Nursery Certification is Changing in 2025
All Nursery Stock Dealer and Grower certificates will need to be renewed as Live Plant Dealer nursery certificates this fall.
A combination of three factors will be used to calculate the total Live Plant Dealer renewal fee:
- You will pay a $50 base certification fee per sales location.
- You may pay an additional fee based on your gross annual purchases of finished nursery stock for 2024. The new fees for gross annual purchase values are published in the table below and also on the Minnesota Legislature Website. Businesses will no longer report gross annual sales. This fee is zero for any new applicant.
- If you purchase seed or small plants and produce finished nursery stock by growing in pots or in the ground with the intention to increase their size or quantity, you will pay an additional $100 nursery stock grower inspection fee plus $10 per growing acre up to 200 acres. All acres in production must be reported. Only reported acreage will be inspected for certification.
Late fee penalties will increase. A late fee of 25% will be charged for renewals if a paper application is postmarked or if an online payment is submitted after December 31, 2024.
Nursery Stock Purchases Fee Table
| Gross Annual Purchases | Fee |
| $0 to $3,000 | $0 |
| $3,001 to $10,000 | $50 |
| $10,001 to $20,000 | $100 |
| $20,001 to $50,000 | $225 |
| $50,001 to $100,000 | $425 |
| $100,001 to $150,000 | $600 |
| $150,001 to $200,000 | $750 |
| $200,001 to $300,000 | $975 |
| $300,001 to $400,000 | $1,200 |
| $400,001 to $500,000 | $1,250 |
| $500,001 to $600,000 | $1350 |
| $600,001 to $700,000 | $1,400 |
| $700,001 to $800,000 | $1,500 |
| $800,001 to $900,000 | $1,600 |
| $900,001 to $1,000,000 | $1,700 |
| $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 | $1,800 |
| $2,000,001 to $3,000,000 | $1,900 |
| $3,000,001 or more | $.0005 x annual purchases |
Frequently Asked Questions
If you only sold finished nursery stock, you would owe a base certificate fee per sales location and an additional fee based on how much you spent purchasing finished stock for 2024. Finished nursery stock includes stock that was purchased with intent to sell as is.
For example, if you are a landscaper or garden center with one sales location and you spent $15,000 buying nursery stock to sell in 2024, your 2025 renewal fee would include:
- The $50 base certificate fee.
- The $100 nursery stock purchases fee (based on the table above).
Your fee would equal $150.
If your business grew all the nursery stock it sold, you would owe a base certificate fee, a nursery stock grower inspection fee, and a fee per acre you grew on up to 200 acres. Growing nursery stock involves purchasing seed or small plants and producing nursery stock in pots or in the ground by actively increasing their size or quantity.
For example, if you were a 20-acre tree farm that grew what you sold, your renewal fee would include:
- The $50 base certificate fee.
- The $100 nursery stock inspection fee.
- The $10 per acre growing fee.
In this case you would pay $10 for each of your 20 acres, adding up to $200. Your total fee would equal $350.
If you grew nursery stock, purchased, and resold finished nursery stock, you would owe a base certificate fee, a nursery stock purchase fee, a nursery stock grower inspection fee, and a fee per acre you grew on up to 200 acres.
For example, if you bought $5,000 of finished nursery stock from others to resell, and owned two acres of greenhouse space where you also grew nursery stock you sold, your renewal fee would include:
- The $50 base certificate fee.
- The $50 nursery stock purchases fee (based on the table above).
- The $100 nursery stock grower inspection fee.
- The $10 per acre growing fee. In this case you would pay $10 for each of your two acres, adding up to $20.
Your total renewal fee would equal $220.
You can track your gross nursery stock purchases by tallying your annual nursery stock purchase receipts. You can also ask your suppliers for an invoice of all your nursery stock purchases each fall.
Each of your retail locations will be assigned a unique certificate number and each store will have its own renewal form.
Gross annual sales equal the total revenue generated from product sold in a calendar year. Gross annual purchases equal the total dollar amount spent in a calendar year buying finished nursery stock for re-sale.
No, you will no longer report gross annual sales.
There are 43,560 square feet in an acre. Divide your total growing square footage by 43,560 to calculate your growing acres.
Square Footage to Acreage Conversion Examples
| Square Feet | Acres |
| 10,890 | .25 |
| 21,780 | .5 |
| 32,670 | .75 |
| 43,560 | 1 |
Total reported acres will be rounded to the nearest acre. If you grow on less than half of an acre, it will be rounded down to zero acres and your fee will include the $50 base certificate fee and the $100 nursery stock grower inspection fee with no additional acreage fee.
