The Certification Process is relatively simple:
Commitment: The first step in the process is to decide that you want your operation to be certified. Contact TCO Cert’s office to find a Chapter or contact near you.
Submission: You will need to submit an Organic System Plan and sign an Operator Licensing Agreement. If you choose to join a Chapter, the Chapter Administrator may help you complete the documents you require for the initial application.
Inspection: Your completed application will be reviewed for completeness and a pre-inspection review of the application will be done. You may be asked to provide additional information at this point. Once this review is done, a Verification Officer (VO) will be assigned to visit your operation. The VO will coordinate the inspection so that you can be available to answer any questions during the inspection. The VO will conduct an exit interview with you and prepare a report that will be submitted to you and TCO Cert.
Review: Your completed file, including the Inspection Report, will be reviewed to ensure your operation is in compliance with COR. You may be asked to provide additional information at this point.
Decision: A decision will be made and if the decision is positive, a Certificate of Organic Certification will be issued to you, including a listing of your certified products. Once issued, your Certification will remain in effect until it is “Surrendered” by you or “Suspended” and then “Cancelled.”
Each year there must be an annual update and inspection.
There are two ways of becoming certified with TCO Cert.
Chapter members
There are several chapters across Canada that a member can join. Each Chapter has an Administrator to contact directly: Chapter Administrators.
Direct Associates
Direct associates are Operators that are not part of a chapter and are coordinated by a Certification Coordinator out of the head office: Head Office Contacts.