7 C.F.R. § 800.161 – Official certificate requirements.

(a) General. Official certificates shall show the information and statements required by § 800.161 through § 800.165 and the instructions. The Administrator shall approve any other information and statements reported. Information shall be reported in a uniform, accurate, and concise manner, be in English, be typewritten or handwritten in ink, and be clearly legible.
(b) Required format. Official certificates shall be uniform in size, shape, color, and format and conform to requirements prescribed in the instructions. Upon request and for good cause, the Service may approve special design certificates. All information and statements shall be shown on the front of the certificate, except that on domestic grain certificates, (1) approved abbreviations for official factors and official criteria, with their meanings, may be shown on the back and (2) the identification of carriers or containers in a combined-lot inspection may be shown on the back if ample space is not available on the front. When information is recorded on the back of the certificate, the statement “See reverse side” must be shown on the front.
(c) Required information. Each official certificate shall show the following information in accordance with the instructions:
1. (1) For an agency issuing export certificates or the Federal Grain Inspection Service, “United States Department of Agriculture—Federal Grain Inspection Service;”
2. (2) For a designated agency, the name of the agency, as applicable;
3. (3) Captions identifying the kind of service;
4. (4) A preprinted serial number and lettered prefix;
5. (5) “Original” or “copy,” as applicable;
6. (6) “Divided lot,” “duplicate,” or “corrected,” as applicable;
7. (7) The identification of the carrier or container;
8. (8) The date the service was performed;
9. (9) The date and method of sampling;
10. (10) The kind of movement and the level of service performed;
11. (11) The grade and kind or “Not Standardized Grain,” as applicable;
12. (12) The results of the service performed;
13. (13) The location of the issuing office;
14. (14) The location of the grain when the service was performed;
15. (15) A space for remarks;
16. (16) Whether a reinspection or appeal inspection service was based in whole or in part on file samples when file samples are used;
17. (17) A statement reflecting the results of a stowage examination, when applicable;
18. (18) Seal records, when applicable; and
19. (19) The name of the person issuing the certificate.
(d) Required statements. Each official certificate shall include the following statements according to the instructions: (1) A statement that the certificate is issued under the authority of the United States Grain Standards Act; (2) a nonnegotiability statement; (3) a warning statement; and (4) a statement referencing the certificate number and date. Each official certificate for an official sample-lot inspection service shall include a caption “U.S. Grain Standards Act” and a USDA-FGIS shield ghosted across the front. Each official certificate for a warehouseman's sample-lot inspection, a submitted sample inspection, or Class Y weighing service shall include a statement that the certificate does not meet the requirements of section 5 of the Act of warehouseman's sample-lot inspection, the word “QUALIFIED;” for submitted sample inspections, the words “Not Officially Sampled;” for Class Y weighing, the words “Class Y Weighing” screened across the front.
(e) Permissive information and statements—(1) Certificates. Information and statements requested by the applicant but not required by the regulations or instructions may be shown on the certificate if the information or statements have been approved in the instructions or on a case-by-case basis by the Administrator.
(2) Letterhead. Information and statements requested by the applicant but not required by the regulations or instructions may be shown on letterhead stationary of the Service or an agency when (i) ample space is not available for reporting the information or statements on the certificate, (ii) letterhead stationary is determined to be more suitable than the official certificate, and (iii) the certificate is referenced on the letterhead stationary and distributed according to § 800.160. Letterhead stationary of the Service shall be used for all export grain.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0580-0011)