Step 1
Read the document for any explicit validity limit and record its exact wording.
Practical review guide · Free worksheet
Distinguish document expiry from review dates
Direct answerKeep a document's stated validity, your internal review date and a follow-up reminder in separate fields. Do not invent an expiry date for a document that has none.
Reviewed by ComplyFolio. Sellers and reviewers maintaining product evidence and preparing publication decisions.
Get the working templateReview procedure
These are suggested operational checks to apply to your own evidence. They are not additional legal requirements or claims that the workspace automates this entire task.
Step 2
Set an internal review date based on changes and unresolved questions rather than a fabricated legal deadline.
Step 3
Track reminder dates independently from the evidence status.
Step 4
Reassess applicability when a product or source changes, even if the reminder date has not arrived.
Worked example
A team labels every supplier file expired after a year, including an unchanged instruction manual with no stated expiry.
What the reviewer finds
- The manual has no stated expiry.
- The product changed before the scheduled annual review.
Resulting record
A date register separating stated validity, internal review and follow-up.
Boundary: The correct retention or validity rules depend on the document and applicable requirements.
This scenario is fictional. It illustrates a review decision, not a customer outcome or a compliance determination.
Download the blank working record
The Markdown worksheet includes the procedure, the fields below, and space for findings, evidence, owners and retests. It contains no pre-approved findings. Edit it locally without an account.
- Stated validity
- Source wording
- Internal review date
- Reminder date
- Change trigger
Record what you observed, including unknowns. Link each decision to a source and keep unresolved questions assigned to an owner. Share completed records only through an appropriate authorized route.
Primary references and scope
The references provide the legal or technical context. The procedure and worksheet are ComplyFolio working suggestions, not official forms or a certification standard.
- GPSR — product safety, operator and distance-sale requirements (legal context)
- European Commission — product safety and business resources
The correct retention or validity rules depend on the document and applicable requirements.
Connect the review to your product record
Use the free workspace for an initial public product-page review, then add the manual evidence and decisions this guide requires. A page scan cannot inspect private supplier files or complete every user journey.
Start with a public product page