# Fees

The platform and registry fees for carbon credit certification are structured according to the types of credits (avoidance, removal and durability), the methodology used, and the annual volume of credits issued.

Rainbow does not charge extra for opening, closing, or reactivating accounts.

Rainbow does not charge additional costs for retirement, transfers or API connections.

## Platform fees

Platform fees cover the cost for registration and certification operations (pre-validation, validation and verification), they are paid by the Project Developer to Rainbow unless otherwise specified.

Platform fees varies depending on the methodology:

* Category A, durable removals:
  * Biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS)
  * Mineralization of alkaline materials (ex-situ)
  * Enhanced Rock Weathering
  * Distributed open/closed-kiln biochar
* Category B, avoidance and other removals:
  * Biobased construction materials
  * Biogas from anaerobic digestion
  * Refurbishing of electronic devices
  * Battery second life

| Fees                      | Removal - Category A                                                                                       | Avoidance - Category B                                                        |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Pre-validation (optional) | 5,000€ per project per year                                                                                | NA                                                                            |
| Subscription              | 5,000€ per year to subscribe to the platform for 1 carbon project with 1 site                              | 7,500€ per year to subscribe to the platform for 1 carbon project with 1 site |
| Additional site           | Additional sites within a projet: from 500 to 2,500€ per additional site, depending on the number of sites | +2,500€ for any additional site within a project                              |
| Validation                | Included                                                                                                   | Included                                                                      |
| Verification              | see table below                                                                                            | 2,500€ per year per verification per site                                     |

#### Validation fees

The annual subscription includes the validation audit with remote site audit. When the on-site visit is required for the site audit, the specific audit fee will be determined in collaboration with the third-party auditor, based on the [Validation audit](https://docs.rainbowstandard.io/~/changes/215/rainbow-standard-documents/procedures-manual/project-certification-procedure#validation-audit) requirements applied to the project's context. 

This fee is contingent upon the complexity of the project and whether an on-site visit is deemed necessary, and is paid directly to the third-party VVB, typically between 1,000€ and 5,000€ depending on the location.

#### Verification fees

Frequent issuance is possible for certain removal methodologies. The following fees apply:

| Methodology                              | 1st verification within 12 months | 2nd verification within 12 months | From 3 verification within 12 months |
| ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| **BiCRS**                                | 2,500€                            | 2,500€                            | 1,500€                               |
| **Biobased Construction Materials**      | 2,500€                            | 2,500€                            | 1,500€                               |
| **Enhanced Rock Weathering**             | 10,000€                           | 5,000€                            | 5,000€                               |
| **Mineralization of alkaline materials** | 5,000€                            | 2,500€                            | 1,500€                               |
| **Distributed open/closed kiln**         | 2,500€                            | 2,500€                            | 2,500€                               |

## Credit issuance fee

The fee per Rainbow Carbon Credit (RCC) is set at fixed tiers based on the cumulative volume of RCCs transferred, from the Project Developer account, over the past 12 months. The price per credit decreases only when the total issued and transferred volume (for all listed projects) exceeds a predefined threshold.

Projects may issue one or multiple type of credits. The credit issuance fee details below apply separately for each credit type.

### Avoidance RCCs

For avoidance credits, the credit issuance fees depend on the project's methodology:

**Avoidance - Category 1**

* Biogas from anaerobic digestion
* Biobased Construction Material

**Avoidance - Category 2**

* Refurbishing of electronic devices
* Battery Second Life
* Mineralization of alkaline materials (ex-situ)
* Biomass carbon removal and storage
* General Requirements (Standard V6.2 and below only)

| Volume (yearly)           | Price per credit - Category 1 | Price per credit - Category 2 |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| From 1 to 50,000 credits  | 2€ per credit                 | 3€ per credit                 |
| 50,001 to 100,000 credits | 1.75€ per credit              | 2.5€ per credit               |
| Above 100,000 credits     | 1.5€ per credit               | 2€ per credit                 |

### **Removal RCCs**

For removal credits, the credit issuance fees depend on the project's methodology:

**Removal - Category 1**

* Mineralization of alkaline materials (ex-situ)
* Enhanced Rock Weathering
* Biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) / Sub-sediment burial

**Removal - Category 2**

* Biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) / Biochar Application to soil

**Removal - Category 3**

* Distributed open/closed-kiln biochar
* Biobased construction materials

<table><thead><tr><th>Volume (yearly)</th><th>Removal - Category 1</th><th width="173.5029296875">Removal - Category 2</th><th width="196.5068359375">Removal - Category 3</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>From 1 to 20,000 credits</td><td>10€ per credit</td><td>7.5€ per credit</td><td>5€ per credit</td></tr><tr><td>20,001 to 50,000 credits</td><td>8€ per credit</td><td>5€ per credit</td><td>4€ per credit</td></tr><tr><td>50,001 to 100,000 credits</td><td>7€ per credit</td><td>4€ per credit</td><td>3€ per credit</td></tr><tr><td>100,001 to 200,000 credits</td><td>6€ per credit</td><td>3€ per credit</td><td>2€ per credit</td></tr><tr><td>Above 200,001 credits</td><td>4€ per credit</td><td>2€ per credit</td><td>2€ per credit</td></tr></tbody></table>