Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act (PRIA 2)
Fee Determination Decision Tree
Decision Tree Resources:
Current as of January 20, 2012
This Web site and decision tree will help applicants requesting a pesticide registration or certain tolerance action to accurately identify the category of their application and the amount of the required fee before they submit the application.
The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) established enhanced registration service fees for certain applications. When PRIA was reauthorized effective on October 1, 2007 as the Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act (PRIA 2), registration service fees became due at application. Applications received with no payment will be not processed and must be rejected.
Under PRIA 2, the category or type of application, the amount of the pesticide registration service fee, and the corresponding decision review timeframe in which the Agency is to make a decision are prescribed in the Act. There are 140 fee categories or types of applications, each with a fee and decision review timeframe.
On this page:
Application Fees
Determine the fee
Since the fee is due at application, applicants need to be able to identify the category and fee for their application. The “Fee Determination Decision Tree” allows you to determine the fee category that best fits your application by working through a series of questions and choices. Definitions that are specific to the implementation of PRIA 2 and interpretations of the fee category are provided. These interpretations or descriptions of the types of application covered by the fee category are preliminary and provided as an aid. They describe the Agency's current thinking at this time and will be revised based on the Agency’s experience in processing PRIA 2 applications.
Pay for the application
Once you have identified the fee category and fee amount that corresponds to your application, you may make the payment by check, money order or bank draft, drawn to the order of the Environmental Protection Agency or USEPA, or by credit card or wire transfer by using pay.gov. Payments must be rounded up to the nearest whole dollar. If using pay.gov, the fee category (R010, A530, etc) and payment amount will need to be entered on the pay.gov form. Documentation of your payment should be attached to the front of the application and can be a copy of the check or pay.gov acknowledgement. The Agency will then be able to easily match your payment to the application.
After the Agency receives your application, it will verify that you have selected the correct category and fee. If the Agency disagrees with your selection, you will receive either a bill/invoice for the balance due or a refund, as appropriate.
The registration ombudsmen are available to answer your questions and provide additional help.
Application Considerations
Before paying the fee and submitting your application, please review the following information.
Human studies
If you plan on conducting research involving intentional exposure of human subjects, you must submit the protocol (and supporting information defined at 40 CFR 26.1125) for review by both EPA and the Human Studies Review Board (HSRB) before you enroll any subjects in the research. Failure to comply with this requirement for prior review will make the resulting data unacceptable in support of any action under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) or the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), and may result in other penalties, as defined at 40 CFR 26.1501-1507. If you are at all uncertain whether proposed research meets the regulatory definition of "research involving intentional exposure" (40 CFR 26.1102(i)), the Agency recommends that you request a determination from EPA before enrolling subjects in the research. The human studies Web site should be consulted prior to application.
Biochemical classification
Before submitting an application for a new biochemical pesticide, applicants are advised to confirm that the active ingredient has been classified (PDF) (42 pp, 102 K, About PDF) by the Agency as a biochemical by contacting the chair of the Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division's Classification Committee, Russell Jones.
Applications that do not require a PRIA fee
A fee is required for only certain types of applications. Information on the types that do not require a fee may be found on EPA's Web site. An example of an application that does not require a fee is a request to amend or make a change to an EPA-approved label that does not require the Agency to review data (commonly called a Fast Track or Me-Too Amendment).
Fee Waivers and Exemptions
The registration service fee may be waived for applications:
- from small businesses,
- for minor use, and
- for applications solely associated with a tolerance petition submitted in connection with IR-4.
Guidance on minor use applications is being developed and will be posted when available.
Other Fee Reductions
Under Section 33(b)(8)(C) of FIFRA, the Agency has discretionary authority to issue partial refunds (up to 75%) of registration service fees when the Agency considers data previously considered in support of another pesticide registration application. Many of these fee reductions are routine and applied at the time of submission. Guidance on these fee reductions may be obtained on the Related Applications and Their Fees (Primary/Secondary) webpage or by contacting a Registration Ombudsman.
For situations involving possible fee reductions not addressed on the webpage noted above, applicants must request them and should contact the appropriate Registration Ombudsman prior to submission. In these cases, the applicant will initially pay the full amount of the appropriate fee. After the Agency has reviewed the submission and knows the effort required to process it, a refund will be provided, if applicable. A request for a fee reduction may be submitted in the cover letter accompanying the application or on the application form. The Agency suggests that the applicant provide a written rationale for the request, including references to previous submissions. The rationale may also contain a comparison of the data submitted previously and data supporting the current application. To calculate the amount of any discretionary refund, the Agency will compare the data and information reviewed in past applications with that submitted in the new application.
The maximum fee reduction is 75%. If a fee is reduced by 75% as the result of a discretionary refund, the fee can not be further reduced by a small business fee waiver. A portion of the full fee, 25%, is non-refundable.
Decision Tree resources
- Decision Tree Fee Determination FY 11/12 - The decision tree will help applicants requesting a pesticide registration or certain tolerance action to accurately identify the category of their application and the amount of the required fee before they submit the application. Applies to applications received by the Agency on and after October 1, 2010.
- Decision Tree Glossary - The Glossary defines many of the terms used throughout the different branches of the Decision Tree and the Action Code descriptions.
- FY11/12 Fee Category List - FR notice that announces the FY11/12 PRIA 2 fees applicable for applications received by EPA as of October 1, 2010.
- FY11/12 Fee Category Tables - Tables listing the PRIA 2 fee categories and their FY 2011/2012 fees with links to an interpretation of a fee category.