MOSA Fees for 2025: Update and Overview

As 2024 winds down, now's a great time to talk about any planned changes to the MOSA fee schedule for 2025 and provide an overview of how MOSA charges clients for their organic certification. MOSA wants our fee structure to be transparent, fair, and of good value to our clients, so let's go over both the changes for 2025 and the overall structure.

For 2025, there are no planned changes to the tiers and rates of the MOSA fee schedule. First year applicants for certification will pay the same flat fees as applicants have in 2024, and returning clients will use the same tiers and incremental rates to compute their fees (based on their previous year's sales).

The minor changes for 2025 affect a few of the secondary areas of the MOSA fee schedule, on pages 3 and 4:

The Annual Update Early Bird discount date is now 1/15/25 due to the new Annual Update deadline of 2/1/25. Full fees and AU by 1/15/25 will receive a $50 discount. ($25 if paying via quarterly or milk check deduction). The date that the annual fee (or first quarterly fee payment) is due will remain 4/1.

The Annual Update deadline extension date is now 2/15/25 due to the new Annual Update deadline of 2/1/25. The extension fee will decrease to $50 and is to be requested by 2/1/25.
The Missed Certification Deadline Late Fee will increase to $100.
The Administrative Fee (typically for additional services outside of the annual recertification process) will increase to $150/hour.
The discounted Contract Slaughter Facility and Contract Feed Mill rates will no longer be offered.

The overall structure of the MOSA fee schedule will remain the same for 2025. New applicants pay a flat certification fee based on the applicable fee schedule (Producer - or - Handler and Producer/Handler and the applicable certificate scope(s) (crop, livestock, wild crop, handler). The flat certification fee includes an Inspection Base Fee. Since most inspections cost more than the Base Fee, clients receive an invoice for the remaining amount after the inspector submits their reports and itemized invoice to MOSA. The total cost of the inspection includes inspector preparation, time spent onsite, report-writing, and travel expenses. While the size and complexity of the operation dictate most of the inspection cost, clients can help reduce the amount with thorough preparation and organization of their certification records.

Returning clients determine their certification fee based on their organic sales from the previous calendar year. They list these sales on their Annual Update form and then plug them into the sales tiers on the first page of the applicable fee schedule. (Producer - or - Handler and Producer/Handler) and the applicable certificate scope(s) (crop, livestock, wild crop, handler). The annual (or quarterly) fee is shown in the column to the immediate right.

For returning handler clients, the cost of the organic agricultural ingredients purchased can be deducted from the previous year’s gross sales, resulting in the "adjusted gross organic income," which then determines the correct sales tier. (The farmer producing the agricultural ingredients already paid fees for those ingredients so the subsequent handler pays fees for the value they added with the finished product.)

Returning non-processing handlers, operations such as brokers, traders, wholesalers, importers who do not process or repack products, divide their adjusted gross organic income by 5 to determine their sales tier. Finally, retailers pay certification fees based on the square footage of their facilities and do not use the sales tier system.

The "Discounts & Other Fees" section of the MOSA Fee Schedule lists specific amounts that may apply to your operation. For instance, returning MOSA clients and any new clients they refer to MOSA both receive a referral discount on their fees. This section lists the fees for other services MOSA clients might need, such as Transitional Verification, Grass-Fed Certification, or Private Label Authorization, as well as fees named for particular actions that delay the certification process, including Annual Update Late Fee, Missed Certification Deadline Fee, and Inspection Cancellation Fee.

If you have any questions about how to determine your certification fee, or about an invoice you received from MOSA? Please call or email and we'll answer your questions or go over a particular invoice with you!