Consumer and Environmental Health Services


Certificate of Free Sale

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A Certificate of Free Sale is defined as a certificate completed and issued by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) attesting that a specific food, drug, cosmetic or medical device product regulated under Title 24 of the New Jersey Statutes and manufactured, distributed and offered for sale in this State is labeled in conformance with the applicable food, drug, cosmetic or medical device laws. Furthermore, the Certificate of Free Sale attests to the results of the most recently conducted sanitary inspection of the manufacturer or distributor of the product.

Certificates of Free Sale are required by many foreign countries in order to receive food, cosmetic, and drug imports. The certificates certify that a company is in substantial compliance with the State and Federal standards and are equivalent to products marketed domestically in the United States. The Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has been processing Certificates of Free Sale for approximately three decades in order to meet the requests of exporters of food, cosmetics and drugs. The number of applications for Certificates of Free Sale requests have dramatically increased, in the last three years, approximately 3000 requests were coming in annually and with most applications containing multiple products.

If you wish to request a Certificate of Free Sale, please print all links below.
Guidelines for Requesting Certificates of Free Sale [PDF 69KB]
F-L3 Certificate of Free Sale Package (English) (Includes F-12, F-L3) [PDF 43K] [Word 758K]
F-L4 Certificate of Free Sale Package (Spanish) (Inlcudes F-12, F-L4) [PDF 44K] [Word 759K]
F-12, Application for Certificate of Free Sale [PDF 99KB] [Word 35KB]

Our Address and phone number:
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
Food and Drug Safety Program
PO Box 369
Trenton, NJ 08625
609-588-3123

One important reminder when requesting for a certificate is the time it would take to review a certificate. DHSS has a normal processing time of ten working days from the date of receipt.

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