Licensing - Fertilizing Materials - Food And Agriculture - CA

Section § 14591

If you want to manufacture or distribute fertilizing materials in California, you need to get a license for each business location from the secretary. This license proves you comply with the rules and must be renewed every two years, specifically in January of odd-numbered years. However, if you're only selling packaged products that are already labeled by another company's licensed product, you don’t need this license.

If you’re dealing with ammonium nitrate, a specific type of fertilizer, you must inform the secretary when applying for your license, and your license will indicate you handle ammonium nitrate.

The fee for this license can be up to $300, but it might be reduced if the board recommends it, as long as the lower fee still covers the costs of enforcing these regulations.

(a) Every person who manufactures or distributes fertilizing materials shall, before engaging in the activity, obtain a license from the secretary for each plant and business location that the person operates. Before issuing a license, the secretary shall require verification that the applicant is a manufacturer or distributor of fertilizing material compliant with this chapter. All licenses shall be renewed in January of each odd-numbered year, and shall be valid until December 31 of the following even-numbered year, if issued in January of that same year. However, a person who only distributes or who makes retail sales of packaged agricultural minerals, packaged commercial fertilizers, organic input material, or packaged beneficial substances, alone or in any combination, which bear the registered label of another licensed person, is not required to obtain the license.

(b) Every person who manufactures or distributes, or intends to manufacture or distribute, ammonium nitrate as defined in Section 14512.5, in this state, shall inform the secretary of that activity or intent when applying for a license. The license obtained by that person shall identify that person as a manufacturer or distributor of ammonium nitrate.

(c) The license fee shall not exceed three hundred dollars ($300). The secretary may, based on the findings and recommendations of the board, reduce the license fee to a lower rate that provides sufficient revenue to carry out this chapter.

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Section § 14592

If you break this law for the first time, it's considered a minor offense and you can be fined up to $500.

If you break it again or multiple times, it's more serious and is treated as a misdemeanor, with fines ranging from $100 to $1,000.

A violation of this article is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500). A second or subsequent violation of this article is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).

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Section § 14593

This law states that licenses for certain businesses expire on December 31 of every even-numbered year. To renew a license, a fee of up to $200 for each facility must be paid. If the license isn't renewed within one month after it expires, a $50 penalty is added. Another $50 penalty is added for each extra month without renewal. However, the total penalty cannot be more than double the original fee.

The license shall expire on December 31, of an even-numbered year. Each application for renewal shall be accompanied by a fee not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200) for each plant or business location which a person operates. If a license is not renewed within one calendar month following expiration, a penalty of fifty dollars ($50) shall be added to the fee and an additional penalty of fifty dollars ($50) shall be added for each succeeding calendar month the business location remains unlicensed. The total penalty, however, shall not exceed 100 percent of the original amount due.

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