Section 25. Tagging Procedures

25.1  Pretagging. Seed eligible to be certified may be pretagged with certified tags at the time of conditioning, but prior to approval of certification.  Pretagging must be requested and approved by the CCIA prior to tagging.  Pretagged seed must be certified within 30 days from the request for tags. Such pretagged seed must be held on the premises until receipt of the Seed Inspection Report indicating that the lot has met the CCIA certification standards for the crop. If the lot of seed fails to meet certification standards, the certification tags must be removed and returned to the CCIA.

25.2  Tag requests. Request for tags for a certified lot of seed must be initiated by the use of the online 'Request for Tags' by logging in as a Member. Upon receipt by the CCIA, the certification of the seed lot is verified. The tags are then prepared and shipped to the Accredited Seed Conditioner. Once the conditioner receives the tags, they must be attached to the seed containers in a manner that will prevent removal and reattachment.

25.3   Approval to print tags. The privilege of printing certified class series tags may be granted to large volume customers at the discretion of the CCIA. Tag printing privileges are granted by the CCIA after consultation with the CCIA staff.  The CCIA’s audit records must show evidence of seed conditioners ability to accurately maintain records (weight logs on in-dirt and clean seed, conditioning records, and units of seed in stock and sold, etc.). Seed conditioners must have a history of compliance with CCIA policies and procedures. Seed Conditioners granted the privilege of printing tags will be audited by the CCIA at least once annually.

25.4   Certification and lot numbers on containers. In addition to an official certification label on each container, each container of Foundation or Registered class must have the certification number and lot number clearly imprinted unless the number is carried within the container. Imprinting of certification and lot numbers on containers of the Certified class of seed is optional, however, if the tag is removed, lost, or destroyed, the seed cannot be sold as certified unless it was so marked.

25.5   Agricultural Commissioner responsibility. All tagging is subject to the supervision of the local Agricultural Commissioner and must be done according to their instructions. All tags sent to the conditioner must be accounted for by the commissioner's office and/or the conditioning facility to the CCIA.