Fees
There are fees for both BPI Certification and BPI Certification Mark Licensing.
Certification
- The application fee is $1,500 USD for Commercial Only certifications and $3,000 USD for Commercial & Home certifications. Certifications are valid for 3 years.
- Recertification is required every 3 years ($1,000 USD per certificate). See more on Recertification here.
Licensing
- An annual licensing fee is charged for the use of the BPI Certification Mark. The base licensing fee is $3,500 USD and includes licensing for up to 5 certificates/sublicenses. For companies with more than 5 certificates/sublicenses, the annual licensing fee increases by $1,000 per additional 5 certificates/sublicenses.
Sublicensing
- The cost of a sublicense from a BPI License holder is $500/year USD, which will be prorated to the BPI licensee's Licensing renewal date. Either the licensee or sublicensee can be invoiced; however, licensees who elect to pay the fees for their sublicenses receive a discount of 50% on each sublicense after their fifth one.
- There is no separate cost for a sublicense between two BPI License holders, as long as both companies maintain their annual licensing fee.
- Sublicensees requiring customized or hybrid sublicense agreements or participating with How2Compost are required to become BPI Licensees and will be billed for their Licensing Fee.
Invoicing
- All invoices are due on receipt. Applications do not proceed until after payment is received. BPI's financial policies can be found here.
- One-time application fee will be invoiced after all initial paperwork has been received.
Companies new to BPI:
- With Membership and Licensing now separate, it is your choice to become a Member to help advance BPI’s mission and represent your position in the value chain. Because of the importance of license holders participating in advancing the industry, BPI does provide a benefit to being both a License holder and a Member, offering a $500/year discount on Membership for License holders. Learn more about the Membership types and fees here.
Timeline
The entire process for certification can take up to twelve months or more depending on the test scheme required and both the readiness and attentiveness of the applicant. Testing at a BPI-Approved Lab is often the longest part of the process. Tests like Metals, Ash, and FTIR can take less than one month, but timelines depend on available lab capacity, which is outside of BPI’s ability to control. Disintegration testing takes a minimum of 3 months for commercial compostability and 6 months for home compostability, and biodegradation testing takes a minimum of 6 months (commercial) and 12 months (home). When all tests are submitted and samples are sent, the technical review process generally takes 4 weeks to complete.
