This checklist puts the checks from our buying guides on one page. Work through it before you pay and again once the credits are retired. Every check is below, with a line on why it matters; the PDF version has the same list with tick boxes, ready to print.
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The buyer’s checklist
Fourteen checks in four groups. The numbers link to the sources at the end of the page.
Before you buy
The Oxford Offsetting Principles say to prioritise reducing your own emissions and minimise the need for offsetting.Source 1
One verified credit represents one tonne of CO₂ equivalent reduced or removed, so your tonnes tell you how many credits to buy.Source 2
The FCA says people who bought carbon credits as an investment report they can’t sell or trade them, and carbon credits are not regulated by the FCA.Source 3
Check the credits
A standard’s registry is where its credits are issued, held, transferred and retired; Gold Standard’s gives every credit a unique serial number.Source 4
The Oxford Offsetting Principles recommend shifting to removals with durable storage over time.Source 1
US FTC guidance says sellers should clearly disclose if an offset’s reductions won’t occur for two years or longer.Source 7
Check the seller
Without serial numbers and a registry, you can’t check what you bought.
The FCA lists being contacted out of the blue, pressured to invest quickly or promised returns that sound too good to be true as warning signs.Source 3
A clear price per tonne lets you compare sellers and match a purchase to your emissions.
After you buy
Once retired, credits can’t be recirculated or resold.Source 8
On the Verra Registry the beneficial owner field is optional and can be kept private, so ask for it to be shown.Source 9
Check that the serial numbers, quantity and date match what you paid for.
A plain statement, such as the tonnes retired with a link to the registry record, is easy to back up.
How to use the checklist
Go through the first two groups before you choose what to buy. If you don’t know your tonnes yet, the credits needed calculator turns an emissions estimate into a number of credits. One credit covers one tonne of CO₂ equivalentSource 2, so the tonnes set the size of your order.
Use the third group while you compare sellers. Our page on where to buy carbon credits lists providers side by side, using what their own pages say about serial numbers, retirement records and the smallest amount they sell.
The checks are the same whoever you buy for. If you are buying for a company, you will usually add your own steps around them: who signs off the purchase, how the credits are recorded, and what you will report. Our guide to buying carbon credits for a company covers those, and the guide for a small business covers budgets and what you can claim.
Keep the last group for after you pay. The retirement record in the registry is what proves you used the credits; a certificate is useful, but the record is what counts. Our guide on how to verify carbon credits shows where to find it in each registry.
If a check fails
Ask the seller before you pay. A genuine seller can tell you the project, standard, registry and serial numbers, and can show your name on the retirement record. If the answers don’t come, buy somewhere else.
Which checks matter most?
If you only have time for three, make them these:
- Retirement. Once retired, credits can’t be recirculated or resoldSource 8. Credits that are only transferred to you are still in circulation.
- Your name on the record. On the Verra Registry, the beneficial owner field is optional and can be kept private by the account holderSource 9, so ask for it to be shown.
- No investment pitch. The FCA warns that people who bought carbon credits as an investment report they can’t sell or trade themSource 3.
Quality matters too. The ICVCM assesses whole methodologies against its Core Carbon Principles, and it has turned some down: in August 2024 it decided credits from eight renewable energy methodologies would not get the CCP labelSource 6.
Warning signs that mean stop
Walk away if you see these
- You were contacted out of the blue, pressured to invest quickly or promised returns that sound too good to be trueSource 3.
- The seller can’t give you serial numbers or a public registry.
- The credits are sold to hold and resell, not to retire.
Our page on carbon credit scams covers these in more detail, with where to report a scam.
What can you say afterwards?
Claims: keep it factual
The Oxford Principles note that “carbon neutral” is widely read as a less rigorous, interim claimSource 1. A plain statement holds up better: the tonnes you retired, the project, and a link to the registry record.
Get the checklist as a PDF
The PDF has the same 14 checks with tick boxes and the sources printed at the end, on two A4 pages. Enter your email below and we’ll send you a download link. For the full walk-through, read how to buy carbon credits as an individual or how to buy carbon offsets.