(1) Both the association of producers requesting accreditation of a negotiating unit and the person operating the processing facility for which the negotiating unit is being proposed shall create and maintain in their possession an accreditation file for the purpose of allowing the director to determine if the association of producers has met the requirements for the accreditation of the negotiating unit. The file shall be available to the department during normal working hours with reasonable advance notice.

(2) Documents contained in the file shall become a permanent part of the file and shall be serially numbered and indexed to assure the integrity of the file. Copies of original documents may be placed in the file or new documents may be created to satisfy the requirements of this chapter.

(3) The director may examine other records as necessary to confirm the validity of the information contained in the accreditation file.

(4) The accreditation files shall be maintained at the principal business address of the association of producers and the person operating the processing facility. In the case where the principal business address of the person operating a processing facility is located outside of the state of Washington, the accreditation file shall be maintained at the processing facility or at some other location within the state of Washington as approved by the director.