Legally Required Document

Title in original language: 林权证

Applicable to: All forest entities and forest farmers who manage forest or plantation shall have evidence of ownership or use rights. Note that companies can have other types of certificates to show ownership/use rights. An Immovable Property Certificate for forest has the same legal effect as a Forest Tenure Certificate.

Holder of Document: Forest management entities and/or forest farmers 

Signature required by:
Government at the county level or above.

Key considerations when checking the doc:

• The certificate will have an expiry date. Check if the certificate is still valid?
• Is the name of the owner (at least owner of forest and use right of forest), location, forest compartment number, forest type the same as on the harvesting permit?
• Is the name of the owner the same as on the VAT invoice/receipt issued by the timber owner?
• Is the name the same as on the business license (if the forest is managed by a forest entity)?
• Is the species the same as on the harvesting permit or does it cover the species on the harvest permit?
• Is there a stamp of government or forest authority at or above the county level?

Purpose and content of document:

A Forest Tenure Certificate shows use right and ownership of forest and forest land. It is also an important document for applying for a harvesting permit. Without a Forest Tenure Certificate or other concrete evidence of use right and ownership of forest and forest land, the harvesting permit cannot be issued. The duration of the Forest tenure Certificate is usually between 30-70 years. The contents of a Forest Tenure Certificate include: The owner of forest and forest land, owner of use right of forest and forest land, location of forest/plantation, forest compartment number, area of forest land, main species, number of trees, forest type, valid period, metes and bounds, etc. In China, land can be owned only by the state/government or collectively owned (village committee or sub-village). Individuals or private companies do not have ownership rights to land. However, forest and use rights of forest and forest land can be owned by individuals (including farmers), entities or other organisations via renting agreements, transference agreements, or other mechanisms.

Evidence limitations and weaknesses:

• No publicly available database or website exists to verify this certificate.
• In some regions, there is no clear information (e.g., GPS coordinates, maps) on the location of the land described on the certificate.
• Usually, the number of trees is missing on this certificate, despite being required to be included in the certificate).