How carbon projects are approved in Lao PDR

The registry implements the Lao PDR Carbon Project Approval and Management Guidelines and their Schedule 1 flowchart. Three parties work together: the Project Owner prepares and submits documents, the Relevant Sector gives technical approval, and the DNA registers projects, issues the Article 6 letters and manages the national record (Guidelines §30).

Project OwnerRelevant SectorDNA

The approval process, step by step

Identify legal status to operate a carbon business §34–41

Taxpayer Project Owners secure an Enterprise Registration Certificate (DOEM, MOIC) and the business licences for the underlying activity (A2, which the Relevant Sector may combine with B1). Non-taxpayer owners (iNGOs, NGOs, CSOs) operate under an MoU with the Relevant Sector specifying carbon activities and notify the DNA; iNGOs also hold a MOFA Operation Permit. Government or Relevant Sector owners go directly to Step C. In the registry, the DNA verifies your organisation before applications can be submitted.

DNA verifies legal status in the registry

Required documents (6)

Enterprise Registration Certificate (DOEM, MOIC) G§38 Taxpayer Project Owners (Category A)
Tax registration (TIN) certificate G§35 Taxpayer Project Owners (Category A)
MoU with the Relevant Sector specifying carbon market activities G§36 Non-taxpayer / international cooperation owners (Category B)
MOFA Operation Permit (iNGO) G§36 International NGOs
Notification to the DNA of carbon activities (non-taxpayer owners) G§36 Non-taxpayer / international cooperation owners (Category B)
Ministry document / mandate as Project Owner G§37 Government / Relevant Sector owners

Carbon Project Development Permit (Relevant Sector technical approval) G§42–56

Submit the MAIN and supporting documents to the Relevant Sector. Completeness check within 5 working days; technical inspection, consultation and permit within 25 working days. Declare Article 6 interest in the MAIN to obtain the no-objection for a Letter of Intent.

1. Project Owner submits 2. Relevant Sector review · completeness: 5 working days · decision: 25 working days

Required documents (12)

Mitigation Activity Idea Note (MAIN) Schedule 2 G§44(i) Required
Preliminary Economic and Technical Analysis (Pre-Feasibility Study) Schedule 3 G§44(ii) Required
Copy of the Enterprise Registration Certificate G§44(iii) Taxpayer Project Owners (Category A)
Copy of the validated MoU with the Relevant Sector G§42 Non-taxpayer / international cooperation owners (Category B)
Business background or history G§44(iv) If applicable
Certificate of the company's financial status G§44(v) Required
Location, asset ownership or land use rights documents (lease / Concession Agreements) G§44(vi), G§48–49 Required
Land Survey and Measurement Certificate (land-use projects without existing concession) G§48 If applicable
Initial concept for FPIC and Benefit Sharing Agreement G§44(vii), G§50 Required for land-based projects
Evidence of stakeholder consultation / EIA or IEE compliance G§51 If applicable
Business licences and permits for the underlying activity (Step A2) G§40–41 If applicable
Other documents specified by the Relevant Sector G§44(viii) If applicable

Carbon Project Registration with the DNA G§57–64

Apply within 60 working days of the Development Permit. DNA completeness check within 5 working days; evaluation, site inspection and consultation within 30 working days. On success the DNA issues the Carbon Credit Project Registration Certificate and, for eligible Article 6 projects, a Letter of Intent valid for two years.

1. Project Owner submits 2. DNA registration review · completeness: 5 working days · decision: 30 working days

⏱ Apply within 60 working days of receiving the Development Permit (§57).

Required documents (11)

Mitigation Activity Idea Note (MAIN) Schedule 2 G§58(i) Required
Copy of the Carbon Project Development Permit G§58(ii) Standard pathway (after Step B)
Copy of the Enterprise Registration Certificate G§58(iii) Taxpayer Project Owners (Category A)
Copy of the Pre-Feasibility Study Schedule 3 G§58(iv) Required
Initial concept of FPIC and Benefit Sharing Agreement G§58(v) Required for land-based projects
Documents certifying location, boundaries and area (lease / Concession Agreements) G§58(vi) Required
Environmental Compliance Certificate G§58(vii) If applicable
Letter from the Relevant Sector confirming technical requirements and its role as Project Owner G§58(viii) Government / Relevant Sector owners
MoU with the project partner G§58(viii) Government / Relevant Sector owners
Joint Committee approval and notification to the DNA G§115 Joint Committee projects
Other necessary and relevant documents G§58(ix) If applicable

MADD validation approval (Approval for Carbon Credit Trading) G§65–73, G§83–88

Submit the VVB MADD Validation Certificate and documents to the Relevant Sector for consistency review. The Relevant Sector forwards to the DNA, which reviews the quantified GHG emission reductions within 20 working days and issues the Letter of GHG Calculation Reduction Endorsement and, for eligible Article 6 projects, the Letter of Authorization.

1. Project Owner submits 2. Relevant Sector consistency review · decision: no statutory limit3. DNA review of quantified emission reductions and authorization · decision: 20 working days

Required documents (8)

MADD Validation Certificate from the VVB G§66(i) Required
MADD and GHG emission reduction calculations G§66(ii) Required
Executive summary of the MADD (Lao and English) G§66(iii) Required
Final Economic and Technical Analysis (Feasibility Study) Schedule 3 G§66(iv) Required
Final Benefit Sharing Agreement G§66(v), G§67–69 Required
Final Sustainable Development Assessment (Schedule 6 matrix) Schedule 6 G§66(vi) Required
Request Form for Letter of Authorization (Article 6 projects) Schedule 4 G§66(vii) Required when seeking Article 6 authorization
Other documents G§66(viii) If applicable

Registration with the carbon crediting programme G§74–75

After the DNA final approval, register the Mitigation Activity with the crediting programme and inform the DNA. The DNA updates the National Carbon Registry and the project may proceed with implementation.

1. Project Owner submits 2. DNA updates the registry · decision: no statutory limit

Required documents (1)

Proof of registration with the carbon crediting programme G§74 Required

Monitoring, verification and issuance record G§76

Submit the monitoring report, VVB verification report and proof of issuance from the crediting programme to the Relevant Sector and the DNA for record-keeping.

1. Project Owner submits 2. DNA records issuance · decision: no statutory limit

Required documents (3)

Monitoring report G§76 Required
VVB verification report G§76 Required
Proof of issuance from the carbon crediting programme G§76 Required

Letter of Positive Examination (ITMO issuance and corresponding adjustment) G§77–80, G§90–101

Submit the Request for Positive Examination with the LoA, monitoring and verification reports, proof of transfer of the share reserved for Lao PDR and proof of execution of the Benefit-Sharing Agreement. The Relevant Sector endorses; the DNA issues the Letter of Positive Examination, undertakes corresponding adjustments, updates the registry and meets UNFCCC reporting.

1. Project Owner submits 2. Relevant Sector assessment and endorsement · decision: no statutory limit3. DNA positive examination · decision: no statutory limit

Required documents (7)

Request for Positive Examination Schedule 7 G§77(i) Required
Letter of Authorization (LoA) G§77(ii) Required
Monitoring report G§77(iii) Required
Verification report from the VVB G§77(iv) Required
Proof of transfer of ownership of carbon credits reserved for Lao PDR (Decree Art. 24) G§77(v), G§96 Required
Proof of execution of the Benefit Sharing Agreement G§77(vi) Required
Other documents G§77(vii) If applicable

The three Article 6 letters

Mandatory for all projects seeking to generate ITMOs. Each requires prior endorsement by the Relevant Sector (§82).

Step C

Letter of Intent (LoI)

Issued with the Registration Certificate where the Relevant Sector's no-objection is on file. Valid for 2 years with periodic progress reports to the DNA; may be revoked for failure to report (§62–63).

Step D1

Letter of Authorization (LoA)

Issued with the GHG Endorsement to projects holding an LoI and the Relevant Sector's no-objection on the MADD, assessed against the ten authorization criteria. Valid up to 7 years, renewable; notify the DNA at least 60 days before expiry if not continuing (§73, §85–89).

Step E1

Letter of Positive Examination (LoPE)

Confirms verified mitigation outcomes before first transfer as ITMOs. The DNA then undertakes corresponding adjustments, updates the registry and reports to the UNFCCC (§79, §98–101).

Lao PDR authorization criteria (§85)

1The Mitigation Activity goes beyond "unconditional targets" in the NDC and beyond or within the "conditional targets" of the NDC or other activities covered by the GHG inventory of the country.
2Mitigation Outcomes from activities implemented in Lao PDR must be real, verified and additional.
3Mitigation Activities must be registered with an internationally recognized crediting program.
4Carbon Project Owners must apply a methodology that sets conservative baselines below BAU.
5Carbon Project Owners must clearly identify the contributions of the activity to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
6Mitigation Activities must comply with environmental and social safeguards.
7Mitigation Activities must regularly monitor and quantify (during implementation) and report the ex-post sustainable development impacts of the activity to the DNA.
8Mitigation Activities must have arrangements in place for benefit-sharing with local communities in accordance with the agreed Benefit-Sharing Agreements.
9Mitigation Activities must demonstrate that the risk of over-crediting is minimized and addressed.
10aForest and land-use activities: risk of leakage is minimized and addressed.
10bForest and land-use activities: risk of non-permanence is minimized and addressed.

Share of mitigation outcomes reserved for Lao PDR

A minimum 10% of mitigation outcomes is reserved for the national NDC buffer (Table 2, §92–97). It is calculated on the issuance volume after the crediting standard's buffer contributions, and evidence of transfer to Lao PDR is required at positive examination.

	Lao PDR taxpayer owner	Non-taxpayer owner
Non-authorized units (VCM)	Exempted	Minimum 10%
Authorized units (ITMOs)	Minimum 10%	Minimum 10%

Reserve calculator

Project Owner Units Verified issuance (tCO₂e) Buffer contribution (tCO₂e)

Net issuance: 85,000 tCO₂e

Reserve for Lao PDR: 8,500 tCO₂e (10%)

Taxpayer Project Owner: minimum reserve on authorized ITMOs (Table 2)

Other pathways and procedures

Article 6.2 Joint Committee projects

For projects under an Article 6.2 Implementation Agreement: the Relevant Sector representative on the Joint Committee confirms Step B1 is fulfilled, the JC approves, and the JC with the Relevant Sector notifies the DNA to register the project. (§114–116)

Government and Relevant Sector owners

May move directly to Step C. The application adds a letter from the Relevant Sector confirming the technical requirements and its role as Project Owner, and the MoU with the project partner (§43, §58).

Legacy projects

Owners of projects active before the Decree are notified in writing by the DNA and must apply for registration within 180 working days of the notification. The DNA may apply a differentiated assessment (§33, §84). Use the claim code in your notification in the Project Owner portal.

Changes to an authorization

Renewal of the LoA is subject to review and confirmation of the Relevant Sector and the DNA.
Where material changes to the Mitigation Activity are proposed, the Project Owner requests a modification of the LoA. The DNA determines whether a new approval process is required. Changes do not apply to ITMOs already first transferred (G§105).
A Project Owner that does not intend to continue implementing the project must notify the DNA at least 60 days before the LoA expires.
Suspension and revocation follow Articles 37–40 of the Decree on Carbon Credits (§105–109).

Fees and charges

A pilot fee structure applies during the pilot phase of the Guidelines and may be revised; any Ministry of Finance regulation supersedes it (§119–120).

The fee schedule will be published by the DNA.

Relevant Sectors (Table 1)

Identify the Relevant Sector for your activity. A Relevant Sector receiving a request notifies other sectors to identify overlaps; the DNA may designate joint responsibility (§19).

Activity sector	Activity types	Relevant Sector
Agriculture and Forestry	Tree planting or reforestation, reducing deforestation and forest degradation, forest conservation	Department of Forestry Ministry of Agriculture and Environment
Agriculture and Forestry	Crop cultivation and livestock farming	Department of Agriculture / Irrigation / Land Management Ministry of Agriculture and Environment
Energy and Energy Conservation	Solar, wind, hydro, pumped hydro, energy storage, hybrid energy, green hydrogen-ammonia, biofuel, biomass, biogas, energy-saving practices, efficient energy use, clean cooking, clean energy transition in industry and transport	Department of Policy, Planning and Evaluation Ministry of Industry and Commerce
Industrial Sector	Green industries, processing plants, industrial zones and estates	Department of Policy, Planning and Evaluation (Industry) Ministry of Industry and Commerce
Infrastructure Development, Transportation, and Waste Management	Clean energy / non-fuel vehicles, infrastructure development, waste minimization and elimination, waste-to-energy and reusable products	Department of Planning and Finance Ministry of Public Works and Transport
Wetlands and Mudflat Conservation	Preserving ecosystems and biodiversity, conservation of wetlands (Ramsar Convention) and mudflats	Department of Water Resources Ministry of Agriculture and Environment

In case of doubt, contact the Department of Environment, MAE.