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Pesticide Registration Program

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Current as of: April 2002
735-F-01-014

The term pesticide includes many kinds of ingredients in products, such as insect repellants, weed killers, disinfectants, and swimming pool chemicals which are designed to prevent, destroy, repel or reduce pests of any sort. Pesticides are found in nearly every home, business, farm, school, hospital and park in the United States. EPA must evaluate pesticides thoroughly before they can be marketed and used in the United States to ensure that they will meet federal safety standards to protect human health and the environment. Pesticides that meet the requirements are granted a license or "registration" which permits their distribution, sale, and use according to specific use directions and requirements identified on the label. This Fact Sheet outlines some of the fundamental aspects of EPA's registration program.

On This Page:

  1. What is Pesticide Registration?
  2. Federal Pesticide Laws
  3. Types of Registrations Under FIFRA
  4. Registration Priorities
  5. The Pesticide Label
  6. For More Information
  7. Pesticide Registration Process

  1. What is Pesticide Registration?

    2. The process of registering a pesticide is a scientific, legal, and administrative procedure through which EPA examines the ingredients of the pesticide; the particular site or crop on which it is to be used; the amount, frequency, and timing of its use; and storage and disposal practices. In evaluating a pesticide registration application, EPA assesses a wide variety of potential human health and environmental effects associated with use of the product. The producer of the pesticide must provide data from tests done according to EPA guidelines.

    These tests evaluate whether a pesticide has the potential to cause adverse effects on humans, wildlife, fish, and plants, including endangered species and non-target organisms, as well as possible contamination of surface water or ground water from leaching, runoff, and spray drift. Potential human risks range from short-term toxicity to long-term effects such as cancer and reproductive system disorders. EPA also must approve the language that appears on each pesticide label. A pesticide product can only be used legally according to the directions on the labeling accompanying it at the time of sale. Following label instructions carefully and precisely is necessary to ensure safe use.

    Types of Pesticides
    There are many classes of pesticides, each designed to destroy or repel certain species.

    Type Targets
    Insecticides flying and crawling insects
    Herbicides undesirable plants/weeds
    Rodenticides mice, rats and other rodents
    Fungicides fungi that cause plant disease/ wood rot, etc.
    Nematicides invertebrates (worms)
    Fumigants insects/fungi
    Antimicrobials microorganisms such as bacteria, molds, fungi
    Biopesticides natural materials such as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals that target a variety of pests
    Plant or insect growth regulators plant (accelerate or retard, the rate of growth of a plant), insect (affect the growth of insects)

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  2. Federal Pesticide Laws

    3. EPA regulates pesticides under broad authority granted in two major statutes, which were amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996.

    Under the Food Quality Protection Act, of 1996, which amended to both FIFRA and FFDCA, EPA must find that a pesticides poses a "reasonable certainty of no harm" before that pesticide can be registered for use on food or feed. Several factors must be addressed before a tolerance can be established, including:

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  3. Types of Registrations Under FIFRA

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  4. Registration Priorities

    5. EPA's registration program places high priority on registering pesticides that are safer than pesticides currently on the market, those pesticides with public health benefits, and pesticides that are of particular economic importance to producers. For more information on this priority system, please refer to Pesticide Registration Notices 97-2 and 98-7, available online at http://www.epa.gov/PR_Notices/.

  5. The Pesticide Label

    6. All label language must be approved by EPA before a pesticide can be sold or distributed in the United States. The overall intent of the label is to provide clear directions for effective product performance while minimizing risks to human health and the environment. It is a violation of federal law to use a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling. The courts consider a label to be a legal document. In addition, following labeling instructions carefully and precisely is necessary to ensure safe and efficacious use.

  6. For More Information

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  7. Pesticide Registration Process

    1. EPA Processes Applications and Conducts Evaluation
      2.

      The Application Includes:

      Required Test Data:

      • Product Chemistry
      • Human and environmental assessment for food safety
      • Tolerance information, consisting of information about pesticide residues on food
      • Proof that the manufacturing process is reliable

      Labeling Information:

      • Occupational data
      • Directions for use
      • Appropriate warnings

      Evidence of Meeting All Legal and Financial Obligations

    2. EPA Processes Applications and Conducts Evaluation

      3. Upon arrival:

      1. EPA assigns applications to the appropriate pesticide division, where it is processed and tracked. A project manager is then assigned to:
        • Complete a detailed review of the application
        • Assign and coordinate the appropriate scientific review
        • Set priorities and a timetable
        • Coordinate administrative action
        • Communicate with applicant, otherwise known as the registrant, about the review


        1. EPA evaluates human health risks (emphasizing sensitive groups such as children and immune-suppressed individuals), by reviewing data on:
          • Aggregate risks-through food, water, and residential uses
          • Cumulative risks–from different pesticides with the same effects


        2. EPA evaluates occupational risks


        3. EPA evaluates environmental risks by reviewing data on:
          • Potential for ground water contamination
          • Risks to endangered species
          • Potential for endocrine-disruption effects


      2. Risk Assessment and Peer Review:
        • EPA compiles all the scientific data on the pesticide product into a comprehensive health and environmental risk assessment to determine the impact that the product or ingredient will have on the human population and surrounding environment
          • .

        • The health and environmental risk assessment undergoes a process of peer review by scientific experts.


      3. Risk Management and Regulatory Decisions, where EPA:
        • Considers its risk assessments and the peer review
        • Reviews risk mitigation measures
        • Researches alternative pesticides already registered
        • Coordinates risk management with applicants

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