Validated targets
SBTi Services approves a company’s targets against the criteria and lists them on the dashboard.
SOP V1.2: “Approval” or “Rejection”SBTi validation · from SBTi Services’ own procedures
SBTi validation: registration to decision, step by step
SBTi validation is SBTi Services’ check of your targets against the SBTi criteria: register, submit and pay, answer the reviewer’s questions, and receive an approval or a rejection, which its fee schedule says comes within 40 business days for a corporate.
Science Based Targets initiative validation approves targets; it does not certify a company, and it does not tell you whether the targets will be met.
The process
SBTi validation, step by step
The corporate route under the criteria in force today. Financial institutions follow a 55-business-day schedule with up to five query rounds.
- Step 1 · 5–20 business days01
Register in the Validation Portal
Company details, up to 10 contacts including an accountable executive, and eligibility; SBTi Services sets your organisation type, tier and (from V2.0) category on acceptance. - Step 2 · optional02
Commit, or go straight to targets
Corporates and financial institutions may commit and then have 24 months to submit; SMEs cannot commit. - Step 303
Submit, sign and pay
Sign the SBTi Services terms, click “Submit for validation”, and pay the invoice within 30 days; corporates get a start date at least 10 business days ahead. - Days 1–1204
Assessment
First query round on day 1, a 60-minute validation call between days 2 and 3, a second query round by day 7. - Days 13–2505
Evaluation
Anything still unresolved at the end of day 25 becomes a non-conformity and triggers a rejection recommendation. - Days 26–3006
Decision
Approval or rejection, with 10 more business days if the decision-maker needs information; the outcome is a Validation Statement. - Within 6 months07
Publish
Approved targets appear on the SBTi Target Dashboard once announced; unannounced after six months, they must be resubmitted.
How long
How long Science Based Targets initiative validation takes
SBTi’s own documents give different figures. Here they all are, with where each one comes from.
| SBTi document | Corporate | Financial institution | SME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Offerings V6.1 (the fee schedule) | Within 40 business days of the service start | Within 60 days | No specific timeframe |
| Validation SOP V1.2, Table 1 | 30–41 business days | Within 60 business days | Within about 21 business days |
| Validation Schedules | 30 business days, plus 10 if needed | 55 business days, up to 60 | — |
| SBTi Services FAQ | 30 (near-term) or 60 (net-zero) business days | 60 business days | — |
| SME FAQs V6.2, Q30 | — | — | About 60 business days, application to publication |
| SBTi, how to set targets | Usually within 12 weeks | — | — |
What it is not
SBTi validation is not certification
Three different things carry the SBTi name. Only one of them is about your company’s targets.
“SBTi” on a claim
Ask which of these it means
Ask which of these it means
Certified individuals
A $1,500 credential for practitioners, valid two years; listed experts may not offer validation.
SBTi Certification registerReadiness assessment
An optional pre-submission review; SBTi Services says it is not pre-validation.
Readiness Assessment ServiceSBTi validation answers one UK SRS S2 question: ¶34(a) asks “whether the target and the methodology for setting the target has been validated by a third party”. It does not make the target mandatory, and it does not assure your emissions data.
Registration
SBTi registration, the Validation Portal and login
Every submission starts in the SBTi Services Validation Portal, whose login page is validation.sbtiservices.com/login.
The SBTi Services FAQ lists the steps: create an account, complete the company registration form, provide details to confirm eligibility and route, add up to 10 key contacts including one accountable executive, and submit.
Companies that already have targets must register too: “Companies who have previously set targets or commitments are also required to complete the registration step.”
Your organisation type and fee tier are fixed at registration, which is also the only point at which a discount can be requested; the SBTi cost guide has the fees.
Before you submit
Commitments before SBTi validation
A commitment is optional for corporates and financial institutions, and SMEs cannot make one: “SMEs are not eligible to set commitments”.
Once made, “Companies and financial institutions that commit to set science-based targets have 24 months to submit targets”; miss the deadline and the dashboard shows “Commitment Removed”.
Separate near-term and net-zero commitments close on 31 January 2027; from 1 February 2027 there is a single “SBTi Commitment”, which can only be met under the Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0.
Decisions
Science Based Targets initiative validation outcomes
The SOP allows two decisions: approval, where targets meet all applicable requirements, or rejection, where they did not, issues were unresolved, or the company missed the reviewer’s deadline.
A rejection is private: “SBTi Services will not publicly communicate the fact that a company’s target was not approved.”
An approval must be published within six months or it lapses, and once published the target shows as “Validated Targets” on the SBTi dashboard.
Approved is not achieved
Validation checks the target at submission. Whether the company is meeting it is a separate question, answered by its reported emissions over time.
From 2027
SBTi validation under the net zero standard V2.0
SBTi Services published Validation Procedures for the Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 (Version 1.0) in October 2026, for submissions from February 2027.
The regular schedule runs 40 to 60 business days; a focused schedule of 24 to 30 business days is only for Category B companies validating Scope 1 and 2 targets with no Scope 3 or sector targets.
Financial institutions are not eligible to submit under V2.0 in February 2027, and sector-standard validation waits for revised sector standards.
The steps that come before submission are on the SBTi target setting guide.
Frequently asked
SBTi validation, answered
What is SBTi validation?
SBTi validation is SBTi Services’ assessment of a company’s submitted targets against the SBTi criteria.
It ends in an approval or a rejection; approved targets are published on the SBTi Target Dashboard.
Is SBTi validation the same as SBTi certification?
No. SBTi Services validates targets; it does not certify companies.
“SBTi Certification” is a separate credential for individual practitioners, and the register says listed experts cannot offer validation services.
How long does SBTi validation take?
SBTi Services’ fee schedule says corporate results come within 40 business days of the service start date and financial-institution results within 60 days; SMEs have no fixed timeframe.
Other SBTi documents give 30 to 41 business days for corporates, and the SBTi’s own guide says usually within 12 weeks.
Where is the SBTi login?
Companies register and submit through the SBTi Services Validation Portal, whose login page is validation.sbtiservices.com/login.
Companies that already have targets or commitments must also register there.
What happens if SBTi rejects our targets?
SBTi Services sends a notification and a report with recommendations through the Validation Portal, does not publicise the rejection, and encourages the company to resubmit.
No public document sets a resubmission fee.
Do we have to publish validated targets?
Yes.
Approved targets must be announced within six months of the validation decision; otherwise they are no longer valid and must be resubmitted.
Does a consultant’s review count as SBTi validation?
No. Only SBTi Services validates targets, and its Readiness Assessment Service is not pre-validation either.
A consultant can prepare the inventory, targets and evidence.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
Checked against 14 sources fromSBTi ServicesScience Based Targets initiativeDepartment for Business and Trade
- SBTi ServicesSOP for the Validation of SBTi Targets V1.2 (October 2026)
Stages, decisions, limited assurance, publication within six months.
- SBTi ServicesValidation Schedule (corporate)
Assessment, Evaluation and Decision over 30 business days.
- SBTi ServicesFI Validation Schedule V1.0
55 business days, up to five query rounds.
- SBTi ServicesSOP for Entities Registration V2.0
Registration outcomes within 20 business days; tier and category set at acceptance.
- SBTi ServicesTarget Validation Service Offerings V6.1
What the service includes; the 40-business-day corporate figure.
- SBTi ServicesSBTi Services home and FAQs
The six stages; how to register; what validation excludes.
- SBTi ServicesCorporates and financial institutions
Existing target-holders must register too.
- SBTi ServicesValidation Procedures for CNZS V2.0, V1.0
Regular and focused schedules from February 2027.
- Science Based Targets initiativeCommitment and Target Statuses V2.1
The 24-month commitment window; removed and expired statuses.
- SBTi ServicesGuide for Companies in the Transition to CNZS V2.0
Separate commitments end 31 January 2027.
- SBTi ServicesSBTi Certification
Certifies individuals; listed experts cannot offer validation.
- SBTi ServicesReadiness Assessment Service
Not pre-validation.
- Science Based Targets initiativeHow to set science-based targets
“Usually finished within 12 weeks”; no consultation services.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S2
¶34(a): whether a third party validated the target.