How to Apply for Pesticide Product Registration

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The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) must register a pesticide product before the product can be sold or offered for sale in California. Examples of pesticides include insecticides, herbicides, antimicrobials, plant growth regulators, avicides, and rodenticides. Also included are adjuvants when packaged and sold separately.

Product Registration Checklists:

Apply for Product Registration, an applicant must submit:

  • Application for Registration with a fee per product
  • Six copies of the printed label (or printer's proof)
  • Copy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved label and letter (unless the product is exempt from U.S. EPA registration) Note: Concurrent submissions to U.S. EPA and DPR are allowed for new pesticide products containing new active ingredients and for products that meet the criteria in California Notice 2015-03, PDF (55 kb). For these submissions, the U.S. EPA approved label and letter are not available at the time of application, but must be submitted before DPR registration can be granted.
  • Data as listed below (or identification of a product(s) previously approved by DPR that would be subject to the same data requirements as the applicant's product). Submissions that do not conform to guidelines in California Notice 2017-05, PDF (67 kb) will be returned.
    • Acute Toxicology (on the formulated product)
    • Product Chemistry
    • Efficacy (product performance)
    • Phytotoxicity (if used on a plant)
    • Ecotoxicology (if applicable)
    • Volatile Emissions Potential (Thermogravimetric Analysis)
    • Chronic Toxicology
    • Environmental Fate (for agricultural use products)
    • Medical Management (if product contains an active ingredient new to California)

Global Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS):

For pesticide products that require registration in California but do not require federal registration (e.g., adjuvants), DPR instructs registrants to adhere to both GHS label features and California labeling requirements. Please specify in the cover letter that the label incorporates or has been updated to incorporate appropriate GHS elements and please provide a completed Certification of Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Global Harmonized System Compliance Template, PDF (67 kb). Where there is a conflict, registrants may follow GHS labeling. However, it is acceptable for registrants to use further restrictive Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act language. See California Notice 2015-05, PDF (124 kb) for additional information.

Additional Information:

If the product requires scientific evaluation of the data, DPR posts the decision to register or to deny the product for a 30-day public comment period as a Notice of Proposed and Final Decision.

For revisions to products, company name changes, company ownership changes, or product transfers see changes after registration. DPR must approve any amendments to the product label or formulation before the product with the new label or formulation can be sold. After a product is registered, it is subject to an annual renewal fee and a quarterly mill assessment.

If you are a new company and do not have an assigned Regulatory Scientist, contact the Ombudsman.


For content questions, contact:
Aron Lindgren
Ombudsman
1001 I Street, P.O. Box 4015
Sacramento, CA 95812-4015
Phone: (916) 324-3563
E-mail: Registration.Ombudsman@cdpr.ca.gov