Since April 21, 2002, the federal law that regulates organic products sold in the USA is the 7 CFR Part 205, the National Organic Program (NOP). The National Organic Program is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Services branch. Guaranteed Organic Certification Agency (GOCA) uses this standard as its Program Standards. To view the National Organic Program in its entirety or by section, applicants can access the USDA website www.ams.usda.gov/nop.

It is important that you read and understand the National Organic Program standards before completing the Application and Organic System Plan Packets. Organic certification is regulated by this Federal Law and any person that willfully violates the law may be subject to a civil penalty.

An applicant may request that GOCA certify to another organic standard so as to market outside of the USA. At the applicant’s request, GOCA will additionally inspect and review to standards such as the European Union's EEC 2092/91 or Japan's JAS. Product certified to these standards must be labeled “for export” and must not be sold in the United States. Applicants may access other organic standards such as EEC2092/91, IFOAM or JAS from the Links page of this website.