A ready-to-fill workbook for the EUDR due diligence statement — updated for the 26 December 2025 amendment, so the fields that regulation deleted aren't sitting in your file. Two documents, straight to your downloads folder, no email required.
- Two files. A 6-sheet workbook — statement worksheet, Article 9 evidence checklist, plot geolocation, inbound/outbound registers, field guide — plus a printable 2-page supplier form.
- Current as of the amendment. Most templates still circulating online carry a field Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 deleted. This one doesn't — see why that matters.
- Not sure if you even need to file? That decision tree, worked through by scenario, lives in the DDS filing guide — this page is the paperwork, that one is the rulebook.
Get the template, both parts
Fill in the yellow cells. Everything else is an example showing the format that gets accepted.
No email required. Works in Excel and Google Sheets. Operational guidance, not legal advice — your competent authority has the final word.
What is in the two files
| Sheet | What it is for | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 DDS worksheet | What the statement carries, per Annex II, with a worked softwood example | Operators |
| 2 Article 9 evidence | The eleven things you must collect and hold for five years, with a Y/N column and where each document lives | Operators |
| 3 Plot geolocation | One row per plot: area, point or polygon, coordinates, harvest window, permit reference | Operators |
| 4 Inbound register | Article 5(3)(a) — who supplied you, full identity block, reference number or declaration identifier | Downstream operators and traders |
| 5 Outbound register | Article 5(3)(b) — who you supplied. The half that gets forgotten | Downstream operators and traders |
| 6 Field guide | Field by field: what goes wrong, what to do instead | Everyone |
The supplier form is the other half of the job. You cannot produce the country of production or the plot coordinates out of your own records — they live with whoever felled the trees. Two printable pages: supplier identity as Article 5(3) actually defines it, consignment, a six-line plot table with harvest window and permit reference, a box for a reference number if one already exists, and a signed declaration that tracks Article 3. Send it once per contract, not once per lorry.
Why this one, and not the one you already found
Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 rewrote the rules on 26 December 2025 — after most "EUDR template" files circulating online were written. Three changes decide whether a template is still correct:
| Change | What it means in the log yard |
|---|---|
| Annex II point 4 deleted (with Article 4(8)–(10)) | The field for reference numbers of statements already filed upstream is gone. A template that still has that field predates the amendment — this one doesn't. |
| Articles 5 and 6 replaced | Downstream operators and traders keep records instead of filing — that's why sheets 4 and 5 exist here at all. |
| New Article 4a and Annex III | A one-time simplified declaration for micro/small primary operators only — not a mill buying logs from third parties. |
The eleven things you hold behind it
This is the part that decides an inspection. Article 9(1) lists what an operator must collect, organise and keep for five years — and it is a much longer list than the statement itself.
| Art. 9(1) | What must be collected | Who gives it to you |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Description including trade name and type; for wood, the common name of the species and its full scientific name | Your order and grading records |
| (b) | Quantity — kg net mass and, where applicable, the supplementary unit against the HS code | Weighbridge, pack list |
| (c) | Country of production and, where relevant, parts of it | Supplier |
| (d) | Geolocation of all plots and the date or time range of production | Forest owner, harvest permit |
| (e) | Name, postal address and email of anyone who supplied you | The supplier form |
| (f) | Name, postal address and email of any business, downstream operator or trader you supplied | Your sales records |
| (g) | Adequately conclusive and verifiable information that the products are deforestation-free | Supplier declaration, maps, certification evidence |
| (h) | The same standard of information that production complied with the relevant legislation of the country of production, including any arrangement conferring the right to use the area | Felling licence, permit, land-use right, contract |
| (i) | The risk assessment — the analysis, not only the conclusion | You |
| (j) | Risk mitigation measures, where risk was not negligible | You |
| (k) | Anything else relevant to establishing compliance | You |
Two of these are where mills lose arguments. (h) is not satisfied by "it is certified" — the phrase "relevant legislation of the country of production" is defined, and it covers land use rights, environmental protection, forest management and biodiversity rules where directly related to harvesting, third parties' rights, labour rights, human rights, free prior and informed consent, and tax, anti-corruption, trade and customs law. (i) is not satisfied by a conclusion — the assessment has to exist as a document.
Geolocation: the field sheet 3 exists for
Geolocation is the field that gets a statement sent back — usually rounded coordinates, a point where a polygon was required, or no harvest date. Sheet 3 is built to prevent all three: plot ID, supplier, country, area, point-or-polygon as a dropdown, lat/long to six decimals, GeoJSON file name, harvest window, and the permit that satisfies Article 9(1)(h). Fill it as logs arrive and the geodata for a statement is a copy-paste, not an archaeology project.
Two registers, not one
If you are a downstream operator, sheets 4 and 5 are your compliance — no statement to point at, just a record of who supplied you and who you supplied. Article 5(3) wants a fuller identity block than most purchase ledgers carry: name, registered trade name, postal address, email, web address where available, plus a reference number or declaration identifier where the supplier is an operator.
The half that gets forgotten: Article 5(3)(b) requires the same block for who you supplied, not just who supplied you. That's sheet 5, and in most mills it doesn't exist yet. A reference number and a verification number are not interchangeable — the reference number is what you pass down and keep; the verification number is voluntary and rarely seen. The field guide sheet covers both, plus what a supplier giving you neither actually means.
Worked example: 40 suppliers, 480 reference numbers
Take a mid-sized mill buying from 40 log suppliers, roughly one delivery each per month. That is 480 reference numbers a year to capture, match to a delivery note, and still retrieve in 2032 — plus the outbound side, which for most mills is a larger number again.
None of that is difficult. All of it is unforgiving: one delivery without a number is one batch you cannot evidence, and batches do not stay separate — that log goes into a mixed run and the gap spreads across every pack it touched.
Which is the real argument for capturing the number at intake, on the same screen where the delivery is booked, rather than reconstructing it from e-mails at year end. A spreadsheet handles 480 rows fine. It handles them badly when the person who maintained it is on holiday and a customer wants an answer today.
What this template is not
- It is not a filing. Filling in the worksheet submits nothing. The statement exists only once it is in the information system and has a number.
- It is not a risk assessment. Article 9(1)(i) wants the analysis. The workbook gives it a home, not an answer.
- A supplier declaration is not due diligence. Part E of the form is evidence you collect; it does not transfer your responsibility, and on its own it does not satisfy Article 9(1)(g) and (h).
- It is not legal advice. Competent authorities differ on details, and yours has the final word.
- It is not a traceability system. It records what you already know. If your intake does not link a log to a pack, no spreadsheet layout will fix that.
Week-1 checklist
- Decide your row in the table above — operator or downstream — for each supply route you have. Most mills have more than one.
- Send the supplier form to your five largest log suppliers. Their answers tell you how much of your intake is already declared, and whether they are operators at all.
- Count what is missing. Every delivery in the last quarter without a reference number is a gap you would have to explain.
- Start the outbound register today. It is the one nobody has, and it is the easier of the two to build going forward — from invoices you already issue.
- Test one plot end to end: coordinates, area, point or polygon, harvest window, into GeoJSON, into the system's acceptance environment. One plot now beats sixty in December.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official EUDR due diligence statement template?
No. The Commission does not publish a fill-in DDS form. The statement is created and submitted inside the EU Information System, which issues a reference number on submission. This download is a worksheet for preparing and keeping that data, not the statement itself.
My template has a field for "reference numbers of existing due diligence statements". Is that still right?
No — that field was Annex II point 4, and Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 deleted it together with Article 4(8), 4(9) and 4(10). If you receive wood already covered by a statement you are a downstream operator: you keep the supplier's reference number as a record under Article 5(3), you do not restate it in a statement of your own. This workbook doesn't have that field.
What is the difference between a reference number and a verification number?
The reference number is issued when a statement is submitted and is communicated down the chain to downstream operators and traders; goods are not released at customs without one. The verification number is generated alongside it as an authenticity check and there is no obligation to share it — it is requested where there is substantiated concern.
Does the workbook open in Google Sheets, or only Excel?
Both. The XLSX opens cleanly in Excel and Google Sheets with the dropdowns and the keep-until-date formula intact. If you're on Sheets, use File → Import rather than double-clicking, so the data-validation dropdowns come across.
The example rows look like real data — do I send those to a customer?
No. Rows marked EXAMPLE on sheets 2 and 3 are format demonstrations, not a template you fill columns next to. Delete them before the file goes anywhere near a supplier or customer — leaving them in is the single most common mistake with a worksheet like this.
What happens if a supplier refuses to give plot coordinates?
Then that wood cannot be covered by a compliant statement, and placing it on the market is a breach. Penalties under the regulation include fines with a maximum of at least 4% of annual EU-wide turnover, confiscation of the products and of the revenue gained, and exclusion from public procurement. The commercial answer is to make the supplier form part of the purchase contract rather than a favour.
When does this start applying to my mill?
30 December 2026 for large and medium operators, and for micro and small operators already covered by the EU Timber Regulation — which is most sawmills. 30 June 2027 for other micro and small operators. The full breakdown by scenario is in the DDS filing guide.
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free products — Articles 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 25, 33 and Annex II. EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 — postponement and targeted simplification: new Article 2(15a) and (15b), new Article 4a and Annex III, Articles 5 and 6 replaced, Article 9(1)(b) and (f) amended, Annex II point 4 deleted. In force 26 December 2025. EUR-Lex
- European Commission — EUDR Information System: registration, geolocation upload, API documentation and training sessions. green-forum.ec.europa.eu
- European Commission — Commission updates product scope and tools to support EUDR, 13 July 2026. environment.ec.europa.eu
- Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto) — EUDR FAQ: who places timber on the market, sawmill by-products, mass balance. ruokavirasto.fi
This article is operational guidance for sawmill operators, not legal advice. It reflects Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 and Commission implementing measures published up to August 2026. Implementation details are set by national competent authorities and continue to be updated — check the current position with yours before you rely on a filing decision.