date to 30 December 2026 for most operators, with a later date for small and micro operators set to 30 June 2027. Adjustments have also been made to the product scope and the distribution of obligations between operators, downstream operators and traders. In addition, a new category for micro and small primary operators was introduced.
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Authorities can inspect operators, request documentation, and impose penalties ranging from administrative fines to seizure of goods, suspension of authorisations, and exclusion from public procurement. Under the Lacey Act, for example, illegally sourced timber can be seized and companies may face criminal or civil penalties, while under the EUDR, Member States must set “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” sanctions. Public disclosure of non‑compliance and cooperation between customs, environmental and enforcement agencies add further reputational and legal pressure.
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