Choose your sector – and see straight away what the EU Deforestation Regulation actually requires of you, what the process looks like and which solution fits you. No legal jargon.
Click on your sector – we will show you the key points straight away.
Sawmills process raw timber into sawn timber, boards, beams or chipboard. If they buy timber that has already been placed on the market with a due diligence statement, they have – since the 2025 amendment – been downstream operators: no statement of their own, but collecting and retaining reference numbers. Only when importing directly does the full due diligence obligation with your own statement apply.
Timber traders buy and sell timber products without altering them – and, since the 2025 amendment, file no due diligence statement of their own regardless of size. Large traders (non-SMEs) register in TRACES and check on concern; small traders (SMEs) record the reference numbers and document them for five years. A statement of your own is only required when you import yourself.
Anyone who makes furniture, windows or parquet from timber that is already covered has, since the 2025 amendment, been a downstream operator: no statement of their own, but managing and retaining reference numbers. The business only becomes a first-placer operator with its own statement when it imports timber itself or processes timber that is not yet covered.
Landscaping firms buy timber for fencing, decking, pergolas or play equipment and install it. Anyone who only buys timber and installs it is a user. Anyone who manufactures timber elements themselves and resells them (e.g. wood chips, pergolas from in-house production) is an operator.
Anyone who imports timber from countries outside the EU bears full responsibility. For suppliers in standard- or high-risk countries – including many tropical timber origins – you must take additional measures: on-site audits, satellite analysis, multilingual supplier outreach.
Forestry contractors usually fell on behalf of the forest owner. They are not operators themselves – but they are the most important data source. Working cleanly here makes life considerably easier for the forest owner and the sawmill.
If, as a forest owner, you sell timber yourself, you are an operator. The good news: you can submit a single combined statement for an entire year. Once set up, the obligation runs almost by itself.
The EUDR also covers cattle and cattle products. You must register all farms and pastures with geolocation and demonstrate that the feed does not stem from deforestation. A simplified statement is permitted.
The key topics in brief – tap a question to read the answer.
The EU Deforestation Regulation – Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 – is an EU law with a clear goal: no longer selling products that destroy forests. It replaces the old Timber Regulation (EUTR).
It covers timber, cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, rubber – and everything made from them. The decisive cut-off date is 31 December 2020: areas cleared after that date are off limits.
Practically every timber product – from oak logs and sawn timber to finished furniture. Also wooden pallets, chipboard, parquet, doors, windows, packaging, firewood, charcoal, paper and cardboard.
In addition: beef, leather, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, soybeans, soybean oil, palm oil and all foods or cosmetics made from them, as well as natural rubber and tyres.
30 December 2026 for large and medium-sized companies.
30 June 2027 – only for natural persons, micro and small undertakings established as such on 31 December 2024 – only for micro and small enterprises, and only for products not already covered by the old Timber Regulation (EUTR) – so not for timber.
The amending Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 pushed the deadlines back by twelve months – they are now final. Tip: SMEs should also start earlier, because larger customers often need clean data as early as the end of 2026.
The due diligence statement (DDS) is the formal proof that you have met your obligation. It is submitted via the EU system TRACES NT. You receive a reference number, which you pass on to the next buyer in the chain.
Content: operator, product with HS code and scientific name, country, geolocation, harvest date and confirmation that the due diligence obligation has been met.
The exact location of the harvest area – as a GPS point (for areas under 4 hectares) or as a polygon (for larger areas). Precision: at least six decimal places for longitude and latitude.
Every modern smartphone handles this easily. In Germany, the federal states' forestry cadastres also help (e.g. BayernAtlas).
For breaches, fines of up to 4% of EU-wide annual turnover are possible. In addition: confiscation of the goods, a temporary market ban, exclusion from public contracts, and an entry on a public list.
Important: the penalties are graduated. Anyone who documents honestly and cooperates on a first breach gets off considerably more lightly. For intentional breaches, the authorities come down harder.
An operator is anyone who places a product on the EU market for the first time – for example an importer, a forest owner selling directly, or a business that imports timber itself. Only they file a due diligence statement of their own.
Traders and downstream operators (e.g. a sawmill or joiner buying covered timber) pass the goods on without filing a statement of their own. Large businesses (non-SMEs) must register in TRACES and check on substantiated concern; small ones (SMEs) mainly have a record-keeping obligation.
You stay in control – with a clear four-stage process:
This way, no delivery may leave the plant until the supplier indicator is green.
The most important technical terms of the EUDR – brief and in plain language.
Each sector as its own page – with role, obligations, workflow, deadlines and software requirements.
Usually downstream – own statement only when importing directly.
Read the guide →Large traders vs. SMEs – who has to prove what.
Read the guide →Downstream or first-placer operator – depending on timber origin.
Read the guide →Garden and landscaping firms working with timber.
Read the guide →The highest obligation density – geolocation and evidence.
Read the guide →The most important data source in the forest.
Read the guide →Direct sales and parcel registration.
Read the guide →Coffee, cocoa, soy, palm oil, cattle & rubber are covered on our sister site.
Go to eudr-agrar.compliancecompass.de →Concrete step-by-step help with the most common questions.
Step by step to a correct DDS.
Read the article →When to use which format – and how precise it must be.
Read the article →What certificates deliver – and what they do not.
Read the article →Deadline, typical mistakes and quick help.
Read the article →What was simplified – and what remains.
Read the article →How to get the data anyway.
Read the article →A 30-minute personal demo. We will go through your case with you. Free of charge and with no obligation.