Electronic Organic Import Certificates

The organic sector of American agriculture has seen unprecedented growth over the past decade. U.S. sales of organic products continue to grow, and global organic supply chains have become increasingly more complex. With this increased complexity, including an increase in organic imports entering the U.S., USDA has taken further steps to protect the integrity of the organic seal.

As part of our continuous efforts to enhance and refine the organic regulations, USDA published the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule requiring the use of electronic NOP Import Certificates to improve the oversight and traceability of organic agricultural products imported into the United States. After the March 19, 2024, implementation date, each shipment of organic agricultural products imported into the United States must be associated with an NOP Import Certificate issued by an accredited certifying agent in the USDA’s Organic INTEGRITY Database (INTEGRITY).

About the NOP Import Certificate

NOP Import Certificates are generated by exporting certifiers in INTEGRITY. Certified exporters/final handlers who wish to export certified organic products to the United States must request an NOP Import Certificate from their accredited certifier. Both USDA-accredited certifiers and certifiers recognized under one of the NOP’s equivalence or recognition arrangements may issue the NOP Import Certificate on behalf of their certified clients.

Import certificates may be issued for single or multiple shipments or a specific time frame, depending on the certifiers’ oversight systems. One NOP Import Certificate is issued per commodity/product or Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code.

Upon approval of the request for an import certificate, accredited certifiers generate the NOP Import Certificate in INTEGRITY and provide it to the requesting exporter/final handler. The exporter/final handler provides the electronic NOP import certificate to the U.S. importer for entry into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection import system (ACE).

For more information, or to request an NOP Import Certificate, please contact your organic certifier.

Resources

• Strengthening Organic Enforcement – the final rule includes new requirements related to the electronic organic import certificate.
• Organic INTEGRITY Database – the USDA’s listing of certified organic operations around the world. The Organic INTEGRITY Database also lists organic operations certified under trade partner programs that are exporting product to the US. The electronic organic import certificates are not available to the public in the Organic Integrity Database since the certificates may contain proprietary trade information. Additional user resources are available for certifiers on INTEGRITY.
• Microlearning: Import Certificate Data Flow – training resource on how an electronic import certificate accompanies a shipment of organic agricultural products being exported to the U.S.
• Microlearning: How to Create Electronic Import Certificates – training resource on how to create an import certificate in the USDA Organic INTEGRITY Database.
• Harmonized Tariff Schedule – website operated by the U.S. International Trade Commission
• Issuing Paper NOP Import Certificates (pdf) – this tip sheet provides instructions on how certifiers, in limited circumstances, can issue a paper NOP-IC when the GLOBAL INTEGRITY system is unavailable due to planned or unplanned outages.

Resources for Trade Importers/Customs Brokers on the CBP website

• AMS CATAIR/Implementation Guide – Organic information can be found in Chapter 6
• AMS Tips for Trade When Filing USDA Organic Data