Are old certificates still valid

The date on a document does not in itself determine anything. The question is whether the document still describes the material you use.

When an old document is acceptable

When it concerns the same material, the same supplier, and nothing has changed in the formulation or process in the meantime. A test of metal content for board from the same machine does not become meaningless simply because three years have passed.

When it needs updating

• The supplier has changed the formulation, coating or sub-supplier.
• The material catalogue number has changed.
• The process has changed — a different passivation method, different varnish, different ink system.
• The document refers to a standard that has been superseded.

How to manage this in the application

The document date is visible next to each piece of evidence, and the risk analysis itself draws attention to evidence that has become outdated — the older the document, the higher it raises the level of attention. The threshold cannot be set in the panel; it is fixed.

The marking does not mean that the document is invalid — it means that it is worth confirming with the supplier that nothing has changed. One question once a year is cheaper than a declaration based on an outdated formulation.