Approval of abbreviations of marks of inspection; preparation of marking devices bearing inspection legend without advance approval prohibited; exception.
9 C.F.R. § 317.3
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) The Administrator may approve and authorize the use of abbreviations of marks of inspection under the regulations in this subchapter. Such abbreviations shall have the same force and effect as the respective marks for which they are authorized abbreviations.
(b) Except for the purposes of preparing and submitting a sample or samples of the same to the Administrator for approval, no brand manufacturer, printer, or other person shall cast, print, lithograph, or otherwise make any marking device containing any official mark or simulation thereof, or any label bearing any such mark or simulation, without the written authority therefor of the Administrator. However, when any such sample label, or other marking device, is approved by the Administrator, additional supplies of the approved label, or marking device, may be made for use in accordance with the regulations in this subchapter, without further approval by the Administrator. The provisions of this paragraph apply only to labels, or other marking devices, bearing or containing an official inspection legend shown in § 312.2(b), § 312.3(a) (only the legend appropriate for horse meat food products) or § 312.3(b) (only the legend appropriate for other (nonhorse) equine meat food products), or any abbreviations, copy or representation thereof.
(c) No brand manufacturer or other person shall cast or otherwise make, without an official certificate issued in quadruplicate by a Program employee, a brand or other marking device containing an official inspection legend, or simulation thereof, shown in § 312.2(a), § 312.3(a) (only the legend appropriate for horse carcasses and parts of horse carcasses), § 312.3(b) (only the legend appropriate for other equine (nonhorse) carcasses and parts of other (nonhorse) equine carcasses) or § 312.7(a).
(1) The certificate is a Food Safety and Inspection Service form for signature by a Program employee and the official establishment ordering the brand or other marking device, bearing a certificate serial number and a letterhead and the seal of the United States Department of Agriculture. The certificate authorizes the making of only the brands or other marking devices of the type and quantity listed on the certificate.
(2) After signing the certificate, the Program employee and the establishment shall each keep a copy, and the remaining two copies shall be given to the brand or other marking device manufacturer.
(3) The manufacturer of the brands or other marking devices shall engrave or otherwise mark each brand or other marking device with a permanent identifying serial number unique to it. The manufacturer shall list on each of the two copies of the certificate given to the manufacturer the number of each brand or other marking device authorized by the certificate. The manufacturer shall retain one copy of the certificate for the manufacturer's records and return the remaining copy with the brands or other marking devices to the Program employee whose name and address are given on the certificate as the recipient.
(4) In order that all such brands or other marking devices bear identifying numbers, within one year after June 24, 1985, an establishment shall either replace each such brand or other marking device which does not bear an identifying number, or, under the direction of the inspector-in-charge, mark such brand or other marking device with a permanent identifying number.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-9.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026