Montana pet food registration

Firm license
$100
annual, due Jan 1

Per product
$50
annual, due Jan 1

Tonnage
none for small packages
annual, due Jan 31

How to file
mixed · MTPlants
Pay by check, money order, MTPlants online (existing registrants)

You sign, pay and submit We fill the forms, compute the fee and tell you where it goes.

Details

Firm license fee	$100 New applicant/new location $100 per facility per calendar year; renewal $75 if received before Jan 1 (statute allows rule adjustment to $110/$85). Required for manufacturers and label guarantors of pet food; NOT required for a person who only distributes pet food/specialty pet food.
License late fee	$25 late penalty for renewal received after Jan 1
Product fee	$50 $50 per pet food / specialty pet food product per year, all package sizes (treats included). Reduced $25 for up to 20 products (+$10 for 21 or more) ONLY for Montana-manufactured cat/dog treats with no meat/poultry/fish/byproducts/drugs and <$25,000 annual treat sales (those makers are also license-exempt).
Renewal window	calendar year Jan 1 – Dec 31; register by Jan 1; new products may be added any time (MTPlants for existing registrants)
Tonnage note	Pet food and specialty pet food are exempt from tonnage; 'Manufacturers, guarantors, distributors, and suppliers of pet food or specialty pet foods only' are exempt from the tonnage report entirely. Livestock feed: $0.18/ton, payable only if >$5/yr, late 10% or $25.
Third-party filing	unknown: “MCA 80-9-201(6)(a): a pet food may not be distributed 'that has not been registered under this section by the manufacturer or the guarantor'; form instructions: 'Registration is required once annually (January 1 thru December 31) by the manufacturer or on behalf of the manufacturer by the guarantor.' Signature box is generic: 'The undersigned agrees that each of the products provided with this application are labeled and will continue to be labeled in accordance with the current Montana Commercial Feeds Act. Name / Title / Date / Signature / Phone / Email' — no agent/consultant block, no officer attestation; MTPlants login is Plants ID + PIN with no agent role. Statute names only manufacturer/guarantor as registrant, so an agent is neither provided for nor expressly barred — forms/MT/pet-specialty-pet-food-registration-fillable.pdf; MCA 80-9-201 (re-read 2026-10-08)”
Before you file	License # requested on the pet food registration form (license first for manufacturers/guarantors) Product labels subject to review on request; no labels required with the form Allow up to three weeks processing; incomplete forms returned
Check payable to	Montana Department of Agriculture
Mail to	Montana Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Sciences Division, PO Box 200201, Helena, MT 59620-0201

How the online filing goes

Online or paper?
Logon / Register (first time: link your MTPlants ID)
Account Home → Account Tasks (from user guide)
Online Shopping Cart → select renewals (from user guide)
Add new product registrations (from user guide)
Proceed to Checkout → pay (from user guide)

Your packet lists every value for each screen. Online: at checkout MTPlants hands off to the NIC payment system — credit card (service fee $1.19 + 3.00% of the sale) or eCheck (flat $1.19). Paper alternative: check or money order payable to Montana Department of Agriculture mailed with the renewal form to PO Box 200201, Helena, MT 59620-0201.

Forms

Good to know

The 'cat & dog treat form' is NOT for out-of-state brands: it is the license-exempt, $25-per-20-products route only for treats manufactured in Montana, with no meat/poultry/fish/byproducts or drugs, and <$25k annual treat sales. Out-of-state treat brands use the $50/product Pet & Specialty Pet Food form.
Pure distributors of pet food need no license, but the manufacturer or label guarantor does ($100 new / $75 renewal) — an out-of-state brand whose name is on the label is the guarantor.
Tonnage is irrelevant for pet-food-only firms (fully exempt from the report).
Registration form cites '80-10-201' (typo for 80-9-201).
No small-package threshold — $50/product regardless of size.

Agency

Montana Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Sciences Division – Commodity Services Bureau, Feed Program
https://agr.mt.gov/Topics/E-G/Feed-Pages/Pet-Food-Pages/Pet-Food-Specialty-Pet-Food
406-444-0510 (Licensing & Registration Specialist); 406-444-5415 (Feed Program Specialist); 406-444-3730 (MTPlants)

Sources: Pet Food & Specialty Pet Food - Montana Department of Agriculture · Commercial Feed Licensing - Montana Department of Agriculture · Feed Tonnage Reporting - Montana Department of Agriculture · Montana Cat & Dog Treat Info · MCA 80-9-201 Licenses and registration · MCA 80-9-101 Definitions · Pet and Specialty Pet Food Registration Form · Montana | AAFCO. Verified 2026-10-08. Not legal advice; confirm with the state before paying.