7 U.S.C. § 6514 — Accreditation program

(a) In general The Secretary^* must establish and implement a program to accredit a governing State official^*, and any private person^*, that meets the requirements of this section as a certifying agent^* to certifying a farm or handling operation^* as a certified organic farm^* or handling operation.

(b) Requirements To be accredited as a certifying agent under this section, a governing State official or private person must— (1) prepare and submit, to the Secretary, an application for such accreditation; (2) have sufficient expertise in organic farming and handling techniques as determined by the Secretary; and (3) comply with the requirements of this section and section 6515 of this title .

(c) Additional documentation and verification The Secretary, acting through the Deputy Administrator of the national organic program established under this chapter, has the authority, and must grant a certifying agent the authority, to require producers and handlers to provide additional documentation or verification before granting a certification under section 6503 of this title , in the case of a compliance risk about meeting the national standards for organic production established under section 6504 of this title , as determined by the Secretary or the certifying agent.

(d) Accreditation of foreign organic certification program
(1) In general For an agricultural product^* being imported into the United States to be represented as organically produced^*, the Secretary must require the agricultural product to be accompanied by a complete and valid national organic import certificate, which must be available as an electronic record.
(2) Tracking system
(A) In general The Secretary must establish a system to track national organic import certificates.
(B) Integration In establishing the system under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may integrate the system into any existing information tracking systems for imports of agricultural products.

(e) Duration of accreditation An accreditation made under this section— (1) subject to paragraph (2), must be for a period of no more than 5 years, as determined appropriate by the Secretary; (2) in the case of a certifying agent operating in a foreign country, must be for a period of time that is consistent with the certification of a domestic certifying agent, as determined appropriate by the Secretary; and (3) can be renewed.