EU Deforestation Regulation Due Diligence Statement Template

Start the template with the operator responsible for the statement and the transaction it covers. Operators exercise due diligence before placing relevant products on the market or exporting them, and they submit the due diligence statement when the due diligence conclusion is no or negligible risk.

If an authorised representative submits the statement, keep the mandate link in the record because the operator remains responsible for Article 3 compliance.

Use one row per relevant product, batch, or export line so the statement record can be traced back to the goods covered by the due diligence conclusion. The grounding material supports the covered commodity categories and the need to tie the product to Annex I, but it does not provide a full CN or HS code table; record the exact Annex I product line and code used by your trade or customs master data.

The covered commodity families in the grounding material are cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya, and wood, plus the derived products listed in Annex I.

The due diligence file must connect each product row to production origin evidence. Article 9 grounding requires information and evidence, including geolocation of plots of land or establishments and documentation demonstrating deforestation-free and legal production.

For a micro or small primary operator that qualifies for the simplified declaration route, the grounding material notes that postal address of plots of land or the establishment can replace the Article 9 geolocation field. Keep that exception clearly labelled so it is not reused for other suppliers.

Downstream operators and traders need supply-chain information before they place, make available, or export relevant products. The template should therefore link the submitted statement to supplier records and to the parties that receive the product further down the chain.

Keep a separate line for each prior due diligence statement reference number or declaration identifier you rely on. That makes it easier to show which supplier file supports which product row.

A due diligence statement should not be prepared as a paperwork-only exercise. Operators must collect information, assess risk, and where the risk is not negligible, apply mitigation before placing the product on the market or exporting it.

Use the attachment log to show why the final conclusion is no or only a negligible risk for the product rows covered by the statement. For low-risk production, keep documentation showing how supply-chain complexity and circumvention or mixing risk were assessed.