Free template + guide
The CSDDD due diligence questionnaire, explained
A due-diligence questionnaire (DDQ, or self-assessment questionnaire / SAQ) is the form a large company sends its suppliers to gather human-rights, environmental and anti-corruption information. Under the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), it is the practical tool that powers the due-diligence cycle. This page explains what a good one contains, how to use it as a buyer, and how to answer it as a supplier - with a free editable template you can take away.
TL;DR
What it is, and why customers send them
The CSDDD requires in-scope companies to run a risk-based, OECD/UNGP-aligned due-diligence process across their operations, subsidiaries and chain of activities. Step two of that process is to identify and assess actual and potential adverse impacts. They cannot do that from their desks alone - they need information from the businesses they buy from. The due-diligence questionnaire is how they collect it. OECD Due Diligence Guidance for RBC
That is why a smaller supplier can receive a questionnaire even though the directive does not directly regulate it. The customer is in scope; you are its business partner; and its compliance depends, in part, on your answers. Treat the request as real and commercial, but keep it in perspective: receiving one is not an accusation.
Proportionality is built in
The anatomy
What a good CSDDD questionnaire contains
Eight sections, in plain English. Our free template lays them out as ready-to-send questions with space for evidence.
Company and ownership
Legal name, sites, ultimate ownership and group structure, sectors and the countries you operate and source in. This sets the risk context for everything that follows and tells the buyer whether the value-chain cap applies to you.
Human rights and labour
The heart of the questionnaire: forced labour and modern slavery, child labour, freedom of association and collective bargaining, working hours and a living wage, discrimination and harassment. These map to the human-rights half of the due-diligence cycle (HRDD).
Health and safety
Safe working conditions, training, accident records, and the safety of any housing or facilities you provide. A practical, evidence-friendly area where buyers expect policies plus a few simple metrics.
Environment and climate
Environmental impacts and permits, pollution, water and waste, biodiversity, and your approach to climate and emissions. Note the standalone climate transition-plan duty was significantly scaled back under Omnibus I, so this is lighter than early drafts implied.
Anti-corruption and ethics
Anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy, conflicts of interest, gifts and hospitality, and how you screen your own suppliers. Buyers want to know you have rules and that someone enforces them.
Governance and management systems
Who owns responsible business conduct, your due-diligence policy and code of conduct, training, and how you embed this in day-to-day decisions. CSDDD expects management systems, not just signed documents.
Sub-tier and supply-chain transparency
Your own key suppliers, where your materials come from, and how you pass requirements down your chain. Buyers focus on direct (tier-1) partners and go deeper only on plausible information of an impact.
Grievance mechanism and remediation
A channel for workers and affected people to raise complaints, how you handle them, and how you remediate harm. A working grievance route is a CSDDD expectation and a strong signal of maturity.
Using it from both sides
If you are the buyer
How to use it well
- Prioritise by risk. Send the fuller questionnaire to your highest-risk partners; keep it light for low-risk, tier-1 ones.
- Respect the value-chain cap. Do not over-ask partners with fewer than 5,000 employees - use a standardised set.
- Support, don't just demand. Give realistic deadlines and offer help; many suppliers want to comply but lack the templates.
- Act on the answers. Score the risk, agree action plans, and follow up. A questionnaire you never read is wasted effort.
If you are the supplier
How to answer it well
- Answer honestly. A clear “not yet, here's our plan” beats a guessed yes that unravels later.
- Attach what you have. Your human-rights and ethics policy, code of conduct, and any certificates do a lot of the work.
- Reuse your answers. Get your house in order once; the same answers satisfy most customers who ask.
- Push back if over-asked. If you have fewer than 5,000 employees, you can ask the buyer to stick to a proportionate, standardised set.
New to the supplier side? Start with a supplier code of conduct and our explainer on human rights due diligence. Not sure whether you're in scope at all? Run the scope checker.
Free editable template
Get the questionnaire (PDF)
All eight sections as ready-to-send questions, with columns for the supplier's answer, evidence and a risk flag. Send it to suppliers as a buyer, or complete it as a supplier. Free - leave your details and the download starts.
Questions people ask
What is a CSDDD due-diligence questionnaire (DDQ or SAQ)?
It is a structured set of questions an in-scope company sends to its suppliers and other business partners to gather human-rights, environmental, health-and-safety and anti-corruption information. It is sometimes called a self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ). Under the CSDDD it is the practical tool that feeds step 2 of the due-diligence cycle - identifying and assessing impacts - and it should be proportionate, not exhaustive.
Why did my customer send me a due-diligence questionnaire?
Because they are likely an in-scope company under the CSDDD and cannot do their own due diligence without information from their business partners. Receiving a questionnaire does not mean you have done anything wrong or that the law directly regulates you. It means a large customer is meeting its own obligations and needs your help to do so.
How much can a buyer ask a small supplier for?
The Omnibus I "value-chain cap" generally stops an in-scope company demanding information beyond a standardised set from business partners with fewer than 5,000 employees, unless it genuinely cannot be obtained otherwise. So if you are a smaller supplier being asked for far more than seems reasonable, it is fair to ask the buyer to stick to a proportionate, standardised set.
Do I have to answer every question?
Answer honestly what you can, and say so where you cannot. A blank with an explanation and a plan is better than a guessed answer. Proportionality runs both ways: buyers should not over-ask, and suppliers should not over-promise. If a section genuinely does not apply to you, mark it not applicable and explain why.
Keep going
Am I in scope?
Check whether the CSDDD applies to you directly, indirectly, or not at all.
Supplier code of conduct
The rules suppliers follow, backed by verification - a CSDDD building block.
Human rights due diligence
The human-rights half of the CSDDD cycle, in plain English.
Readiness checklist
Every step to get CSDDD-ready, on one free checklist.
Sources
- [1]Directive (EU) 2024/1760 (CSDDD), as amended, on EUR-Lexretrieved 8 Jun 2026
- [2]European Commission, Corporate sustainability due diligenceretrieved 8 Jun 2026
- [3]OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conductretrieved 8 Jun 2026
- [4]Clifford Chance, Omnibus I concludes CSDDD and CSRD reforms (Feb 2026)retrieved 8 Jun 2026
This is guidance to help you understand the CSDDD, not legal advice. For decisions specific to your business, confirm with the official sources we link or a qualified adviser.