Fertilizer or Lime Registration

All products that are distributed in Massachusetts and are not exclusively limited to Farm/Agricultural applications are considered a “Specialty product" and must be registered individually at $100 per product and renewed annually. Labels and/or product information sheets must be submitted for review at the time of registration. Examples of specialty products would be those marketed and/or labeled for nonfarm use applications such as golf courses, lawns, home gardens, landscape, houseplants, shrubbery, flowers, municipal parks, cemeteries, retail greenhouses and nurseries. This also includes farm use products that contain Non-Farm use applications.

Any of the various forms of lime intended for fertilizing purposes or neutralizing acidity that is manufactured and/or distributed in Massachusetts is required to be registered individually at $100 per product and renewed annually. Labels and/or product information sheets must be submitted for review at the time of registration.

Manufacturers and distributors of products that are exclusively limited to Agricultural/Farm use would need to apply for the annual License to Manufacture and Distribute. The application fee for this license is $250 per year. This is an umbrella license and does not include additional fees when adding products. All new product must be listed under the license. Labels and/or product information sheets must be submitted for review at the time of the initial application or to add new product to an active license. Examples of Ag use only products include those sold for crops, orchards, floriculture, production greenhouses and nurseries, turf farms, pasture or hay land, and any other forms of agricultural production or use. 

This licensing requirement also applies to products formulated according to specifications furnished by a consumer prior to mixing and delivered in undivided bulk quantities (e.g., spreader trucks, totes, or tanks) directly to the end user for immediate or scheduled application. Labels and/or product information sheets shall be supplied to the purchaser at the time of delivery and made available to the Department upon request. Applicants offering custom-formulated mixtures delivered in bulk are only required to list “Custom Blended Bulk” on this application, rather than individual formulations. However, a full breakdown of each custom blend produced and distributed must be disclosed on the annual tonnage report.

A Tonnage report is required to be submitted through the online portal twice a year for the calendar periods of January through June and July through December. The licensee must provide the total net tons of Commercial Fertilizer, Liming materials, Soil Conditioners, and all other substances and compounds that they and their associated distributors have sold and/or distributed in Massachusetts. There is a fee of $0.15 per ton, with a minimum fee of $5 if the reported amount is less than 34 tons.