How V-Cert governs its certificates

V-Cert certificates are issued by V-Cert Inc., operating as V-Cert. Correspondence, complaints and legal notices reach us at the address below.

Certification runs as a remote desk review against the written requirements for each mark. In order: you apply online, your quote is scoped to the products you list, you approve it and send your document set, a human reviewer assesses it against the standard, a certification decision is made, and the certificate is issued. Certified products are then re-reviewed annually.

The full step-by-step walkthrough lives on how it works, and every requirement we assess is set out on each mark’s certification page.

Typical desk review: 5–10 business days from complete documentation.

• Grant. A certificate is granted only after a reviewer has assessed the complete evidence set against every requirement of the applicable standard. Incomplete files pause the clock — they are never waved through.
• Maintain. Certificates are maintained through annual re-review and change control: formulation, supplier or scope changes must be notified before changed products are marketed under the mark.
• Suspend. A certificate is suspended on evidence of non-conformity, misuse of the mark, or an unresolved substantiated complaint. The company is notified with reasons and a deadline to resolve.
• Withdraw. A certificate is withdrawn when a suspension is not resolved by its deadline, or immediately on evidence of misrepresentation in the application.

Anyone — a client, a buyer, a consumer, a competitor — can raise a complaint about a certificate, a certified product or our own work, by email to info@v-cert.org. Suspected misuse of a certificate can also be reported through the report page.

Every complaint receives a written acknowledgment with a case reference — the clock we hold ourselves to is stated on the SLA plates in the restraint ledger below. It is then investigated and answered in writing, with the outcome and its reasons, no more than 30 days later. Appeals are decided by a person independent of the original reviewer.

If a complaint is substantiated, the decision rules in section 03 apply — including the prompt status change that anyone checking the certificate number will see.

Certification only means something if the certifier has nothing to gain from the answer. Three rules keep it that way:

• V-Cert does not provide consulting. We will not design your formulation, write your documentation or coach you through the standard for a fee — we certify against it, or we decline.
• No reviewer holds a financial interest in any applicant or certified company, and reviewer compensation is never tied to certification outcomes.
• Fees are quoted and payable regardless of the certification decision — a negative decision costs the same as a positive one.

Certified companies may use the V-Cert mark on products named in a valid certificate, following the published usage rules — minimum size, clear space, single-ink reproduction and traceability to the certificate. The rules and the downloadable seal kit live on brand assets. Misuse of the mark is grounds for suspension under section 03.

Every quote is built from four inputs: the marks applied for, the product category, the number of SKUs in scope, and — optionally — the export markets whose labeling rules the review must cover. The quote is written, itemized and fixed before any work begins — there is no quote black box and no percentage-of-revenue pricing. Current tiers and the full fee anatomy are on pricing.

Fees are never contingent on the outcome of the review, and annual renewal fees are stated in the initial quote — not discovered at renewal.

Trust starts with scope. These statements are as much a part of our governance as anything above:

V-Cert is an independent certification body and is not ISO/IEC 17065 accredited. What each mark requires and the rules for granting, suspending and withdrawing certificates are published, and every certificate is verifiable by QR code.

• V-Cert certification is not a GFCO certificate, a Leaping Bunny license, a V-Label or Vegan Society trademark, or a Non-GMO Project verification — and it is never presented as equivalent to any of them.
• A V-Cert certificate does not guarantee acceptance by any retailer. Some retail programs mandate a specific scheme by name — if yours does, we'll tell you before you pay anything.
• V-Cert does not conduct on-site audits. Certification is a desk review of documents, test reports and declarations, and every standard says so in its own text.