CERTIFHY EU RFNBO CERTIFICATION PROCESS
CertifHy EU RFNBO Certification
Pre-certification
For plants that are not yet operational, CertifHy offers pre-certification services. Pre-certification helps projects raise their level of maturity and prepare for certification in advance of Final Investment Decisions (FIDs). This service is designed for Economic Operators seeking to assess their level of readiness with respect to RFNBO production compliance.
If you’d like to learn more about pre-certification:
Initial Certification
Initial certification is the first certificate issued under the CertifHy EU RFNBO Scheme and it applies in the first year only. To begin the certification process, Economic Operators must register and sign an agreement with CertifHy. Then, Economic Operators choose from a list of CertifHy-approved Certification Bodies. Once those two parties enter into an agreement, the auditor has a green light to launch the initial audit.
If the audit is successful, the Economic Operator is approved to produce RFNBO-compliant products for up to 12 months, depending on the plant’s evaluated risk. If the audit is not successful, however, the Economic Operator must redo the audit process. All certificates issued by CertifHy are published to our online Certificates Database creating transparency for consumers and producers alike.
Re-certification
After that first 12-month period, the initial certificate is no longer valid and Economic Operators must undergo re-certification, which serves to update initial and other existing certificates. If the annual audit is successful, the Economic Operator is approved to produce RFNBO-compliant products for another 12 months. If it is unsuccessful, the Economic Operator cannot claim RFNBO-compliant products and risks losing its certification under the CertifHy EU RFNBO Scheme.
While initial certification audits always take place on-site, re-certification audits may occur on- or off-site, depending on the plant’s evaluated risk. Re-certification audits also take into consideration all products issued in the previous 12-month period.
Users should note that all certificates, initial and annual renewals, issued under the CertifHy EU RFNBO Scheme apply to specific plants, rather than quantities produced. We also urge Economic Operators to be mindful of the 12-month time frame and initiate the recurring certification process early enough to ensure continuous certification.
