Every carbon credit carries a year: its vintage. It tells you when the tonne behind the credit was actually reduced or removed. It is one of the first things to check on a registry record, and it can decide what a credit may be used for.
This page is part of our Learn section. It builds on how carbon credits are created.
What does vintage mean?
The ICVCM defines vintage as the calendar year in which the emission reduction or removal associated with a carbon credit took placeSource 1. A credit with a 2023 vintage stands for a tonne avoided or removed during 2023, whenever it was issued or sold.
Why vintage and issuance year differ
Credits are issued only after the results are verified, and verification happens after the reductions or removals have occurred. So programs may issue credits after the vintage yearSource 1.
Isometric puts it this way: the vintage commonly, but not necessarily, matches the year of issuance, because issuance may come later due to reporting or verification timelinesSource 2. The VCMI adds that verification can take two to three years from project inceptionSource 3.
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| Aspect | Vintage | Issuance year |
|---|---|---|
| What it records | When the reduction or removal happened | When the program created the credit in the registry |
| When it is fixed | By the monitoring period that was verified | After verification is complete |
| Where to find it | Registry record, often the serial number | Registry record |
Where to find a credit’s vintage
Look at the registry record for the credit. Many programs also build the vintage into the serial number. The Climate Action Reserve’s serial format includes a vintage field, the year the emissions occurred; its example serial CAR-1-US-293-1-120-CA-2006-102-1 to 29251 covers 2006 reductionsSource 4.
If a seller can’t tell you the vintage of the credits you are buying, ask for the serial numbers and look them up yourself. Our guide on carbon registries shows where.
When does vintage change what a credit can do?
Vintage is more than a label in some markets, because rules accept only certain years:
- Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6.2 must be generated in respect of, or represent, mitigation from 2021 onwardSource 5. See Article 6 explained.
- CORSIA, the airline scheme. When ICAO approved Verra’s VCS Program for CORSIA’s first phase (2024–2026), units with vintages from 2021 onward needed an “Article 6 Authorized – International mitigation purposes” label to be eligibleSource 6. See CORSIA explained.
In the voluntary market, buyers set their own vintage preferences. There is no single universal cut-off.
Is an older vintage a worse credit?
Not by itself. A tonne reduced in 2015 is still a tonne, if it was measured properly. But vintage can be a clue about which rules applied. Methodologies change, and the ICVCM assesses credits by category: credits of the same activity type, under the same program, quantified with the same version of the same methodologySource 1. When it announced the first CCP-labelled credits, it approved specific landfill gas and ozone-depleting substances methodologies, not every credit of those typesSource 7.
What to check alongside vintage
Ask which methodology and version the credits were issued under, when they were verified, and whether the project is still active. An old vintage from a project that later changed its rules may not reflect the current standard.
What vintage means for your purchase
For most individuals and small businesses buying in the voluntary market, vintage is a quality signal, not a legal requirement. A recent vintage shows the project is still delivering; an older one is not wrong, but deserves a closer look at its methodology.
Cut your own emissions first, then buy credits for what is left, and check the vintage on the registry record before you buy. Once credits are bought, make sure they are retired in your name: see carbon credit retirement.