Certification process

The certification process takes at least three months and is guided by a CVIP advisor. It leads to a process certificate valid for 3 years, followed by annual external audits.

• registration with Stichting CVIP, agreement to the terms and payment;
• upload of the required business documents;
• introductory meeting and inventory based on the AHOJGI+ criteria.

• training as a QHSE officer (Quality, Health and Safety, and Environment) — PDCA cycle, the CVIP standard and identifying non-conformities;
• building the quality manual with all required procedures and records;
• the course 'Cannabis Seller Professional Competence' or 'Cannabis Shop Skills Development' for staff;
• at least three months of demonstrable operation;
• internal audit in the first year — either your own trained auditor (a practical pathway with 5 shadow audits and 3 witnessed audits) or an internal auditor from the foundation.

• management review and full internal audit;
• registration with an independent external certification body that carries out the certification assessment — separate from Stichting CVIP;
• if the result is positive: a process certificate valid for 3 years.

After certification, an external audit takes place every year, carried out by an independent certification body. This checks whether the coffeeshop continues to meet the requirements of the BRL. After the third year a full recertification assessment follows to extend the process certificate. An annual management fee is charged for the foundation's maintenance of the BRL.