What the APV means and why it matters

The APV — the official harvesting valuation document — is the technical document without which no tree is legally felled in Romania. If you own forest or buy wood, it's worth understanding what it does.

What it is, concretely: the APV is the official inventory of the trees designated for harvesting on a parcel. It is drawn up by authorised forestry staff (usually through the forest district office): the trees are chosen according to the forest management plan, marked with the forestry hammer — the round mark you see on the trunks — measured and recorded. The result is a "lot": the list of species, number of trees and estimated volumes by assortment.

Why it matters for the owner: the APV tells you exactly what volume of timber will be harvested from your forest — the correct basis for any price negotiation. Without an APV, the "sale" is an estimate by eye, almost always to your disadvantage. The APV is also the document proving the harvest follows the management plan — meaning your forest stays a forest: managed, not razed.

Why it matters for the wood buyer: legally sourced timber can be traced from the APV, through the harvesting permit, to the transport documents generated in SUMAL for every load. When you buy documented firewood, that chain is your guarantee that you are not funding illegal logging.

What the owner receives, in short: the lot (the APV list) with volumes by species; the harvesting permit issued before work begins; the site handover report at the end — proof that the land was left clean, by the rules.

If this is your first harvest and the paperwork scares you, that's normal — there is a lot of it, with deadlines. Our timber harvesting team works only with complete documents and guides you step by step, together with the forest district office, from tree marking to the site handover.