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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

     
    FOOD MANUFACTURING, PACKING, HOLDING AND DISTRIBUTION

    Certificate of Free Sale

    The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) must inspect, permit, and license Certificates of Free Sale for Pennsylvania food and dairy facilities.

     

    Overview

    The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) will only approve Certificates of Free Sale for Pennsylvania facilities.

    These include food and dairy:

    • Manufacturers
    • Processors
    • Packers
    • Warehouses
    • Plant manufacturers

    PDA must inspect, permit, and license all certificates.

    For an extra fee, PDA will issue Vitamin and Dietary Supplement Certificates.

    Certificate Information

    • CFS - Certificate of Free Sale
    • COH - Certificate of Health
    • COH & FS - Certificate of Health & Free Sale
    • CMP - Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practices
    • COO - Certificate of Origin
    • LOC – Letter of Certification
    • COFS,S,P – Certificate of Free Sale, Sanitary, Purity
    • COFS,S,P,O – Certificate of Free Sale, Sanitary, Purity, Origin

    • Current valid Pennsylvania Registration, License or Permit with the PDA.
    • A recent inspection of the facility completed by PDA.

    • All requests must be emailed.
    • A maximum of 10 products per application.
    • Products that exceed 10 require a separate application and fee.
    • Processing time is 6-14 business days.
    • We will process applications received after 9:00 am the next business day.
    • Rush service is 2-5 business days.
    • We will mail certificates via U.S. Mail unless you provide us with a UPS prepaid printed shipping label.
    • Individual applications can be found in the side bar.

    Submitted application will serve as an Official Invoice upon receipt of your Certificates.

    The cost of a Certificate is $50.00 per Certificate, effective July 1, 2019.

    Additional rush service charge is $30.00.

    Additional surcharge for Vitamin & Dietary Supplements is $30.00. 

    All fees are subject to change.

     

    When you receive your certificate, please return your application with payment to:

    Bureau of Food Safety & Laboratory Services
    2301 N Cameron Street, Room112
    Harrisburg, PA 17110

     

    Contact us

    If you have any questions, please email them to RA-AGPACERTOFFREESAL@pa.gov.