SW-01 · Materials & SupplyEmissions and content are separate tests. FloorScore certifies low emissions from hard surface flooring, adhesives and underlayments, using chamber testing to the California 01350 standard.1 That method, CDPH Standard Method V1.2, models emissions in office and classroom scenarios.2 Adhesive VOC content is regulated separately; South Coast AQMD Rule 1168 sets 50 g/L for most indoor floor covering adhesives.3 Check both before the adhesive is opened.
Specifications for schools, healthcare and offices usually require low-emitting flooring and adhesives. On site, that often reduces to a logo on a carton. The logo matters, but it answers only part of the question. Two different kinds of VOC rule apply to a resilient floor: how much the installed product emits into the room, and how much VOC the adhesive contains as sold. A field check needs to cover both.
Emissions: what FloorScore certifies
FloorScore is an indoor air quality certification for hard surface flooring, adhesives and underlayments. It was developed by SCS Global Services with the Resilient Floor Covering Institute.1 SCS describes it as qualifying for green building schemes including LEED v4.1, WELL, BREEAM, CHPS and Green Globes.1 Certification involves an onsite audit and emissions testing of a product sample by an approved independent lab, to the California 01350 standard.1 SCS says emissions results can take about 3-4 weeks.1
The VA master specification for resilient tile shows how the requirement appears in a project. It asks for finish flooring with FloorScore certification.4
The test behind it
The California method is now formally CDPH Standard Method V1.2. Berkeley Analytical, a testing lab, calls it the most widely used standard in North America for VOC emissions from building products, including flooring.2 It describes the method's steps. Specimens are conditioned for 10 days, then tested for 96 hours in a small chamber.2 Air samples are collected at 24, 48 and 96 hours. The results are modeled to predict concentrations in standard office and school classroom scenarios, and compared with chronic health guidelines.2 The German lab eco-INSTITUT notes the specification is integrated into programs such as FloorScore and LEED.5
The method changes over time. MAS Certified Green reports that CDPH is sharply lowering the compliance threshold for dichlorobenzene, effective July 1, 2026. It is also adding compliance values for three more compounds effective January 1, 2027.6 Certificates issued against older thresholds may need renewal. Check the date on any certificate in a submittal.
Content: VOC limits for adhesives
Adhesives are also regulated by what they contain. In Southern California, South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 1168 sets VOC limits by adhesive category.3 Many other jurisdictions and green building programs reference the same limits.
| Category | VOC limit (g/L) |
|---|---|
| VCT and Asphalt Tile Adhesive | 503 |
| Rubber Floor Adhesive | 603 |
| Ceramic Glass, Porcelain, & Stone Tile Adhesive | 653 |
| Cove Base Adhesive | 503 |
| Carpet Pad Adhesive | 503 |
| Subfloor Adhesive | 503 |
| Wood Flooring Adhesive | 1003 |
| All Other Indoor Floor Covering Adhesives | 503 |
The rule has been amended many times; this table is marked as amended November 4, 2022, and some categories carry future limits.3 Use the current rule for the project's location. The VA specification takes a different route for adhesives, asking for Green Seal GS-36 certification, with SCAQMD Rule 1168 compliance as an option.4
Where the requirements come from
Most projects inherit these requirements from a rating system or a code. Berkeley Analytical lists the programs that use emissions testing to the California method: LEED v4/4.1, WELL, CHPS and Green Globes among rating systems. Green building codes such as CALGreen, ASHRAE Standard 189.1 and the International Green Construction Code require the same standards.2 When a specification says "low-emitting," find the program behind it. Each one says which certificates and which product categories count.
Reading a certificate
A certificate is only useful if it covers the product being installed. Check the product name and line, the manufacturer, the certificate number and the expiry date. Check whether it covers the adhesive and underlayment too, or only the flooring. FloorScore also has a private label program, which lets customers of certified manufacturers re-brand certified products under their own name after an assessment.1 A house-brand plank may be certified under its maker's certificate. Ask for the private label certificate that names it, rather than assuming.
Why both matter
A FloorScore-certified plank set in a non-compliant adhesive is not a low-VOC installation. A compliant adhesive under an uncertified plank is not either. The specification usually names both requirements, often in different places: emissions in the flooring section, adhesive VOC content in the general requirements or the adhesive paragraph. The submittal should answer both. See the submittal checklist.
A field checklist
- Flooring: a current FloorScore or equivalent emissions certificate for the exact product line.
- Adhesive: VOC content on the label or data sheet, against the local rule and the specification.
- Adhesive emissions: a certificate if the specification asks for it.
- Primers, patching compounds and sealers: check them too; they are often missed.
- Substitutes: a replacement adhesive must meet the same content and emissions requirements.
- Dates: certificates expire, and test thresholds change.
Ventilation still matters
Certification limits what a product emits, but installation day is different. Fresh adhesive releases solvent and moisture as it cures. Follow the adhesive label for ventilation, and the flooring guide for when HVAC must run. Daltile requires the HVAC system to be on and functional before, during and after installation.7 In occupied schools and clinics, schedule adhesive work when spaces are empty and air handling is running. Then let the floor cure before people return.
Keep the record
Low-VOC requirements are often checked at closeout, when a green building reviewer asks for proof. Keep the certificates submitted, the adhesive data sheets, and photos of the adhesive containers and flooring labels actually used. Paul Pleshek, a flooring inspector writing in Flooring Contractor magazine, recommends photographing carton labels for every job anyway, to confirm the product is as ordered.8 The same photos show which adhesive went down. That answers the reviewer's question in minutes.
Other disclosures
Emissions certificates are about indoor air. Material content and life-cycle impacts are disclosed separately, in Health Product Declarations and Environmental Product Declarations. PFAS restrictions are separate again. See EPD and HPD requirements and PFAS rules.
Sources
- SCS Global Services, “FloorScore® Indoor Air Quality Certification”. scsglobalservices.com/services/floorscore
- Berkeley Analytical, “VOC Emissions Testing | Berkeley Analytical”. berkeleyanalytical.com/lab-services/voc-emissions-testing
- South Coast Air Quality Management District, “scaqmd-1168”. aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/rule-book/reg-xi/rule-1168.pdf
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (via WBDG), “Section 09 65 19, Resilient Tile Flooring (master specification)”. nibs-s3-wbdg3-production.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com:443/FFC/VA/VANCAS/VA
- eco-INSTITUT, “eco-INSTITUT Germany GmbH”. eco-institut.de/en/portfolio/california-section-01350/
- MAS Certified Green, “CDPH Makes Changes to VOC Emissions Standard Method – MAS Certified Green®”. mascertifiedgreen.com/cdph-makes-changes-to-voc-emissions-standard-metho
- Daltile, “ProSeries Luxury Vinyl Flooring Installation & Care Guide (Rigid Core Click, Glue Down)”. s1.img-b.com/build.com/mediabase/specifications/daltile/1996309/daltile-
- Flooring Contractor magazine, “Inspector Input (Winter 2019)”. digitaladmin.bnpmedia.com/publication/
General information for the flooring trade. This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed above; the manufacturer's current instructions and the project specification govern any real job. If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us.
