The certificate of inspection, usually shortened to COI, is the shipment-level document that lets an organic consignment enter the European Union with its organic status intact. It is issued electronically in TRACES NT by the exporter’s control body before the goods leave, and endorsed by the competent authority at the point of entry.
What it has to match
The COI describes one consignment: the exporter, the importer, the first consignee, the products, the quantities, the means of transport and the point of entry. Those details have to match the invoice, the packing list and the transport document. A discrepancy is not a paperwork nuisance. The consignment can lose organic status and be released as conventional, which destroys the price premium the whole file existed to protect.
The two documents people confuse
- **Operator certificate.** Proves that a company and a defined scope of activity are under organic control. Valid for a period, not for a shipment.
- **Certificate of inspection.** Covers one physical consignment and is endorsed at the border.
You need both, and the operator certificate has to be valid for the activity actually performed, including freezing and storage if those steps happen at third-party sites.
Import arrangements under Regulation (EU) 2018/848 have been subject to transitional provisions. Confirm the current status for the country of origin before committing to a delivery date.
Full walkthrough: organic certification for Ukrainian suppliers.