What it is
NPOP is India's third-party organic certification, run by APEDA under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and it is accepted both in India and for export. An accredited certification body inspects the farm or unit every year and issues the certificate. FSSAI's Organic Food Regulations recognise exactly two Indian organic systems, and NPOP is one of them. A certified product carries the India Organic mark alongside Jaivik Bharat, FSSAI's unified identity mark.
Who it is for
NPOP is for producers, processors and traders whose organic claim reaches buyers they do not sell to directly, and for anyone who exports. A farmer can register individually, or a group of 50 to 500 farmers can certify together as an ICS group. The indicative first-year cost for a 1–5 acre farm is ₹20,000–₹60,000, or ₹1,500–₹4,000 per farmer a year in a group. These are indicative ranges, not quotes.
What the badge means on theorganic.in
A green NPOP badge means three things on the date shown: we matched the certificate number against the issuing body's register, the certificate covers the category you are viewing, and it had not expired. The badge turns amber 60 days before expiry and grey once the certificate lapses or is rejected. Grey is never hidden. A transaction certificate covers one consignment, so it never badges a whole catalogue.
How to get it
Choose a certification body accredited by APEDA under NPOP, apply to it, and pass its annual on-farm inspection. Your land first goes through a conversion period: 24 months for annual crops and 36 months for perennials, during which produce cannot be sold as certified organic. For the steps, the fees and the help you can claim, see Getting certified. The certification-bodies directory lists the accredited bodies that cover your state.
Questions people actually ask
Is an NPOP certificate valid for export?
Yes. NPOP is accepted for export as well as for sale in India. Export shipments also need a transaction certificate, issued for each consignment. Buyers in the United States and the European Union may ask for USDA Organic or EU Organic as well; see the USDA / EU page.
Who accredits NPOP certification bodies?
APEDA, under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Each accredited body has its own accreditation number, such as NPOP/NAB/0019 for the Tamil Nadu Organic Certification Department. APEDA's list changes, so our directory re-reads it and shows the date we last checked.
How do I read the certificate number on a badge?
Every badge shows the certificate number, the body that issued it and the date we last checked it. The number is public, so you can look it up on the issuing body's register yourself. It is not the same as the body's accreditation number (NPOP/NAB/…), which identifies the certifier, not the farm.
This route carries no paid inventory of any kind.