Costs of Certification

Certification costs consist of the following: 

• Costs to make improvements (investing in your business):

  These are the investments you or your customers make in the farm or supply chain to get ready for meeting the standard and to maintain certification. 

• Audit costs (paid to the external auditor):

  These are the costs of the actual audit (including the site visit) and are paid to the external certification body.  They vary based on the complexity of the audit. 

• Membership fee (paid to UEBT):

  If you are not already a UEBT member, membership is required to be part of the certification programme. Some companies seeking certification may have exceptions that apply.  Click here and look at the Membership tab under ‘integrated membership and certification approach.’ 

• For the UEBT ingredient certification programme:

  To support the functioning of the UEBT certification system, there are modest participation fees including an ingredient certification fee, and possible fees related to claims paid to UEBT.  Some claims fees are waived for members.  Learn more here.  

• For the UEBT / Rainforest Alliance Herbs & Spices Programme:

  When claims are made of ‘certified’, a volume-based royalty is paid to Rainforest Alliance based on the volume of certified goods purchased.  Therefore, UEBT does not charge any certification or claims fees payable to UEBT for the Herbs & Spices Programme. When certification claims related to ‘UEBT’ are made, such as when certificate holder prefers to use the UEBT certification label or authorized UEBT text claims, the UEBT fees will apply.  For the latest on the fees and royalties charged by Rainforest Alliance please visit the Rainforest Alliance’s Herbs and Spices page.  

Have questions? 

You can reach out to us anytime at certification@uebt.org 

Herbs and Spices Programme:  herbsandspices@uebt.org