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Registration Service Fees
Questions on Fee Payments
Resources
Questions and Answers on:Current as of October 22, 2007
- When is the fee payment due?
- I will submit a small business waiver, when do I pay the fee?
- What will happen if I submit the application and have not paid a fee?
- How will I know whether I paid the appropriate fee?
- Is it possible to submit a lump sum credit to avoid the hassles of submitting checks for each application?
- Can fees be paid by electronic funds transfer from the applicant's bank to EPA's account or holding fund or by credit card so that a certified check is not necessary?
- Is there an address other than a Post Office Box so that checks can be submitted via certified or registered mail?
- How do I know that the Agency received my payment?
- I received an invoice from the Agency in response to my application and payment. I believe the Agency has billed/invoiced me incorrectly. How should I appeal this decision?
- When does the PRIA time frame or "the clock" begin?
1. When is the fee payment due?
Under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act (PRIA 2), the fee is due at the time of application. The Fee Determination Decision Tree Web site was developed to help applicants identify the appropriate fee. If you cannot identify a fee category for your application, contact the appropriate ombudsman for guidance.
The effect of a failure to pay fees according to FIFRA Section 33(b)(20(F) is that "The Administrator shall reject any application submitted without the required registration fee.
2. I will submit a small business waiver, when do I pay the fee?
If requesting a 75% waiver from payment of the fee, you will pay 25% prior to or at application following the payment procedure. If requesting a 50% waiver, then you will pay 50%. To assure that your waiver will be efficiently processed, the waiver requests should be easy to identify and separate from the rest of the application. If the EPA denies your waiver request, the EPA will invoice you for the remainder of the fee.
3. What will happen if I submit the application and have not paid a fee?
Since PRIA 2 was signed on October 9, 2007, and was retroactive to October 1, 2007, a number of applications were received before EPA could distribute payment information. Applicants will be billed the fee for these applications received during this interim period. Once payment procedures are established and operating, EPA will reject an application for non-payment. The Agency expects to have these procedures in place by October 31, 2007.
4. How will I know whether I have paid the appropriate fee?Upon receipt of the application, the Agency will screen the application, determine the appropriate fee category, and if monies are still due, send a "bill/invoice" to the applicant’s address in the Office of Pesticide Programs’ Information Network or tracking system with payment due within 30 days. In case of an overpayment, the EPA will issue a refund for the overpaid amount. If the bill or invoice or refund is to be sent to a specific individual and address, the name and address need to be specified on the application form or in the transmittal letter. Bills or invoices are generally mailed within 72 hours after the Agency receives the application. If you have questions concerning your payment, contact the appropriate registering division’s ombudsman.
5. Is it possible to submit a lump sum credit to avoid the hassles of submitting checks for each application?The Agency is exploring this option. However, submission of a lump sum credit is not possible at this time.
6. Can fees be paid by electronic funds transfer from the applicant's bank to EPA's account or holding fund or by credit card so that a certified check is not necessary?PRIA fees may be paid on-line via credit card or electronic fund transfer. Minimum browser requirements for transactions must support 128 bit encryption, such as: Internet Explorer 6.0, Mozilla Firefox 1.5, Mozilla 1.7, Netscape 7.x, and Safari 1.2.
To submit a payment on-line, visit Pay.gov. From the pay.gov home page, under "Find Public Forms":
Payment prior to and at application
- select "search by form name";
- on the A-Z Index of Forms page, select "P";
- from the list of forms on the second page, select "Pre-payment of Pesticide Registration Improvement Act Fee";
- complete the form entering the PRIA fee category and fee;
- keep a copy of the pay.gov acknowledgement of payment and attach a copy to the front of the application to assure that EPA can match the application with the payment; and
- submit the application.
Payment following an invoice
- select "search by form name";
- on the A-Z Index of Forms page, select "P";
- from the list of forms on the first page, select "Pesticide Registration Improvement Act Fee Payment; and
- complete the form, making certain to use the decision number and registration number on the invoice you receive from the Pesticide Program in the space provided.
Note the difference in the name of the form between pre-payment and payment following an invoice. The maximum amount that may be charged to a credit card is $99,999. There is no limit on the amount of a wire transfer, and there are no additional fees if either electronic funds transfer or a credit card is used on Pay.gov.
7. Is there an address other than a Post Office Box so that checks can be submitted via certified or registered mail?The Agency has established procedures for the submission of checks via certified mail, registered mail, or courier service. Checks should be made payable to USEPA or Environmental Protection Agency.
Payment prior to or at application: A check with the company number on it should be sent to the address below. A copy of the check should be retained and attached to the front of the application to assure that the EPA can match a payment with an application.
Payment following an invoice: Payment instructions will be provided in the bill/invoice issued by the Agency after it receives the application. If paying by check, the decision number on the bill/invoice should be copied onto the check so that the Agency can match the payment with the application.
Note: Received checks will be converted into an electronic funds transfer (EFT). This means we will copy your check and use the account information on it to electronically debit your account for the amount of the check. The debit from your account will usually occur within 24 hours, and will be shown on your regular account statement.
You will not receive your original check back. We will destroy your original check, but we will keep the copy of it. If the EFT cannot be processed for technical reasons, you authorize us to process the copy in place of your original check. If the EFT cannot be completed because of insufficient funds, we may try to make the transfer up to two times.
Checks may be sent:
| By USPS Mail: | By courier: |
| U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Washington Finance Center FIFRA Service Fees P.O. Box 979074 St. Louis, MO 63197-9000 |
U.S. Bank Government Lockbox 979074 1005 Convention Plaza SL-MO-C2-GL St. Louis, MO 63197 (314) 418-4990 |
If you provide an e-mail address, OPP will automatically send a notification of receipt of payment via e-mail when the payment is posted to the Office of Pesticide Programs’ tracking system.
If you pay via pay.gov you will receive notification of receipt from pay. gov in addition to the notification from EPA.
9. I received an invoice from the Agency for additional fees in response to my application and payment. I believe that the Agency has placed my application in the wrong category. How should I appeal this decision?
First, do not pay the fee. Instead, please submit a written response, including a rationale explaining why the application should have been placed in another fee category. The written response should be submitted to:
| By USPS Mail: | By courier: |
| Document Processing Desk (FEE APPEAL) Office of Pesticide Programs (7504C) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20460-0001 |
Document Processing Desk (FEE APPEAL) Office of Pesticide Programs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency One Potomac Yard Room S-4900 2777 S. Crystal Drive Arlington, VA 22202 |
Once received by the Office of Pesticide Programs, your response will be forwarded to the appropriate divisional expert for review. Within 3-5 business days of the expert receiving your response, the Agency will review it. You will receive a telephone call from the Agency explaining the Agency's decision. If the Agency denies your request, you will be sent instructions on how to remit payment. If, after completing this process, you continue to disagree with the Agency's category determination for a particular application, you may appeal this decision to the division director of the appropriate regulatory division.
10. When does the PRIA time frame or "the clock" begin?
The review clock begins 21 days after receipt of both the application and the payment. If you request a waiver or reduction in the fee with the application and have paid the portion of the fee appropriate for the waiver or reduction requested, the review clock starts when the fee waiver is granted or approved. If you request a waiver or a reduction in the registration service fee and the Agency denies the request, the decision time review period begins when the Agency receives payment of the registration service fee. Note that the Agency must make decisions on waiver and fee-reduction requests within 60 days of receipt; otherwise, the decision time review period begins at that point.