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FORMAL RECOMMENDATION BY THE

NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD (NOSB) 

TO THE NATIONAL ORGANIC PROGRAM (NOP) 

Date: ____11-11-06___________________

Subject: Expiration Dates on Certificates of Organic Operation 

Chair: Kevin O’Rell 

Recommendation

The NOSB hereby recommends to the NOP the following: 

Rulemaking Action: __XXX _ 

Guidance Statement: ________ 

Other: ________ 

Statement of the Recommendation (including Recount of Vote): 

The NOSB recommends that the NOP implement a rule change for 205.404 Granting certification and 205.406 

Continuation of certification (as stated in attachment) to require expiration dates on certificates which will improve 

compliance and enforcement capabilities. 

Board Vote Motion: Andrea Caroe Second: Nancy Ostuguy 

13 – Yes 1- No 0 – Abstain 0 – Absent 

Rationale Supporting Recommendation (including consistency with OFPA and NOP):

The NOP and NOSB have received correspondence and public comments about deficiencies in the current 

requirements for information on “certificates of organic operation” (hereafter referred to as “certificates”). The NOSB 

recommends that the NOP implement rule change to allow for comprehensive information on certificates and to 

facilitate authentication of Certificates of Compliance.

Response by the NOP:
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National Organic Standards Board 

Certification, Accreditation, and Compliance Committee 

October 19, 2006 

Expiration Dates on Certificates of Organic Operations 

I. Introduction 

The NOP and NOSB have received correspondence and public comments about deficiencies in the current 

requirements for information on “certificates of organic operation” (hereafter referred to as “certificates”). The NOSB 

Certification, Accreditation, and Compliance (CAC) Committee recommends that the NOP implement rule change to 

allow for comprehensive information on certificates and to facilitate authentication of Certificates of Compliance. 

As indicated below, there is a need to provide expiration dates on certificates to improve compliance and enforcement 

capabilities. 

II. Background 

A. Issues of Concern 

There are many types and styles of certificates issued by accredited certifying agents. The National Organic Program 

Final Rule currently requires that certificates specify the: name and address of the certified operation; effective date of 

certification; categories of organic operation, including crops, wild crops, livestock, or processed products produced by 

the certified operation; and the name, address, and telephone number of the certifying agent. The NOP requirements 

are the minimum information which must appear on certificates. Additional optional information is allowed. 

Though certificates indicate the effective date of certification, there is no way of knowing from the information on a 

certificate if an operation in question is still certified, since §205.404(c) requires that an operation’s certification 

“continues in effect until surrendered by the organic operation or suspended or revoked”. The absence of expiration or 

renewal dates on certificates impairs the ability of buyers to know if suppliers are still certified, and prevents inspectors, 

certifying agents, and regulatory enforcement officials, by reviewing the information on certificates, from determining if 

suppliers were still certified at the time of sale of an organic product. There is a need to allow buyers, inspectors, 

certifiers, and regulators to know with full confidence the current certification status of any given operation. 

Presently, ACAs are using a variety of terms to refer to dates on certificates, including “date of issuance”, “annual 

monitoring date”, “date issued”, “since ...”, “issued ...”, “renewed ...”, “certified on ...”, “inspected ...” and “date of 

entry”. There is a need to standardize the terms used for date of issuance on organic certificates. 

ACAs are required by § 205.406(d) to issue an “updated certificate” if “any of the information specified on the 

certificate of organic operation has changed” when an operation is continuing its certification. When an operation adds 

new fields, crops, farms, and/or facilities, this information should be reflected in an updated certificate. At the present 

time, some ACAs issue updated certificates annually. Instead of updating the certificate to reflect new information, 

letters of compliance are issued by others. This is a cumbersome process, since buyers need to have certificates on 

file from their suppliers. Certificates, not letters from ACAs, provide legal proof of compliance. 

B. Electronic Data Management 

The NOP has expressed interest in establishing a database whereby all ACAs would issue certificates of NOP 

compliance from their own offices. The development of this tool has met with unavoidable obstacles. Until such time 

that a master database is available, ACAs must be able to control the use of Certificate of Compliance. By using 

expiration dates, the certifiers can ensure that certified entities maintain the requirements of the regulation for all 

products marketed under the organic program. 

C. Extensions 

For various reasons, an ACA may not be able to provide for a completed evaluation of a certified entity prior to the 

expiration of the last certification period. The regulation allows for the granting of a grace period to accommodate 

monitoring of the entity 205.406. Since the inclusion of expiration dates on the Certificates of Compliance will prevent 

the entity from continuing to market their organic products, a method must be available to extend these Certificates for 

a finite period of time. 
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D. Regulatory Framework 

“Certificate of organic operation” is not defined in § 205.2, but is referenced in the definition of “certification or certified”: 

§ 205.2 Terms defined.

Certification or certified. A determination made by a certifying agent that a production or handling operation is in 

compliance with the Act and the regulations in this part, which is documented by a certificate of organic operation. 

The minimum information required to appear on certificates of organic operation is specified in § 205.404(b): 

§ 205.404 Granting certification. 

(a) Within a reasonable time after completion of the initial on-site inspection, a certifying agent must review the on-site 

inspection report, the results of any analyses for substances conducted, and any additional information requested from 

or supplied by the applicant. If the certifying agent determines that the organic system plan and all procedures and 

activities of the applicant's operation are in compliance with the requirements of this part and that the applicant is able 

to conduct operations in accordance with the plan, the agent shall grant certification. The certification may include 

requirements for the correction of minor noncompliances within a specified time period as a condition of continued 

certification. 

(b) The certifying agent must issue a certificate of organic operation which specifies the: 

(1) Name and address of the certified operation; 

(2) Effective date of certification; 

(3) Categories of organic operation, including crops, wild crops, livestock, or processed products produced by the 

certified operation; and 

(4) Name, address, and telephone number of the certifying agent. 

(c) Once certified, a production or handling operation's organic certification continues in effect until surrendered by the 

organic operation or suspended or revoked by the certifying agent, the State organic program's governing State 

official, or the Administrator. 

§ 205.406(b) and (d) discuss the issuance of updated certificates: 

§ 205.406 Continuation of certification. 

(b) Following the receipt of the information specified in paragraph (a) of this section, the certifying agent shall within a 

reasonable time arrange and conduct an on-site inspection of the certified operation pursuant to § 205.403: Except, 

That, when it is impossible for the certifying agent to conduct the annual on-site inspection following receipt of the 

certified operation's annual update of information, the certifying agent may allow continuation of certification and issue 

an updated certificate of organic operation on the basis of the information submitted and the most recent on-site 

inspection conducted during the previous 12 months: Provided, That, the annual on-site inspection, required pursuant 

to § 205.403, is conducted within the first 6 months following the certified operation's scheduled date of annual update. 

(d) If the certifying agent determines that the certified operation is complying with the Act and the regulations in this 

part and that any of the information specified on the certificate of organic operation has changed, the certifying agent 

must issue an updated certificate of organic operation pursuant to § 205.404(b). 

§ 205.501 requires ACAs to maintain certification records and make them available to the NOP or SOP; maintain 

confidentiality regarding certain business information; accept certification decisions of all other ACAs; and annually 

submit to the NOP a list of all certified operations; 

Recommendation 

The NOSB Certification, Accreditation, and Compliance (CAC) Committee recommends that NOP implement the 

following rule change: 

205.404 Granting certification.

(a) Within a reasonable time after completion of the initial on-site inspection, a certifying agent must review the 

on-site inspection report, the results of any analyses for substances conducted, and any additional information 

requested from or supplied by the applicant. If the certifying agent determines that the organic system plan 

and all procedures and activities of the applicant's operation are in compliance with the requirements of this 

part and that the applicant is able to conduct operations in accordance with the plan, the agent shall grant 

certification. The certification may include requirements for the correction of minor noncompliances within a 

specified time period as a condition of continued certification. 
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(b) The certifying agent must issue a certificate of organic operation which specifies the: 

(1) Name and address of the certified operation; 

(2) Effective date of certification and expiration date of the certificate; 

(3) Categories of organic operation, including crops, wild crops, livestock, or processed products produced by 

the certified operation and; 

(4) Name, address, and telephone number of the certifying agent. 

(c) Once certified, a production or handling operation's organic certification continues in effect until 

surrendered by the organic operation, suspended or revoked by the certifying agent, the State organic 

program's governing State official, or the Administrator. 

§ 205.406 Continuation of certification.

(a) To continue certification, a certified operation must annually pay the certification fees and submit the 

following information, as applicable, to the certifying agent: 

(1) An updated organic production or handling system plan which includes: 

(i) A summary statement, supported by documentation, detailing any deviations from, changes to, 

modifications to, or other amendments made to the previous year's organic system plan during the previous 

year; and 

(ii) Any additions or deletions to the previous year's organic system plan, intended to be undertaken in the 

coming year, detailed pursuant to § 205.200; 

(2) Any additions to or deletions from the information required pursuant to § 205.401(b); 

(3) An update on the correction of minor noncompliances previously identified by the certifying agent as 

requiring correction for continued certification; and 

(4) Other information as deemed necessary by the certifying agent to determine compliance with the Act and 

the regulations in this part. 

(b) Following the receipt of the information specified in paragraph (a) of this section, the certifying agent shall 

within a reasonable time arrange and conduct an on-site inspection of the certified operation pursuant to § 

205.403: Except, That, when it is impossible for the certifying agent to conduct the annual on-site inspection 

following receipt of the certified operation's annual update of information, the certifying agent may allow 

continuation of certification and issue a letter of continuation for the existing certificate for a specified 

period of time: Provided, That, the annual on-site inspection, required pursuant to § 205.403, is conducted 

within the first 6 months following the certified operation's scheduled date of annual update. The updated 

expiration date for operations who maintain their organic certification shall reflect the original month 

of organic certification issuance as the beginning of the new year, regardless of the date of further 

inspections. 

(c) If the certifying agent has reason to believe, based on the on-site inspection and a review of the information 

specified in § 205.404, that a certified operation is not complying with the requirements of the Act and the 

regulations in this part, the certifying agent shall provide a written notification of noncompliance to the 

operation in accordance with § 205.662. 

(d) If the certifying agent determines that the certified operation is complying with the Act and the regulations in this 

part the certifying agent must issue an updated certificate of organic operation pursuant to § 205.404(b). The 

expiration date for operations that experience a lapse in certification for any of the reasons cited in § 
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205.404(c) will, upon meeting the terms for recertification in § 205.662(f), be issued a new certificate of organic 

operation, using the new date of issuance as the beginning of the certification year. 

Committee vote 

Motion made by Mike Lacy and seconded by Kevin Orell 

7 –Yes 0 – No 0 – Abstain 0 – Absent 

Minority opinion 

None 

Conclusion 

The NOSB Certification, Accreditation, and Compliance Committee recommends that the NOP implement rule change 

to require expiration dates on certificates which will improve compliance and enforcement capabilities. 

Board vote 

Motion made by Andrea Caroe and seconded by Nancy Ostiguy 

13 –Yes 1 – No 0 – Abstain 0 – Absent