Certifiers, explained
Halal certifiers, each in its own words.
A neutral list of halal certifying bodies whose work reaches the Southeast, or the whole country, each linked to its own public list.
Names are in alphabetical order. Each description is quoted from the certifier's own website. HCC does not rank certifiers, does not recommend one over another, and takes nothing from any of them.
How a body gets on this list
It certifies halal food.
It gives the public a way to check what it certifies: a public list, or a way to confirm a certificate.
Its own list shows places in the Southeast, or its list covers companies and products nationally.
Listing is free and on the same terms for every certifier. It is not an endorsement.
Two different jobs
What a certifier does, and what HCC does
A certifier reviews a product, a plant, a supplier or a place against its own halal standard, and issues a certificate for a stated period. Certifiers differ in what they certify and in the standards they apply. Halal Monitoring Services, for example, describes its work as "hand-slaughtered Zabiha Halal" on its home page (read October 15, 2026); other bodies describe theirs differently. That is why the name on a certificate matters.
HCC is not a certifier. It checks one location at a time against its published Standard and says, in a public record, what it checked, when, and what the check does not cover. When a business relies on a certifier, its HCC record names that certifier, and HCC confirms the certificate is real and current from the certifier's public list or in writing from the certifier.
Restaurants, markets and slaughter plants
Certifiers with places in the Southeast on their own lists
These bodies certify places you can walk into. Below is what their own websites showed on October 15, 2026.
HFSAA
Halal Food Standards Alliance of America
In its own words: "Promoting a high standard of Halal for all Muslims." "HFSAA was established by traditionally trained Islamic scholars who were concerned about the state of Halal in the USA." It describes itself as a "Registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization".
What it lists: restaurants, meat markets and dining halls; products; and distributors.
In the Southeast: its chapters page names a Southeast chapter for Tampa Bay, and chapters for Miami, Orlando and Virginia. When we checked, those chapter pages loaded without a list of places, so ask the body directly about a place you have in mind.
Sources, read October 15, 2026: its home page, its about page.
HMS
Halal Monitoring Services
In its own words: "Find verified HMS-certified Zabiha Halal restaurants, grocery stores, meat markets, and other monitored halal businesses across the United States." It calls its work "Independent, non-profit certification" and says it has been "Trusted Since 2005".
What it lists: "restaurants, meat markets, slaughterhouses, and processors", with each listing's status and the date its certification expires.
In the Southeast: its full list showed restaurants, stores, a distributor and slaughter plants in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, with city pages for Atlanta, Raleigh and Richmond.
Sources, read October 15, 2026: its home page.
Plants, products and ingredients
National certifiers with a public list or a certificate check
A restaurant's halal claim often rests on a supplier's certificate, and many supplier certificates come from bodies like these. Their lists are by company or product, not by place, so this page does not say where in the Southeast they work.
AHF
American Halal Foundation
In its own words: "An innovative halal certification organization relentlessly dedicated to Inspiring Trust globally in our clients' products."
How to check: a public certificate database you can search, and a public list of delisted companies.
Sources, read October 15, 2026: its about page.
IFANCA · Des Plaines, Illinois
Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America
In its own words: "IFANCA is a not-for-profit organization committed to helping consumers and industry source authentic halal products since 1982."
How to check: a public list of the companies it certifies, with each company's country and product types, and a list of products.
Sources, read October 15, 2026: its about page.
ISA · Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Islamic Services of America
In its own words: "Islamic Services of America (ISA) plays a large role in the Halal industry both as an educator and a certifier." Its product categories include "Meat & Poultry".
How to check: a public page of clients, which it says highlights "just some of the clients", and a public list of customers it has suspended, canceled or terminated.
Sources, read October 15, 2026: its "What we do" page.
ISWA Halal Certification Department · Silver Spring, Maryland
USA Halal Chamber of Commerce
In its own words, the certifier describes its work this way: "We certify a wide range of products from raw meat and poultry, processed items, vitamins, chemicals and much more."
How to check: no public list of companies that we found. Its certificates carry a QR code, and its verification page explains how to confirm a certificate, lists what makes one invalid, and offers a form to ask about one.
Sources, read October 15, 2026: its about page.
The rest of the picture
Other certifiers, and lists kept by a state
Other halal certifiers work in the United States. We add a body here once we can link to its public list, or to a public way to confirm its certificates, and once its own list shows places in the Southeast or covers companies nationally. A certifier that wants to be listed, or to correct its entry, can write to [email protected].
New York publishes its own list of halal certifiers registered with the state, and of registered establishments. New York's registered certifiers. Other state laws, in plain words.
How we keep this list
- Alphabetical order inside each group. The groups describe what a body certifies, nothing else.
- Every quote is copied from the certifier's own website, and the date we read it is on this page.
- HCC takes no referral fees and accepts nothing of value from any certifier.
- A fact shown to be wrong is corrected, and the page says when.
Shown a certificate? Read it, then confirm it.
Who issued it, who and what it covers, and until when. Then check it on the certifier's own list.