How to become a certification body
Moratorium on new CB applications
The GOTS Management has taken a decision to impose a moratorium on new CB applications at this time. To know more, please read the following statement:
Moratorium on new Certification Bodies
Conditions for Certification Bodies
GOTS has developed its own accreditation system for this approval process, as well as for continuous monitoring of the approved certification bodies, as outlined in the document 'Approval Procedure for Certification Bodies version 3.0'.
Any national or international Accreditation Body that includes the approval and monitoring procedure and the requirements specified in the GOTS accreditation document can provide GOTS Accreditation for certification bodies, while the International Organic Accreditation Services (), is our main partner in this process.
As a prerequisite, certification bodies applying for approval as a GOTS certifier must already hold a valid accreditation to perform certification in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 17065.
- Certification of mechanical textile processing and manufacturing operations and their products (scope 1)
- Certification of wet processing and finishing operations and their products (scope 2)
- Certification of trading operations and related products (scope 3)
- Issue Letters of Approval for auxiliary chemical inputs (scope 4)
GOTS approved Certification Bodies are required to cooperate with all the other approved certifiers in the Certifiers‘ Council, in order to ensure worldwide equal application of the Global Standard and of inspection and certification procedures. They must pay an Annual Fee per facility inspected and/or certified and need to collect licence fees from their certified entities and registration fees from chemical suppliers in accordance with the provisions of the 'Conditions for the Use of GOTS Signs' as amended.
The qualification, competence and all further requirements for application and approval under the GOTS Accreditation System are defined in the document “Approval Procedure and Requirements for Certification Bodies”. Certification Bodies that wish to apply must ensure that they have studied, understood and are willing to follow the terms and conditions set out in this document prior to submitting their application. An application can be submitted using the form below.
Approval Procedure and Requirements for Certification Bodies
Certificate Templates
Such companies are considered as GOTS certified suppliers (=certified entities) and are listed in the GOTS Certified Suppliers Database. The facilities and subcontractors that have been inspected and assessed for the certification are listed in the annex of a scope certificate, although their names are not disclosed in the Certified Suppliers Database.
The following documents were released in December 2019: Transaction Certificate Policy
Template for Transaction Certificates