Legality
Also known as: Legally produced
One of three mandatory product conditions: the relevant commodity must have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production — deforestation-free alone is not enough.
What it means
Legality is the condition most often underestimated. A plot can be entirely deforestation-free against the cut-off and still fail EUDR because production breached land, labour, tax, or other relevant law in the country of production.
In the regulation
Relevant products may be placed or exported only if they are deforestation-free, legally produced, and covered by a due diligence statement. Article 9 information collection includes evidence supporting both the deforestation-free and legality limbs.
How ERWAY treats it
Field guides on this site treat legality as a separate evidence track from satellite deforestation checks — questionnaires and supplier packs are where much of that trail is gathered. The protected-area and Indigenous-land part of the test is what the Legality Assessment product screens per plot.
Related terms
- Regulation & scope
Deforestation
Conversion of forest to agricultural use after the cut-off — one of three conditions a product must meet (with legality and a due diligence statement).
- Filing & enforcement
Due Diligence Statement
The filing by which the first-placing operator formally declares that due diligence was carried out and that risk is negligible — required at every country risk tier.
- Risk & benchmarking
Risk assessment
Article 10 evaluation of whether relevant products present more than a negligible risk of non-compliance — required at standard and high risk; often skipped only under Article 13.
Keep reading
Regulation & scopeEUDR in plain terms: what Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 actually requires
The EUDR's scope, the three conditions every product must meet, the 31 December 2020 cut-off, and what due diligence actually consists of.
6 min read
Risk & benchmarkingRisk assessment and mitigation: building an evidence file that holds up
What EUDR risk assessment has to cover, what 'negligible risk' and 'substantiated concern' mean in practice, and how to document mitigation so it survives a competent authority check.
6 min read