Subpart G - Fees 

This portion of subpart G sets forth the regulations on fees and other charges to be assessed for 

accreditation and certification services under the National Organic Program (NOP). These 

regulations address the kinds of fees and charges to be assessed by the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) for the accreditation of certifying agents, the level of such fees and charges, 

and the payment of such fees and charges. These regulations also address general requirements 

to be met by certifying agents in assessing fees and other charges for the certification of 

producers and handlers as certified organic operations. Finally, these regulations address the 

Secretary's oversight of a certifying agent's fees and charges for certification services. 

Description of Regulation 

Fees and Other Charges for Accreditation

Fees and other charges will be assessed and collected from applicants for initial accreditation 

and accredited certifying agents submitting annual reports or seeking renewal of accreditation. 

Such fees will be equal as nearly as may be to the cost of the accreditation services rendered 

under these regulations. Fees-for-service will be based on the time required to render the service 

provided calculated to the nearest 15-minute period. Activities to be billed on the basis of time 

used include the review of applications and accompanying documents and information, evaluator 

travel, the conduct of on-site evaluations, review of annual reports and updated documents and 

information, and the preparation of reports and any other documents in connection with the 

performance of service. The hourly rate will be the same as that charged by the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS), through its Quality System Certification Program, to certification bodies 

requesting conformity assessment to the International Organization for Standardization "General 

Requirements for Bodies Operating Product Certification Systems" (ISO Guide 65). 

Applicants for initial accreditation and accredited certifying agents submitting annual reports or 

seeking renewal of accreditation during the first 18 months following the effective date of subpart 

F will receive service without incurring an hourly charge for such service. 

Applicants for initial accreditation and renewal of accreditation must pay at the time of application, 

effective 18 months following the effective date of subpart F, a nonrefundable fee of $500.00. 

This fee will be applied to the applicant's fees-for-service account. 

When service is requested at a place so distant from the evaluator's headquarters that a total of 

one-half hour or more is required for the evaluator(s) to travel to such a place and back to the 

headquarters or from a place of prior assignment on circuitous routing requiring a total of one-half 

hour or more to travel to the next place of assignment on the circuitous routing, the charge for 

such service will include all applicable travel charges. Travel charges may include a mileage 

charge administratively determined by USDA, travel tolls, or, when the travel is made by public 

transportation (including hired vehicles), a fee equal to the actual cost thereof. If the service is 

provided on a circuitous routing, the travel charges will be prorated among all the applicants and 

certifying agents furnished the service involved. Travel charges will become effective for all 

applicants for initial accreditation and accredited certifying agents on the effective date of subpart 

F. The applicant or certifying agent will not be charged a new mileage rate without notification 

before the service is rendered. 

When service is requested at a place away from the evaluator's headquarters, the fee for such 

service shall include a per diem charge if the employee(s) performing the service is paid per diem 

in accordance with existing travel regulations. Per diem charges to applicants and certifying 
agents will cover the same period of time for which the evaluator(s) receives per diem 

reimbursement. The per diem rate will be administratively determined by USDA. Per diem 

charges shall become effective for all applicants for initial accreditation and accredited certifying 

agents on the effective date of subpart F. The applicant or certifying agent will not be charged a 

new per diem rate without notification before the service is rendered. 

When costs, other than fees-for-service, travel charges, and per diem charges, are associated 

with providing the services, the applicant or certifying agent will be charged for these costs. Such 

costs include but are not limited to equipment rental, photocopying, delivery, facsimile, telephone, 

or translation charges incurred in association with accreditation services. The amount of the costs 

charged will be determined administratively by USDA. Such costs will become effective for all 

applicants for initial accreditation and accredited certifying agents on the effective date of subpart 

F. 

Payment of Fees and Other Charges

Applicants for initial accreditation and renewal of accreditation must remit the nonrefundable fee 

along with their application. Remittance must be made payable to the Agricultural Marketing 

Service, USDA, and mailed to: Program Manager, USDA-AMS-TMP-NOP, Room 2945-South 

Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456 or such other address as required by the 

Program Manager. All other payments for fees and other charges must be received by the due 

date shown on the bill for collection, made payable to the Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA, 

and mailed to the address provided on the bill for collection. The Administrator will assess 

interest, penalties, and administrative costs on debts not paid by the due date shown on a bill for 

collection and collect delinquent debts or refer such debts to the Department of Justice for 

litigation. 

Fees and Other Charges for Certification

Fees charged by a certifying agent must be reasonable, and a certifying agent may charge 

applicants for certification and certified production and handling operations only those fees and 

charges that it has filed with the Administrator. The certifying agent must provide each applicant 

with an estimate of the total cost of certification and an estimate of the annual cost of updating the 

certification. The certifying agent may require applicants for certification to pay at the time of 

application a nonrefundable fee that must be applied to the applicant's fees-for-service account. A 

certifying agent may set the nonrefundable portion of certification fees; however, the 

nonrefundable portion of certification fees must be explained in the fee schedule submitted to the 

Administrator. The fee schedule must explain what fee amounts are nonrefundable and at what 

stage during the certification process the respective fees become nonrefundable. The certifying 

agent must provide all persons inquiring about the application process with a copy of its fee 

schedule. 

Fees - Changes Based on Comments

This subpart differs from the proposal in the following respects: 

Nonrefundable Portion of Certification Fees. Commenters were not satisfied with the provision in 

section 205.642 that stated, "The certifying agent may require applicants for certification to pay at 

the time of application a nonrefundable fee of no more than $250.00, which shall be applied to the 

applicant's fee for service account." Some commenters believed we were requiring the certifying 

agents to bill fees for inspection services separately. One State agency expressed a concern that 

we were placing a limit on the initial fee the certifying agent could collect. As a result, the State 

agency commented that by not being allowed to collect the full certification fee at the time of 

application, the certifying agent, in effect, would be extending credit to the applicant. Commenters 
reported that some State agencies are prevented by statute from extending credit and are 

required to collect all fees at the time of application. Several commenters stated that the amount 

of $250.00 was too low and would not cover the costs the certifying agents could incur during the 

certification process. One organization noted that we should consider prorating the amount of the 

of the fee to be refunded when an applicant for certification withdraws before the completion of 

the certification process. The organization recommended that the amount of the prorated fee 

should be based on how far along in the certification process the applicant had progressed before 

withdrawal. Another commenter believed it was inappropriate for USDA to set any fees for private 

certification programs and that the fees should be market driven. 

It was not our intent to limit the initial amount that certifying agents could collect from the 

applicant for certification. Our intent was to limit the portion of the fee that would be 

nonrefundable in order to reduce the potential liability for the small producer/handler who may 

need to withdraw prematurely from the certification process. However, we acknowledge that this 

provision could be misinterpreted. We also realize that certifying agents may incur initial costs 

during the preliminary stage of the certification process that may be more or less than the 

$250.00 application rate proposed. As a result, we have removed the provision that stated 

certifying agents could collect a nonrefundable fee of not more than $250.00 at the time of 

application from applicants for certification. 

Certifying agents may set the nonrefundable portion of their certification fees. However, the 

nonrefundable portion of their certification fees must be explained in the fee schedule submitted 

to the Administrator. The fee schedule must explain what fee amounts are nonrefundable and at 

what stage during the certification process the respective fees become nonrefundable. Certifying 

agents will also provide all persons inquiring about the application process with a copy of its fee 

schedule. 

Fees - Changes Requested But Not Made

This subpart retains from the proposed rule regulations on which we received comments as 

follows: 

(1) Farm Subsidy/Transition Program. Many commenters asked that USDA subsidize or develop 

a cost-share program for small farmers/producers who are certified or who are in transition to 

organic farming. Some commenters wanted these costs to be fully subsidized; a few commenters 

suggested that USDA pay for any extra site visit costs; and many others wanted USDA to pay 

premium prices to farmers for their products during the period of transition to organic production. 

In addition, many commenters argued that USDA should fully fund certification costs. Finally, 

many commenters suggested that the USDA should provide additional financial support to the 

organic industry because the industry is relatively young and composed of a large number of 

small, low-resource businesses. 

We have considered the commenters requests but have not made the suggested changes. The 

NOP under AMS is primarily a user-fee-based Federal program. Section 2107(a)(10) of the 

Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (OFPA) requires that the NOP provide for the collection of 

reasonable fees from producers, certifying agents, and handlers who participate in activities to 

certify, produce, or handle agricultural products as organically produced. Therefore, under the 

statutory authority of OFPA, it is outside of the scope of the NOP to provide for the subsidization 

of producers, handlers, and certifying agents as desired by some commenters. We have, 

however, established provisions in this part that we believe will minimize the economic impact of 

the NOP on producers, handlers, and certifying agents. 
(2) Small Farmer Exemption Versus Lower Certification Fees. Many commenters suggested that 

certification fees be lowered or based on a sliding scale rather than instituting an exemption from 

certification for small farmers and handlers. 

We have not accepted the commenters' suggestion. We cannot remove the small farmer 

exemption because section 2106(d) of the Act requires that small farmers be provided an 

exemption from organic certification if they sell no more than $5,000 annually in value of 

agricultural products. Also, certification fees cannot be lowered by USDA because NOP under 

AMS is primarily a user-fee-based Federal agency. It is not our goal or objective to make a profit 

on our accreditation activities. However, our fees associated with the accreditation process are 

targeted toward recovering costs incurred during the accreditation process. Commenters 

expressed a concern that the accreditation fees charged by USDA would have an impact on the 

certification fees prescribed by certifying agents to operations seeking organic certification. We 

understand the commenters' concern that accreditation fees charged to certifying agents will 

most likely be calculated into the fees that certifiers charge their clients. However, we believe that 

our provision to waive the hourly service charges for accreditation during the first 18 months of 

implementation of the NOP should help reduce accreditation costs of the certifying agent and 

should, therefore, result lower certification fee charged by certifying agents. As provided by the 

Act and the regulations in this part, fees charged by certifying agents must be reasonable. Also, 

certifying agents must submit their fee schedule to the Administrator and may only charge those 

fees and charges filed with the Administrator. In addition, certifiers are required to provide their 

approved fee schedules to applicants for certification. Therefore, applicants for certification will be 

able to base their selection of a certifying agent on price if they choose. Moreover, there are no 

provisions in the regulations that preclude certifying agents from pricing their services on a sliding 

scale, as long as their fees are consistent and nondiscriminatory and are approved during the 

accreditation process. 

(3) Accreditation Fees. Many industry commenters suggested that we reevaluate our 

accreditation fee structure. They believe the hourly accreditation rate proposed is unacceptable. 

Commenters were concerned that high accreditation costs would lead to high certification costs, 

which would have a greater impact on small operations. Some industry commenters also noted 

that we should be required to provide a fee schedule such as the certifiers are required to do. 

They stated that unless USDA provided a fee schedule that included travel costs, they would not 

be able to accurately budget for these costs. A few commenters wanted USDA to forgo charging 

travel costs or not charge travel time at the full rate. Several commenters also stated that the 

hourly rate stated in the proposal is much higher than what the people who actually perform the 

accreditations will earn. However, a large majority of the commenters favored the 18-month 

period in which AMS will not charge the hourly accreditation rate to applicants. 

As stated in the proposal, the hourly rate will be the same as that of AMS' Quality Systems 

Certification Program. Due to the fact that AMS' Quality Systems Certification Program publishes 

one rate that is readily available to the public, it is our belief that it is unnecessary for the NOP to 

set up a separate fee schedule. The NOP will notify accredited certifying agents and applicants 

for accreditation of any proposed rate changes and final actions on such rates by AMS. We will 

also periodically report the status of fees to the National Organic Standards Board. 

Those applicants and certifying agents who need accreditation cost estimates, including travel, 

for budgetary or other reasons may notify the NOP. The NOP staff will provide the applicant with 

a cost estimate, based on information provided by the applicant. As stated in an earlier response 

(( 2) - Changes Requested But Not Made), the objective of the fee that is charged to accredit 

certifying agents is not to gain a profit for accreditation activities but to recover costs incurred 

during the accreditation process. As such, these costs include but are not limited to salaries, 

benefits, clerical help, equipment, supplies, etc.