The request "send your cold chain transport certificate" that appears in tender documents usually means one of three separate pieces of evidence, or all of them.
The first question behind equipment, process and shipment evidence is what the cold chain is.
| Evidence requested | Document |
|---|---|
| Carrier authorisation | Authorisation certificate under the Road Transport Regulation, matching the activity |
| Equipment conformity | ATP conformity certificate; Perishable Food Transport Certificate for older vehicles without ATP |
| Shipment evidence | Logger report, delivery record, excursion file |
The distinction comes from the Turkish Regulation on Special Equipment Used in the Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs (2 July 2021, last amended 21 February 2025). For perishable foods within ATP, special transport equipment must carry the certificate and the ATP markings. The Perishable Food Transport Certificate goes only to vehicles that do not meet ATP and are no more than 15 years from their manufacture date, and those vehicles serve domestic carriage and countries outside ATP. For medicines, an ATP certificate does not replace validation; product conditions are defined in the pharmaceutical quality system.
When a request is unclear, ask the other side which decision they are making: supplier approval, acceptance of a single shipment or audit preparation. Whoever writes the tender can replace "cold chain certificate" with the equipment description, temperature band, recording interval and report format, and the quotations then become comparable.