Halal Accreditation: Who Accredits Halal Watch
Halal Watch is accredited by the GCC Accreditation Center (GAC) under accreditation number HPC 0134, and by the United States Department of Halal Standards. It is recognized by CICOT in Thailand, holds mutual recognition with the Muslim Judicial Council and the National Independent Halaal Trust in South Africa, and is registered with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
Any certification body can call itself accredited. What matters is whether an independent authority says so, and whether you can check it yourself. Every accreditation and recognition on this page links to the body that holds the record, so you can verify each one without taking our word for it.
Accreditation is not the same as certification
These terms are used interchangeably across the halal industry, and the difference matters when you are choosing a certifier. Any certifier presenting mutual recognition as accreditation is overstating its position, which is why we separate all three below.
Certification
What a body like Halal Watch issues to a business. It confirms that a product, ingredient or facility meets a defined halal standard.
Accreditation
What an independent authority grants to the certification body itself. It confirms the certifier is competent, impartial and operating to a recognised standard. The check on the checker.
Mutual recognition
An agreement between two certification bodies to accept certificates issued by the other. Valuable for market access, but it is not accreditation.
Our accreditations
GCC Accreditation Center (GAC)
Accreditation · Gulf Cooperation Council
GAC is the accreditation body of the Gulf Cooperation Council, covering Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. It accredits halal certification bodies against the GSO standards used across the Gulf, and it is the accreditation that carries the most weight for exporters to the region.
Halal Watch World LLC is listed on the GAC register of accredited bodies under accreditation number HPC 0134.
United States Department of Halal Standards (USDHS)
Accreditation · United States
USDHS is a non-profit organisation registered in 2020. It accredits halal certification bodies in the United States, applying the principles of ISO 17065 alongside its own Halal Integrity Protection Standards, and it is the body that develops those standards. There is no federal halal accreditation authority in the United States, so an independent standards body of this kind fills that role.
Our recognitions
Recognition means another authority accepts our certificates in its market. It is what allows a certificate issued in the United States to clear customs and retail approval elsewhere.
Central Islamic Council of Thailand (CICOT)
Recognition · Thailand
CICOT maintains the official list of foreign halal certification bodies whose certificates are accepted for halal-labelled goods in Thailand. Certificates from bodies not on that list cannot be used.
Halal Watch World LLC appears on the current list with active status, valid from 15 July 2025 to 15 July 2028.
Muslim Judicial Council Halaal Trust (MJC)
Mutual recognition · South Africa
The MJC has certified halal products in South Africa since 1945. Halal Watch and the MJC hold a mutual recognition agreement covering food, beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, chemical compounds and animal slaughtering, in effect since June 2024. Each body recognises certificates issued by the other.
National Independent Halaal Trust (NIHT)
Mutual recognition · South Africa
NIHT is a South African halal certification body established in 1992. Halal Watch and NIHT hold a mutual recognition covering certificates issued by either body.
Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO)
In progress · Expected January 2027
We list this separately because it has not been granted. Showing a pending application alongside granted accreditations would be misleading, and this page exists precisely to avoid that.
Registered in New York
Halal Watch World is registered with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets as a halal certifier under Section 201-g of the Agriculture and Markets Law. Our filing was recorded on 27 September 2023 and appears on the register the Department publishes.
What registration does and does not mean
New York is one of very few states that maintains a public register of halal certifiers. Registration is a filing made under a legal obligation of accuracy. It is not a state endorsement or an accreditation, and we describe it that way deliberately, because any certifier telling you otherwise is overstating it.
What it does mean is that our details are on the public record and can be checked by anyone, including you.
The standards we certify against
Our certification follows halal standards aligned with GSO 993, MS 1500, UAE 2055-4, ISO 22000 and HIPS 1001-1003, under the scholarly supervision of Imam Mansoor Rafiq Umar.
Why our methodology is published
The HIPS standards take a particular approach. Rather than imposing the single most restrictive scholarly position on every business, they recognise that legitimate scholarly difference exists across the schools of thought, and they require each certification body to declare openly where it stands within that recognised range.
That is why our certification methodology is published rather than kept internal. You can read our position on every point of difference before you engage us.
What this means for your business
If you export, the certificate itself is not what clears your shipment. What clears it is whether the authority in the destination market accepts the body that issued the certificate. A certificate from an unrecognised certifier can be rejected at the border after goods have already shipped.
Ask any halal certifier for three things
1. The name of the body that accredits them
2. A link to the record where they are listed
3. Their published methodology
If any of the three is missing, that is your answer.
Verifying a Halal Watch certificate
Every certificate we issue carries a certificate number, along with its scope and the dates it is valid for.
Publishing that information is not optional for us. The standards we work to require a certification body to maintain a publicly accessible and current record of what it certifies, including any certificate that has been suspended, withdrawn or reduced in scope.
If you have a certificate number and want to confirm it, email support@halalwatch.us with the number and we will confirm its status.
Halal accreditation questions, answered
What is halal accreditation?
Accreditation is granted to a certification body by an independent authority. It confirms that the certifier is competent, impartial and working to a recognised standard. Certification is what that body then issues to a business. In short, accreditation is the check on the checker.
Who accredits Halal Watch?
The GCC Accreditation Center (GAC), under accreditation number HPC 0134, and the United States Department of Halal Standards. Both records can be checked directly using the links on this page.
Is there a government halal authority in the United States?
No. There is no federal halal accreditation authority in the United States. New York State does maintain a public register of halal certifiers under Section 201-g of its Agriculture and Markets Law, and Halal Watch is registered on it, but that registration is a filing made under a legal obligation of accuracy rather than a state endorsement.
What is the difference between accreditation and mutual recognition?
Mutual recognition is an agreement between two certification bodies to accept certificates issued by the other. It is valuable for market access, but it is not accreditation, and any certifier presenting it as accreditation is overstating its position.
How do I verify a Halal Watch certificate?
Every certificate carries a certificate number, the scope it covers and the dates it is valid for. Send the number to support@halalwatch.us and we will confirm its status.
Which halal certificates are accepted internationally?
Acceptance depends on whether the authority in the destination market recognises the body that issued the certificate, not on the certificate itself. Halal Watch holds GAC accreditation covering the Gulf states, CICOT recognition for Thailand, and mutual recognition with the MJC and NIHT in South Africa.
Talk to us
Halal Watch has served the halal industry since 1985 and has certified United States businesses since 1990. Certification typically takes 2 to 3 weeks and costs between $3,000 and $5,000 per year.
