Organic certification Canada guide for producers and importers

To get organic certification in Canada under the Canada Organic Regime, apply to a CFIA-accredited body covering your activity and country. The body checks your operation against the applicable Canadian Organic Standards, conducts an on-site verification and certifies compliant products. Sections 344–345 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations set out this process.

CFIA oversees the Canada Organic Regime (COR). Your application goes to the certification body, not directly to CFIA. Imports may also qualify through an applicable foreign equivalence arrangement.

When does the Canada Organic Regime apply?

Federal organic rules cover organic claims on imported products and products traded between provinces. They also cover products bearing the Canada Organic logo, even when sold within one province. These rules sit in Part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations. CFIA's organic claims guidance explains their application.

Selling only within a province without the logo does not mean organic claims are unregulated. Check provincial requirements and the prohibitions against misleading claims before deciding that federal certification is unnecessary. See CFIA's guidance on intraprovincial trade.

COR covers food, seed and animal feed, including aquaculture products. Cosmetics, pet food, natural health products and cannabis plants or cultivation fall outside this certification route. They cannot use COR certification or its logo. See CFIA's organic products overview before preparing an application for a non-food product.

How to get organic certification in Canada

Choose a body with the right scope

Start with the live CFIA register of accredited certification bodies. Check the body's exact legal name, accreditation scope and countries of operation. A place on the worldwide register does not mean a body can certify every Canadian operation.

Ask the body to confirm that it covers your products and activities before applying. Request its application package and fee schedule. There is no universal federal certification price in the COR operating manual, and the register does not compare fees or approval speed.

Confirm the standards and transition requirements

CFIA's current standards page lists these documents:

• CAN/CGSB-32.310-2026, general principles and management standards.
• CAN/CGSB-32.311-2026, permitted substances lists.
• CAN/CGSB-32.312-2023, aquaculture standards.

The official publication record identifies March 2026 as the publication date for 32.310-2026. It supersedes the 2020 edition, Corrigendum No. 1. An old application checklist may therefore need revision.

Ask your certifier which edition and transition provisions apply to your operation. The operating manual allows up to 12 months after amendments are published for compliance, with longer periods where specified. That does not establish one implementation date for every change. Current requirements also include published standards corrections.

Prepare your application materials

Section 344 requires a written application. Assemble the information that lets the body assess your products and controls:

• Product names.
• Substances and materials used, with their intended uses.
• Detailed production methods and control mechanisms.
• Relevant certificates for contracted packaging or labelling.
• Formulations and organic percentages for multi-ingredient products.

These items come from section 344. Use them to prepare, but obtain the certifier's full application package rather than treating this list as a complete submission form.

For a multi-ingredient product, prepare the formulation before deciding what the label will say. Certification eligibility and permission to call the finished product "organic" use different percentage thresholds.

Plan the application date before the sale date

The general application window is within 12 months before the expected sale. Some operations must apply at least 15 months before that sale. These include maple products, field crops and greenhouse crops grown in permanent in-ground soil. Other cases include wild crops and aquaculture products with production cycles longer than 12 months. Check section 344(3) with your certifier.

These are application requirements. They do not promise approval within 12 or 15 months, and they are not a universal land-conversion period. Ask the body to confirm your applicable timing before setting a launch date.

Complete the on-site verification

The certification body must conduct an on-site verification before granting product certification under section 345. Submitting the paperwork alone does not complete the process. The operating manual requires certification before you offer products as organic.

CCOF, Pro-Cert, Ecocert, QAI and PACS

The following bodies appear directly in the CFIA-accredited register. Their inclusion is not based only on US equivalence. Each lists Canada as an operating country, but you still need confirmation that its scope fits your operation.

Source for all entries: CFIA's certification-body register.

Compare the listed entities, not just their brand names. Ecocert Canada's entry does not establish that every Ecocert affiliate holds the same accreditation. Likewise, a broad agricultural scope is not a detailed confirmation of every activity you need certified. Ask each candidate body about your actual operation rather than choosing from the name alone.

Keep certification current

Product certification requires ongoing annual verification. Under section 346, provide the required application information during each 12-month period, no later than six months before that period ends. The body must complete an on-site verification within that period.

Keep the records required by the standards. Notify your certification body immediately in writing about changes affecting certification and complaints concerning organic integrity. Sections 351–352 establish these duties.

Do not assume that every product certificate automatically expires annually. Packaging and labelling activity certification has separate rules, including an express 12-month validity period under sections 347–348. If you use a contractor, distinguish its activity certification from your product certification.

What can a certified organic label say?

For multi-ingredient foods, certification starts at 70% organic content, but a standalone organic claim requires at least 95%. The following distinctions come from CFIA's organic claims guidance.

Percentage claims must be rounded down to a whole number. The words "organic ingredients" must have the same height and prominence as the percentage. Multi-ingredient products must identify their organic ingredients, and the certifying body's name is required where applicable. Organic claims generally require English and French, subject to exceptions. Check the full labelling guidance before approving artwork.

Importing certified organic products

Imports can qualify through direct COR certification or an applicable foreign equivalence arrangement under section 357. A US-accredited agent recognized through equivalence does not thereby become CFIA-accredited. The US–Canada arrangement has conditions, so do not assume every USDA organic product qualifies.

Canadian label requirements still apply. Imported products bearing the Canada Organic logo need "Imported" or "Product of [country]" close to it, with applicable bilingual presentation. See CFIA's organic claims guidance.

RegAffairs AI provides a cited answer on obtaining Canadian organic certification and choosing a certifier.

Before applying, request written confirmation of your chosen body's scope, application requirements, fees and applicable standards transitions.

Related guides

• When you can use the Canada Organic logo and the 95% rule
• Canadian organic standards and permitted substances guide
• Organic certification bodies in India and APEDA list checks
• BPA in Canada, from the CEPA toxic listing to BPA-free labels