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V-Legal document (SVLK)
SVLK is Indonesia's timber legality assurance system. The document it issues for a shipment is called a V-Legal document, and every wood product leaving the country carries one. It confirms that the timber was legally harvested and that the chain of custody from forest to exporter holds up.
The essentials.
- Who issues it
- An accredited conformity assessment body, against the national system. The exporter applies for it per shipment.1
- What it covers
- Legality of the harvest and control of the supply chain through the mills and traders that handled the wood.1
- Which destinations
- All of them. The requirement is Indonesian and applies to every export market, not only to Europe.1
- What it applies to
- Timber and wood products, which for Indonesian trade means furniture and wooden décor as well as sawn material.1
Who asks for it.
This travels with the goods wherever they go. Either Indonesia requires it on the way out, or it is an ordinary trade document that any buyer, bank and carrier expects to see.
What it does not cover.
It is not an EUDR due diligence statement
SVLK answers legality. EUDR asks legality and whether the land was cleared of forest, and wants plot coordinates to settle the second question. A supplier who responds to an EUDR request with their SVLK certificate has answered a different question.
It says nothing about quality
Grade, moisture content, finish and construction are contract terms between you and the producer. A V-Legal document will accompany a badly made chair as readily as a good one.
Questions buyers ask.
Can a supplier ship wood without one?
Not legally. The requirement sits on the Indonesian side of the transaction and applies to every export destination, so a producer offering to skip it is telling you something useful about how they operate.
Do I need to do anything with it as the buyer?
Keep it with the shipment file. Depending on your market it may be checked at import, and it is part of the evidence trail behind any legality claim you make further down your own supply chain.
Where this comes up.
Indonesian teak furniture
Where it is built, what the trade grade letters actually mean, the mandatory V-Legal document, and why SVLK alone no longer answers the EU.
EUDR and Indonesian goods
What the EU Deforestation Regulation covers, the 30 December 2026 deadline, Indonesia's standard-risk classification, and why an SVLK certificate does not answer it.
Sources
- 1SVLK, Indonesia's timber legality assurance system. FLEGT licence information service. Checked 3 August 2026.
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