New Farm - Organic Certifiers Database

ICO Fee Policy and Schedule
Note: ICO DOES NOT CHARGE USER FEES!

Effective 3/7/2006
Application Fees
Status: Non-refundable for any reason

ICO will not process any application unless the appropriate application fee has been received.

Farms, Wild Crops and Greenhouses:

Up to 20 acres $50.00
20 acres to 500 acres $100.00
Over 500 acres $150.00
Livestock $100.00
Processor/Handler $200.00
Grower Group $10.00/member

Note: If you fit into more than one category above, your total application fee is $200.00.

Certification/Inspection Fees:

Status: Certification fees are refundable only if it is determined that there has been a conflict of interest with any responsibly connected parties during the inspection or review process.
Additional Fees may be charged for additions of acreage, livestock, wild crops and/or processing if added after the certification/inspection services agreement has been sent and/or certification services have been provided. Please apply for certification of all acreage, all desired types of certification and provide all proposed labels at the time of application in order to receive an accurate fee quote.

Status: Certification fees are refundable only if it is determined that there has been a conflict of interest with any responsibly connected parties during the inspection or review process.

Note: In order for ICO to process your certification and arrange your inspection, all invoiced Certification/Inspection Fees should be paid. Certificates may not be issued until fees are paid in full. Failure to pay fees is a noncompliance and may result in the suspension and/or revocation of your certification.

Due to differences in each individual operation, such as size, complexity, timing and inspection costs, total costs may vary. An application is necessary for ICO to assess the actual cost for your operation.

Please do not send any fees, other than your Application Fee, in advance.

Fee Schedule

Producers: Farm, Greenhouse, Wild Crops
Many operations are combinations of the above. See the Note below for fees for adding a greenhouse and/or wild crops to an ICO certified farm. These fees do not include livestock.

Base Fee Acres

$400.00 0-10
$450.00 11-20
$500.00 21-100
$550.00 101-250
$650.00 251-500
$750.00 501-750
$900.00 751-1000
$1000.00 1001-1250
$1100.00 1251-1500
$1200.00 1501-2000
$1300.00 2001-2500
$1400.00 2501-3500
$1500.00 3501-5000
$1600.00 5001+
Plus inspection costs.

NOTE: Additional charges may be made for any:
 Addition of Greenhouse
 Addition of Wildcrops
Livestock
Organic livestock producers must also certify the land their animals graze or eat on. The livestock fee does NOT include the cost of certification of land or handling facilities that exist on the same operation’s site. Livestock added after certification is granted may require an additional inspection. A certified operation that did not previously include livestock but adds it later will be charged an additional fee.

Base Fee
Operations with less than 25 animals $200.00
Operations with 25 or more animals $400.00 Plus inspection costs.

Handler/Processors
* In order to provide a more reasonably-priced service to our small and on-farm processors, ICO has created 2 new categories for 2006 Handler/Processor Fees.
Simple Processor: single ingredient
Complex Processor: multi ingredient

*On Farm Processors
On Farm Simple Processors who do not sell processed organic product off farm $50.00
(Must be located on an ICO certifed farm)
On Farm Simple Processors who do sell processed organic product off farm $400.00
(Must be located on an ICO certifed farm)
Plus inspection costs.

Handler, (No farm Certification), single ingredient cleaning and/or packaging $550.00

Complex Processor/Handler, multi ingredient handling $1000.00
Plus inspection costs.

Additional charge for “parallel” or “split” operations (A split operation handles or processes organic and non-organic products)
Simple Processor/Handler $200.00
Complex Processor/Handler $300.00

New Product/Label Review
Processors and handlers often wish to add new products and/or labels to their organic line. Whereas a facility may be certified, ICO must approve all ingredients and labels for new products entering the stream of commerce.
New label review for multi-ingredient products $250.00
Review change on existing label for a currently certified multi-ingredient product $50.00

Grower Groups:
Every Grower Group is unique. ICO strives to meet the needs of each one in the best way possible. Grower Group Fees are based on many factors. For an estimate, contact the ICO office. Please keep in mind that we will not know the inspection cost until we receive an application. We will need the following information:

 Type/s of certification needed: crops, livestock, wild crops, handling
 Geographic layout of sites to be inspected (including distance between fields or sites)
 Number of group members
 Number of certificates needed
 Size of land, greenhouse, or other facilities to be certified
 Number of animals to be certified
 Varieties of crops to be produced
 Number of labels to be submitted for review
 inspection costs.
If you have additional questions about Grower Group Certification, please contact the ICO office.

Additional Service Fees:

New or Changed Certificate Fee $35.00
Covers cost of printing, copying and mailing the new certificate. Unless there has been an error made by ICO, there shall be a charge for each certificate change requested after the original certificate is printed.
File copying and shipping fee$100.00 $100.00 + .35/page for each additional page
To cover the cost of copying, mailing and/or shipping of clients complete files, for review, etc, as requested by the client or another certifier. The requester of the files shall be invoiced for the fee. No copies will be sent until fee is paid.
Transaction Certificates, each (ICO does not require the use of TCs) $5.00
Charge for applications sent Postage Due: Cost of the postage, plus a $5.00 handling fee.
Bad check or payment stopped on check charge. $35.00
Late Fees: Fees that have not been paid by the time of the final notice may be subject to a late fee charge.
$50.00/month

Failure to Pay Fees
ICO reserves the right to take legal action against clients who do not pay, up to and including:
 Turning the account over to a debt collector.
 Possible suspension or revocation of certification and notification to USDA notice of Noncompliance and/or Willful Violation. (This action may result in revocation of certification, which prevents re-certification for a period of 5 years.)
 Notification to other accredited certifiers of the clients suspension and non-compliance.

International Trade Services
If your product/s may be sold into a country outside of the US you may need to be inspected and certified to another standard. Please indicate on your application if you are requesting certification to any of the following standards so that we can provide an accurate estimation of your fees.

ISO 65/European Union: With NOP Certification
Farm: $150.00
Simple Processor/Handler, all organic, single label and/or ingredient cleaning and/or packaging: $200.00
Complex Processor/Handler, multi ingredient/multi label handling: $350.00
ICO is now ISO 65 accredited and can certify to EU standards and/or any other standards from nations who accept ISO 65 accredited certification. Should you need to be certified to the EU standards, please note this on your application. Should ICO need to review your operation for EU compliance after NOP certification has been granted, there will be a fee of $100.00 to $350.00, depending on the complexity of your review and operation. In some cases, an additional inspection may need to be done.

Japan: With NOP Certification $50.00
ICO can also inspect and review your operation for JAS compliance. Should you need to be certified to the JAS standards, please note this on your application. Should ICO need to review your operation for JAS compliance after NOP certification has been granted, there will be a fee of $100.00. In some cases, an additional inspection may need to be done.
Quebec: $50.00
ICO is currently accredited by CAAQ for ICO certified products to enter into Quebec. No additional insepctions are needed
UK: In process TBA
ICO is currently under review for DEFRA so that ICO certified products can enter into the UK.
ICO reserves the right to charge additional fees for other services requested by our clients that are not included in the normal certification process.