Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

18B.26 Pesticide registration.

Subdivision 1. Requirement. (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) to (d), a person may not use or distribute a pesticide in this state unless it is registered with the commissioner. Pesticide registrations expire on December 31 of each year and may be renewed on or before that date for the following calendar year.

(b) Registration is not required if a pesticide is shipped from one plant or warehouse to another plant or warehouse operated by the same person and used solely at the plant or warehouse as an ingredient in the formulation of a pesticide that is registered under this chapter.

(c) An unregistered pesticide that was previously registered with the commissioner may be used for a period of two years following the cancellation of the registration of the pesticide, unless the commissioner determines that the continued use of the pesticide would cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, or with the written permission of the commissioner. To use the unregistered pesticide at any time after the two-year period, the pesticide end user must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the commissioner, if requested, that the pesticide has been continuously registered under a different brand name or by a different manufacturer and has similar composition, or, the pesticide end user obtains the written permission of the commissioner.

(d) The commissioner may allow specific pesticide products that are not registered with the commissioner to be distributed in this state for use in another state.

(e) Each pesticide with a unique United States Environmental Protection Agency pesticide registration number or a unique brand name must be registered with the commissioner.

Subd. 2. Application. (a) A person must file an application for registration with the commissioner. The application must include:

(1) the name and address of the applicant and the name and address of the person whose name will appear on the label, if other than the applicant;

(2) the brand name of the pesticide;

(3) other necessary information required by the registration application form;

(4) a true and complete copy of the labeling accompanying the pesticide as provided for in FIFRA; and

(5) current material safety data sheets for each pesticide.

(b) As part of the application, the commissioner may require the submission of any relevant information including the complete formula of a pesticide, including the active and inert ingredients. The commissioner may also require the registrant to supply analytical standards and methods for the pesticide, pesticide breakdown products, or metabolites.

Subd. 3. Application fee. (a) A registrant shall pay an annual application fee for each pesticide to be registered, and this fee is set at 0.4 percent of annual gross sales within the state and annual gross sales of pesticides used in the state, with a minimum nonrefundable fee of $250. The registrant shall determine when and which pesticides are sold or used in this state. The registrant shall secure sufficient sales information of pesticides distributed into this state from distributors and dealers, regardless of distributor location, to make a determination. Sales of pesticides in this state and sales of pesticides for use in this state by out-of-state distributors are not exempt and must be included in the registrant's annual report, as required under paragraph (c), and fees shall be paid by the registrant based upon those reported sales. Sales of pesticides in the state for use outside of the state are exempt from the application fee in this paragraph if the registrant properly documents the sale location and distributors. A registrant paying more than the minimum fee shall pay the balance due by March 1 based on the gross sales of the pesticide by the registrant for the preceding calendar year. The fee for disinfectants and sanitizers shall be the minimum. The minimum fee is due by December 31 preceding the year for which the application for registration is made. The commissioner shall spend at least $300,000 per fiscal year from the pesticide regulatory account for the purposes of the waste pesticide collection program.

(b) An additional fee of $100 must be paid by the applicant for each pesticide to be registered if the application is a renewal application that is submitted after December 31.

(c) A registrant must annually report to the commissioner the amount and type of each registered pesticide sold, offered for sale, or otherwise distributed in the state. The report shall be filed by March 1 for the previous year's registration. The commissioner shall specify the form of the report and require additional information deemed necessary to determine the amount and type of pesticides annually distributed in the state. The information required shall include the brand name, amount, and formulation of each pesticide sold, offered for sale, or otherwise distributed in the state, but the information collected, if made public, shall be reported in a manner which does not identify a specific brand name in the report.

(d) A registrant who is required to pay more than the minimum fee for any pesticide under paragraph (a) must pay a late fee penalty of $100 for each pesticide application fee paid after March 1 in the year for which the license is to be issued.

Subd. 4. Effect of registration after renewal application. If a registration is in effect on December 31 and a renewal application has been made and the application fee paid, the registration continues in full force and effect until the commissioner notifies the applicant that the registration is denied or canceled, or the renewed registration expires.

Subd. 5. Review and registration. (a) The commissioner may not deny the registration of a pesticide because the commissioner determines the pesticide is not essential.

(b) The commissioner shall review each application and may approve, deny, or cancel the registration of any pesticide. The commissioner may impose state use and distribution restrictions on a pesticide as part of the registration to prevent unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.

(c) The commissioner must notify the applicant of the approval, denial, cancellation, state use or distribution restrictions.

(d) The applicant may request a hearing on any adverse action of the commissioner within 30 days after being notified.

(e) The commissioner may exempt pesticides that have been deregulated or classified as minimum risk by the United States Environmental Protection Agency from the requirement of registration.

Subd. 6. Discontinuance of registration. To ensure complete withdrawal from distribution or further use of a pesticide, a person who intends to discontinue a pesticide registration must:

(1) terminate a further distribution within the state and continue to register the pesticide annually for two successive years;

(2) initiate and complete a total recall of the pesticide from all distribution in the state within 60 days from the date of notification to the commissioner of intent to discontinue registration; or

(3) submit to the commissioner evidence adequate to document that no distribution of the registered pesticide has occurred in the state.

HIST: 1987 c 358 s 68; 1989 c 326 art 5 s 30-33; 1990 c 597 s 2; 1991 c 309 s 11; 1992 c 439 s 1; 1992 c 513 art 2 s 15; 1992 c 603 s 22; 1993 c 226 s 15; 1993 c 367 s 6,7; 1999 c 6 s 1; 1999 c 231 s 39; 2003 c 128 art 3 s 26; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 1 s 17

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes