Nursery Certification and Plant Regulation

The MDA launched a new Licensing Portal for Live Plant Dealers.

• If you have forgotten your password (no longer using 4-digit PIN numbers), click “Forgot password”.
• If you are an existing Nursery Certificate holder logging in for the first time, click “Request an Account”.
• If you have not held a Nursery Certificate in the last two years, click “Self-Register” and complete a Preliminary Application.

Beginning January 1, 2025, the two certificate types were combined into one. All Nursery Certificate holders are now considered Live Plant Dealers.

"Live Plant Dealer" means an entity that:

1. Raises, grows, or propagates nursery stock for sale, outdoors or indoors;
2. Acquires and further distributes nursery stock, including through landscaping or distribution with a tree spade; or
3. Operates a business in Minnesota selling nursery stock with or without taking ownership or handling the nursery stock.

2023 Minnesota Statutes 18H.02 Subd. 15b.

• Many certificate holders grow stock and sell finished stock purchased from others and a single certificate type simplifies participation in the program.
• A single certificate type allows for one fee schedule for all program participants.
• The MDA first worked with our Nursery Advisory Group, comprised of Minnesota nursey industry stakeholders, to vet this change to the program.
• The MDA then proposed the changes to Minnesota Statute 18H during the 2023 legislative session and the language was passed without opposition.

The renewal fee is based on a combination of three factors:

1. $50 base certificate fee is charged per sales location (one certificate per sales site)
2. If you grow Nursery Stock (see definition below), it must be inspected. The fee is $100 plus $10 per growing acre, up to 200 acres.
3. If you purchase and resell Finished Nursery Stock (see definition below), a fee is assessed based on your gross annual purchases of that stock during 2025 (see table below). We are no longer collecting information on gross annual sales.

Additional Fees:

• A 5% processing surcharge (minimum $5.00) on the base certificate fee will be included in accordance with Minnesota Statute 17.033.
• A credit card payment includes a 3% transaction fee.
• If you renew your certificate after December 31, a late fee penalty of 25% will be added to the cost.

Definitions:

• Nursery Stock: Any plant or plant part that can be propagated, grown, and overwintered outdoors in Minnesota, including but not limited to trees, shrubs, vines, woody and herbaceous perennials, cold hardy bulbs, biennials, grafts, cuttings, and buds.
• Nursery Stock Grown: Seeds, bare roots, or small plants purchased and actively grown in pots or in the ground to increase their size or quantity.
• Finished Nursery Stock: A finished product purchased with the intent to resell as-is within the same year. Nursery Stock that was purchased the previous year and overwintered for resale does not qualify you as a grower.

• Gross annual purchases of Finished Nursery Stock refer to the total dollar amount spent during a calendar year on Finished Nursery Stock intended for resale within that same year. An exact dollar amount is required and may be subject to audit. Applications with this field left blank will not be accepted.
• Do not include the cost of freight or any nursery stock purchased for growing purposes.
• We no longer request gross annual sales.

• Total reported acres will be rounded to the nearest acre. If you grow on less than half 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.
• There are 43,560 square feet in one acre. To calculate your growing acres, divide your total growing square footage by 43,560. For example: If your total growing area is 21,780 square feet, you would have 0.5 growing acres.

• Each of your retail locations will be assigned a unique certificate number and will have its own renewal form.
• If submitting multiple applications online, each submission currently requires an individual payment.

1. I used to get a Nursery Stock Dealer Certificate. I only bought and resold Finished Nursery Stock. What is my fee?

If you only sold Finished Nursery Stock, you would owe:

• A $50 base certificate fee per sales location, and
• An additional fee based on how much you spent purchasing Finished Nursery Stock in 2025

For example, if you are a landscaper or garden center with one sales location and you spent $15,000 buying Finished Nursery Stock to resell as-is in 2025, your 2026 renewal fee would include: the $50 base certificate fee and $100 nursery stock purchases fee. Including the $5 surcharge, your total fee would equal $155.

2. I used to get a Nursery Stock Grower Certificate. I only grew Nursery Stock from smaller stock. What is my fee?

If your business grew all the Nursery Stock it sold, you would owe the following fees:

• A $50 base certificate fee
• A $100 Nursery Stock Grower inspection fee
• A $10 per-acre growing fee, up to 200 acres

For example, if you operated a 20-acre tree farm and grew all the stock you sold, your renewal fee would include: $50 base fee, $100 inspection fee, $200 growing fee (20 acres × $10 per acre), and $5 surcharge for a total of $355.

3. I grew Nursery Stock and resold Finished Nursery Stock that I purchased. What is my fee? 

If your business both grew Nursery Stock and resold Finished Nursery Stock purchased from others, you would owe the following fees:

• A $50 base certificate fee
• A Nursery Stock purchase fee (based on the value of stock purchased)
• A $100 Nursery Stock Grower inspection fee
• A $10 per-acre growing fee, up to 200 acres

For example, if you purchased $5,000 worth of Finished Nursery Stock to resell and operated two acres of greenhouse space where you also grew Nursery Stock, your renewal fee would include: $50 base certificate fee, $50 Nursery Stock purchase fee (see the “How is the fee calculated?” section), $100 inspection fee, $20 growing fee (2 acres × $10 per acre), and $5 surcharge for a total of $225.

4. I’m a landscaper. What would my fee be?

If you only purchased Finished Nursery Stock, you would owe:

• A $50 base certificate fee per sales location
• An additional fee based on the value of Finished Nursery Stock you purchased for distribution in 2025

For example, If you are a landscaper with one sales location and you spent $15,000 on Finished Nursery Stock to resell in 2025, your 2026 renewal fee would include: $50 base certificate fee, $100 Nursery Stock purchase fee, and $5 surcharge for a total of $155.

• Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) are not considered municipalities, please select "Broker" as your type of business in your application.
• If you only purchase finished nursery stock, you will owe a base certificate fee per sales location and an additional fee based on how much you spent purchasing Finished Nursery Stock for the current calendar year. Finished nursery stock is plant material you order or pick up from a greenhouse, nursery, or garden center that is typically containerized (or ball and burlap) at a sellable size and you sell it as is. If you purchase bare root stock and sell it as bare root stock it is considered finished nursery stock.
• For example, if you have one sales location and you spent $15,000 buying nursery stock to sell, your renewal fee would include the $50 base certificate fee and $100 nursery stock purchases fee. Your total fee would equal $150.

If my business is a non-profit or a municipality do I still need a certificate?

Yes, nonprofit organizations need a certificate, but may be exempt from paying certificate fees if ALL the following are met:

• Sells or distributes Certified Nursery Stock on ten or fewer days in a calendar year; and
• Uses the proceeds from Certified Nursery Stock sales or distribution for nonprofit purposes; and
• Provide 501(c)(3) documentation

Yes, municipalities need a certificate, but may be exempt from paying certificate fees if ALL the following are met:

• All Nursery Stock offered for sale or distributed is intended for planting on public property, or public easements in the municipality; and
• Nursery Stock purchased for resale or distribution is grown in Minnesota and has been certified.

I run a very small business and don’t always sell a lot of Nursery stock. Do I still need a certificate?

To qualify for an Occasional Sales Exemption, an Individual must meet ALL of the following requirements:

• Sell less than $1,000 of nursery stock per year
• All stock sold is intended for planting in Minnesota
• All of the stock was grown in Minnesota by the seller
• Stock is sold on 10 or fewer days per year