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Certification Services

​​​​​​​​​​Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is a USDA-accredited certifying agent for organic crop production and organic handling/processing. This means that ODA's Organic Program staff ensure the National Organic Program (NOP) regulations are being met locally for the Crop and Handler scopes (ODA does not certifiy livestock at this time. 

​​What is organic?

​Organic is a labeling term for ​food or other agricultural products that have been produced using cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that support the cycling of on-farm resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity in accordance with the USDA organic regulations. This means that organic operations must maintain or enhance soil and water quality, while also cons​erving wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used. 


Steps to certification

  1. ​Read and become familiar with the most recent version of the NOP regulations.
  2. Implement organic standards:
    • ​Growers: implement organic growing practices for at least 36 months and keep record of your activity.  You can now apply as transitional if you don't yet meet the 36-month requirement. 
    • Processors: meet organic processing requirements and produce an organic product.  You can now apply as transitional if you don't yet produce an organic product, but plan to produce organic products in the near future. 
  3. Submit completed application forms and applicable fees to ODA by the annual deadlines. Deadlines and fee schedule are below. 
  4. ODA will review your application to determine compliance to the NOP standards and provide an estimate of your certification costs for the year.
  5. ODA will schedule an on-site inspection of your operation.
  6. ODA will conduct a final review and quality insurance review of your application and inspection materials to complete the certification process.
  7. At any step in the process ODA may require additional information or forms, and staff will request this information as needed.
  8.  Submittal of renewal application, documentation, and fees are required each year by the deadline.
  9. Timely submittal of all new applicant and renewal documentation, and timely submittal of all requested forms is a requirement of the program.
  10. There is no guarantee of certification. If NOP standards are not met, a customer cannot be certified as organic. Certification fees are nonrefundable regardless of the certification outcome.
  11. You may surrender your certificate at any time if: you no longer wish to be certified organic, you cannot meet annual organic requirements, and/or you would like to work with a different certifier. Surrender takes you out of the program without disciplinary actions.

2024 ODA Organic Certification Application Dates

  • ​Renewal Applications are accepted January 1, 2024 – May 30, 2024 (Deadline)
  • New Applications are accepted January 1, 2024 – July 1, 2024 (Deadline). New applications submitted after July 1, 2024 will be considered for certification in 2025.

The sooner applications and application materials are submitted per year, the sooner applications can be reviewed, and certificates can be issued, so ODA encourages an early submittal if that is possible for your operation. 

​If you are a Returning Organic Customer, read the 2024 Organic Program Update letter for updates to the program.

Required forms for a RENEWAL crop growing application

​Potential attachments to include with your application: seed tags/information that shows organic status of crop; complete ingredient information for any farm-created inputs; maps showing all organic fields with field names, buffers, and potential sources of drift. ​​

Required forms for a NEW crop growing operation application

Potential attachments to include with your application: seed tags/information that shows organic status of crop; complete ingredient information for any farm-created inputs; maps showing all organic fields with field names, buffers, and potential sources of drift. 


Additional crop application forms

Required forms for a NEW handling/processing operation application

Potential attachments to include with your application: Labels; Formulations; Organic Certificate for the ingredients of each product.

​Required forms for a RENEWAL handling/processing application

Potential attachments to include with your application: Labels; Formulations; Organic Certificate for the ingredients of each product.

Additional application forms for a handling/processing operation


Transitional

Applications for Transitional Customers are now allowed under NOP rules. For Transitional status, fill out the required information for Crop or Handler Scope(s) and note on the OSP that you are interested in participating as a Transitional Customer. The same fee schedule and review occur for Certified Organic and Transitional. The Transitional Customer does not receive an Organic Certificate but is listed on the Organic Integrity Database as Transitional.

Imports

Customers Importing organic products or plant material from other countries need to disclose specific information about imported materials on the OSP or renewal updates and are required to supply ODA with a copy of the Import Certificate for each product from the Organic Integrity Database (starting March 24, 2024).

Exports

Customers interested in export need to meet the requirements of organic certification for the country that is importing your goods. Compliance for export is reviewed by ODA inspectors and certification staff, so interest in export should be identified on your OSP or renewal updates. It's advisable to review the NOP Trade Information ​website for the latest export regulations and processes. Contact ODA certification if there are questions about export or if you would like to request an export document. 

All information submitted to support an export request should match: the export request, your Organic profile information, and the information on your Organic Certificate.

Surrender

If you would like to surrender your certificate, please send a request to surrender to certification@oda.oregon.gov. Once you surrender your certificate, you will no longer be able to sell or represent products as organic.​

Fees

The Certification Fee Schedule​ outlines the different costs associated with certification. All fees are nonrefundable, including the cost of services performed before and up to the date an application is withdrawn or certification is surrendered. Applicants may withdraw their application at any time, via written notification to ODA. Please contact certification@oda.state.or.us for additional fee information.​

Inspections

Certified organic operations are inspected at least once a year. ODA may conduct additional inspections:

  • Randomly (NOP requires 5% unannounced inspections completed per year)
  • To resolve an issue 
  • If a customer requests it 
  • As part of our surveillance program
  • To take samples (NOP requires that 5% of operations are sampled each year)

These additional inspections are charged at the hourly rate described above.

OSP Updates and Changes to Operations

Operations are required to notify their certifying agent if changes or events take place that may affect their compliance with the NOP standards. Examples of situations that would require you to notify ODA include the following:

  • Permission to use a new input.
  • Requests to certify a new product or a new crop not listed on your OSP update as organic.
  • A prohibited substance is applied to any field, production unit, product, parcel, or site involved in organic production, whether directly or indirectly, intentionally, or unintentionally.
  • You add acreage, a new field, a new greenhouse, a new product line, or a new production facility to your organic operation.
  • You remove a field or production facility, or a portion thereof, from organic production.
  • You develop a new retail label for your organic products.
  • You process or handle new organic products, not already listed in your OSP/renewal.
This list is not exhaustive. If a change to your operation could potentially affect your compliance with the NOP standards, please contact ODA Certification Services at the phone number or email address listed above.

Resources

The Organic Insider

An email notification service from the USDA National Organic Program. NOP Organic Insider

USDA National Organic Program Fact Sheets

National Organic Program Fact Sheets

USDA National Organic Program Regulations

National Organic Program Regulations

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​​Contact

Laureen Brion
Organic Program Manager
Phone: 503-400-0157
Certification Services
Phone: 503-986-4620

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