How to Fill Out and Submit EPA Form 8570-5: Cover Letter, Filing, and Penalties

EPA Form 8570-5 is the one-page Notice of Supplemental Distribution of a Registered Pesticide Product that a basic registrant files with the Environmental Protection Agency to authorize another company to sell the registrant’s already-registered pesticide under a different brand name. Only the basic registrant — the company holding the original registration — may submit the form, and both the registrant and the distributor must sign it before it goes to the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs.¹ Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the distributor is treated as an agent of the registrant, and both parties can be held liable for violations involving the distributor product.²

Confirm the Arrangement Qualifies

Supplemental distribution is an extension of the registrant’s existing product, not a new registration. Before filling out anything, confirm that every condition in 40 CFR 152.132 applies to your arrangement:²

The distributor product is produced, packaged, and labeled in a registered establishment operated by the same producer who handles the registered product, or by a contract producer under 40 CFR 152.30.
The product stays in the producer’s original, unopened container. No repackaging.
The distributor’s label is identical to the registered product’s label, except for the specific items listed below.

If the product is reformulated, repackaged, or relabeled beyond the narrow exceptions the regulation allows, the arrangement is no longer supplemental distribution and needs its own product registration.

What the Distributor Label May Change

Label differences are limited to five items:³

A different, non-misleading product name.
The distributor’s company name and address in place of the registrant’s.
The EPA registration number followed by a dash and the distributor’s company number (for example, 12345-1 becomes 12345-1-67890).
The establishment number of the final facility where the product was produced.
Deletion of specific marketing claims, provided no other changes are needed as a result.

Everything else — directions for use, safety warnings, signal words, precautionary statements — must appear exactly as approved on the basic registrant’s label. A registrant may authorize multiple distributors for the same product, but each one needs its own Form 8570-5 submission.¹

Get the Distributor an EPA Company Number First

The form cannot be completed until the distributor has an EPA-assigned company number. A number from a prior registration or production activity works. If the distributor doesn’t have one, request it before starting the 8570-5.⁴

To request one, the distributor sends a signed letter on company letterhead to the EPA identifying the company, its address, and its intent to act as a supplemental distributor. Foreign companies must also designate a U.S. agent authorized to receive correspondence and represent them in registration matters.⁵ EPA assigns numbers upon written request, but wait times vary, so build in a buffer.⁶

Prepare the Cover Letter

Every submission needs a cover letter alongside the form. The letter should include the registrant’s name and address, identify the submission as a new supplemental distribution notice, and reference the EPA registration number of the basic product.¹

Fill Out the Form

The form itself is a single page available as a PDF from the EPA’s pesticide forms page.⁴ Every field has to match what EPA already has on file.

Basic registered product name and EPA registration number. This is the parent product whose registration supports the distributor product.
Registrant’s company name and address, matching the official address on record with EPA.
Distributor’s company name, address, and company number. The company number is what links the distributor product back to the registrant’s master file in EPA’s database.
Distributor product brand name. It cannot be misleading or conflict with existing registered products.
Signatures and dates. The registrant signs on the left, the distributor signs on the right. Both signatures are required; a missing signature will get the application rejected.

Check every entry against EPA’s records before signing. Applications with errors or missing information come back with a checklist explaining the rejection rather than a phone call, so getting it right the first time saves weeks.¹

Submit the Package

The basic registrant is the party that submits the completed cover letter and Form 8570-5. Two channels are available:

Online. The preferred method is the Pesticide Submission Portal, accessed through EPA’s Central Data Exchange at cdx.epa.gov. This requires user registration with CDX.⁷
Mail. Send paper submissions to the Document Processing Desk, Office of Pesticide Programs (7504P), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20460. For courier deliveries, use the physical address: Office of Pesticide Programs, One Potomac Yard, 2777 S. Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202.⁸

EPA’s Chapter 9 guidance also names Rachel Holloman (holloman.rachel@epa.gov) as a submission point for the completed application and any related requests or notifications.¹

After You File

EPA does not issue a formal certificate of registration for supplemental distributor products. The filing itself is the required notification under FIFRA, and EPA uses it to update its database so enforcement officers can verify distributor labels found in commerce.⁴

Keep a copy of the submitted form, the cover letter, and any confirmation receipt from CDX or certified mail. That documentation matters during routine inspections and any time a question arises about whether a distributor product was properly authorized.

State Registration Is Separate

Filing 8570-5 with EPA does not satisfy state requirements. Most states require a separate registration for each pesticide product sold within their borders, including supplemental distributor products. State applications typically ask for the EPA-stamped master label, a copy of Form 8570-5, and a letter of authorization from the basic registrant. Fees and label review requirements vary by state. Contact the state’s lead pesticide regulatory agency, usually inside the department of agriculture, before marketing the distributor product there.

Penalties for Skipping or Botching the Filing

Distributing a pesticide without proper notification, including failing to file Form 8570-5 or selling under a non-compliant label, violates FIFRA. Civil penalties for registrants, commercial applicators, wholesalers, dealers, and distributors can reach $24,885 per violation after inflation adjustment, based on a statutory $5,000 maximum that EPA periodically adjusts under 40 CFR Part 19.⁹ Because these are assessed per violation, multiple non-compliant distributor products add up quickly.

Criminal penalties apply when a violation is knowing. A registrant or producer who knowingly violates any FIFRA provision faces up to $50,000 in fines and up to one year in prison. Other distributors or sellers who knowingly violate face up to $25,000 and the same one-year maximum.¹⁰

1
US EPA. Pesticide Registration Manual: Chapter 9 – Supplemental Distribution of a Registered Pesticide
2
eCFR. 40 CFR 152.132 – Supplemental Distribution
3
eCFR. 40 CFR 152.132 – Supplemental Distribution
4
Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Form 8570-5 Notice of Supplemental Distribution
5
US EPA. Pesticide Registration Manual: Chapter 14 – How to Obtain an EPA Company or Establishment Number
6
US EPA. Pesticide Registration Manual: How to Obtain a Company Number and Register an Official Address
7
US EPA. Electronic Submissions of Pesticide Applications
8
US EPA. Completing and Submitting Pesticide Registration Forms
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eCFR. 40 CFR 19.4 – Statutory Civil Monetary Penalties, as Adjusted
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 136l – Penalties