EPA and the states (usually the State Department of Agriculture) register
or license pesticides for use in the United States. EPA receives its authority
to register pesticides under the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). 
States are authorized to regulate pesticides under FIFRA and under state
pesticide laws. States may place more restrictive requirements on pesticides
than EPA. Pesticides must be registered both by EPA and the state before
distribution.
Some key EPA and state pesticide regulatory activities include:
EPA also regulates pesticides imported
for use in the U.S. and participates in a wide variety of international
activities, such as regulatory agreements and coordination activites.
Evaluating Potential New Pesticides and Uses
Federal law requires that before selling or distributing a pesticide
in the United States, a person of company must obtain registration,
or license, from EPA. Before registering a new pesticide or new use
for a registered pesticide, EPA must first ensure that the pesticide,
when used according to label directions, can be used with a reasonable
certainty of no harm to human health and without posing unreasonable
risks to the environment. To make such determinations, EPA requires
more than 100 different scientific studies and tests from applicants.
Where pesticides may be used on food or feed crops, EPA also sets tolerances
(maximum pesticide residue levels) for the amount of the pesticide that
can legally remain in or on foods.
Most states conduct a review of the pesticide label to ensure that
it complies with federal labeling requirements and any additional state
restrictions of use. To learn more about state pesticide requirements,
visit the American
Association of State Pesticide Control Officials.
States may require the registration of pesticides and inert
ingredients that are exempt
(considered very safe) from the requirements of registration under Section
25b of FIFRA.
New
Approaches to Minor Uses
Minor uses of pesticides are those for which the total United
States production for a crop is fewer than 300,000 acres. Minor use also
applies to pesticide uses which do not provide sufficient economic incentive
for a registrant to support initial or continuing registrations. This
page details EPA's activities toward increasing communication with minor
use stakeholders, coordinating activities with between EPA, United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS), and expediting registrations for minor use pesticides.
Providing for Special Local Needs and Emergency
Situations
States have authority under Section
24(c) of FIFRA
to add uses to pesticides based on special local needs. States may not
register new active ingredients under Section 24(c).
Other federal agencies or an authorized state official may request
that EPA allow the use of an unregistered active ingredient or an additional
use for a registered pesticide to respond to emergency conditions under
Section 18
of FIFRA
for a specific period of time. EPA may approve or disapprove this request.
The Section 18 database
includes records for all Section 18 Emergency Exemptions received by
EPA.
Reviewing Safety of Older Pesticides
EPA is reregistering
pesticides to ensure that older pesticides meet current safety standards.
Changes to the way a pesticide is used may be necesasry to protect consumers,
workers or the environment. EPA is also in the process of reassessing
tolerances (maximum residue limits) for pesticides on food. In conducting
these reassessments, EPA places special consideration on potential exposure
risks to chidren who may be more vulnerable to risks from pesticides.
Registering Pesticide Producing Establishments
Pesticide producing establishments must be registered with EPA
under Section 7 of FIFRA. EPA regional offices administer the registration
of pesticide producing establishments and assign EPA establishment
numbers.
Enforcing Pesticide Requirements
States may be delegated primary enforcement
responsibility for pesticide use violations. The states have this authority
when they have adopted and are implementing pesticide use regulations
or when they have entered into a cooperative agreement with EPA for specific
pesticide enforcement.
Quick Resources
Registering Pesticides
How EPA registers new pesticides
Conventional
Pesticides, Biopesticides,
Antimicrobials, Registration
Fact Sheet, Data Requirements, Registration
Service Fees, Registration
Application Kit, Registration
Workplan, Electronic
Data Submission, Pesticide
Registration Notices, Pesticide
Management Resource Guide (PMReg), Special
Local Needs Registration (24C), Reduced-Risk
Pesticides, Inert
Ingredients, Section
18 database, more...
Pesticide-Producing Establishments
Registering a pesticide-producing establishment
and submitting required reports
Reporting Form: PDF
Format, Instructions
(PDF)
Establishment Registration Form: PDF
Format, WordPerfect,
Instructions
(PDF)
Questions
& Answers
Reregistration
Reviewing older pesticides for compliance with
current safety standards
Reregistration
Fact Sheet, Candidates
for Reregistration Decisions, Chemical
Status, Reregistration
Eligibility Decisions (REDs), Tolerance
Reassessment, NRDC
Consent Decree, Other
Resources
Laws
Legal requirements governing pesticides
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) , Food
Quality Protection Act (FQPA), Pesticide
Registration Improvement Act of 2003, Endangered
Species Act (ESA)
International Issues
How EPA interacts with other countries in regulating
pesticides, import/export of pesticides and treated foods
Trade
Issues, Importing
and Exporting Foods, International
Agreements, Regulatory
Coordination and Harmonization, more...
Adverse Effects
Reporting
Requirements for registrants to report harmful
effects of registered pesticides
Final
Regulations for Reporting, Guidance
on Adverse Effects Reporting, Corrections
to Final Regulations, Voluntary
Incident Reporting Forms and Instructions,
CFR
version of Regulations,
more...
Storage and Disposal
How pesticides should be stored and disposal of
unwanted pesticides
Household Consumers,
Farmers, Registrants
Restricted and Canceled Uses
Information on pesticidesthat have been canceled,
or that can only be used by specially-trained persons
Restricted
Use Products Report, Banned
and Restricted Pesticides, more...
Pesticide Tolerances
How EPA sets tolerances; status of tolerance
requests; revocation of tolerances
Tolerance Petitions,
Establishment of a Tolerance, Proposed
Revocation of a Tolerance, Final
Revocation of a Tolerance, more...
Registration Information Sources
Databases with information on pesticides, their
uses, names, labels, etc.
Food
and Feed Vocabulary, Label
Review Manual, Pesticide
Data Submitters List, Pesticide
Product Label System, more...
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