The information furnished on these pages provides a summary of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's regulatory oversight of businesses or persons wishing to offer for specialty fertilizer products in Minnesota. Complete information may be found in the Minnesota Statutes and Rules that govern the labeling, use and storage of these materials.

The objective of the Specialty Fertilizer Registration Program is to promote fair trade practices among businesses that offer specialty fertilizer products for sale and provide consumer awareness/protection by providing accurate, meaningful and uniform labeling and registration standards.

A person may not sell brands or grades of specialty fertilizers in Minnesota unless they are registered. Specialty fertilizers that are custom applied and custom blended specialty fertilizers are exempt from the registration requirement under certain circumstances. Registration of a fertilizer is not a warranty by the state. (18C.411)

The application for registration must include a completed registration application form, a copy of the specialty fertilizer product label(s) and the appropriate application fees. (18C.411)

• The annual application fee for registration of a specialty fertilizer is $100 for each brand and grade to be sold or distributed. (18C.425)
• The registration period is effective until January 1 following the date of issuance or approval.
• A product registration is not transferable from one person to another or from the ownership to whom the registration is issued to another ownership. (18C.411)
• The application for renewal of a registration of a product must be filed before January 1 as required or an additional application (penalty) fee of one-half of the application fee ($50) is due. (18C.425)
• Application fees are nonrefundable. (18C.425) Therefore, it is recommended that copies of labels or proposed labels be submitted for review and comment prior to submission of a registration application. This may prevent the loss of fees should a product registration be denied.

MDA Contact

Carol Durden, State Program Administrator
Carol.Durden@state.mn.us
651-201-6379