Fee Changes

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Date Published
October 1, 2015

To keep up with service needs and rising costs, and to create a more regular pattern of smaller increases to fees, we are adjusting both certification fees and inspection fees for 2016 and fine-tuning the CCOF fee schedule to include more tiers.

Inspection fees will increase to $72.50/hour for preparation, inspection, and report writing and $45/hour for travel time, effective January 1, 2016. Certification fees are increasing approximately 5% in each fee category effective October 1, 2015 for new operations, and January 1, 2016 for existing clients. A full fee schedule can be found in the CCOF Certification Services Program Manual, on the back of annual invoices, and online at www.ccof.org/fees.

In addition to modest changes within existing fee categories, we are creating additional fee tiers between organic production values of $10,000,000 and $150,000,000. Previously, this range was a single tier. These changes are intended to create smaller fee increases as organic companies grow.

These increases are intended to be modest, but also support the staffing necessary to meet service expectations and organizational goals. The National Organic Certification Cost Share Program remains in place, and can help offset certification costs (www.ccof.org/costshare). By participating in this program, the vast majority of CCOF’s smaller operations will see only minimal changes to net certification costs. CCOF is also implementing new initiatives to minimize inspection time.

In 2016, operations can look forward to important new services and tools to make the certification process easier and more efficient.

International Program Fee Changes*

CCOF is also excited to see our operations continue to succeed globally! In order to keep in step with international trade negotiations and continue to offer rapid export document services, we’ve implemented some small changes to the annual program enrollment fees for our Global Market Access and International Standard Programs. Program fees and details are available in the CCOF Certification Services Program Manual

As a reminder, most operations that do not directly export their product or label product for foreign markets do not need to be enrolled in these programs. Visit our International Programs page or email our export team at export@ccof.org to find out if your operation needs to be enrolled! Don’t forget to take a look at our export resources as well, including the International Market Labeling Guide and Exporter Guidance page

*This article did not appear in the print edition of CCOF’s Certified Organic magazine.

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