Pennsylvania pet food registration

Firm license
$25
annual, due Jan 1

Per product
none

Tonnage
$0.1/ton, $25 min
annual, due Feb 15

How to file
mixed · PaPlants
Pay by check, money order, credit card (PaPlants online)

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

Details

Firm license fee	$25 flat $25 per commercial feed license; one license per Pennsylvania manufacturing facility and one per guarantor (name/address on the label) distributing in PA
Exempt	Retail/wholesale of someone else's feed in original package needs no license; repackaging makes you a manufacturer
Tonnage note	None; no small-package exemption. $0.10/ton on all commercial feed distributed to end users, $25 minimum if any tonnage (<1 ton reported as 1 ton); zero tonnage = report with no fee ('Do not submit the minimum amount if reporting zero tonnage'). 'All licensees are required to report even if no fee is due.' Report (API-216) is mailed by PDA; postmark by Feb 15; late penalty $25 or 10%, whichever greater.
Third-party filing	unknown: “API-225 (Rev. 10-2025) signature block is only 'Signature / Title / Date' under 'I verify that the above statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief' — no agent/preparer/'submitted by' block and no owner/officer requirement; the only contact fields are 'Contact Name' and 'Job Title' (forms/PA/application-for-feed-license.pdf). PaPlants online route uses a company PaPlants ID login (not fetched per rules) — no agent role documented.”
Before you file	Form API-225 asks business type checkboxes (Pet Food Manufacturer / Pet Food Guarantor / Distributor Only), processing type, 'Pet Food (not raw)', 'Raw Pet Food (non-dairy/dairy)', distribution radius, daily volume Verification under 18 Pa.C.S. §4904 (unsworn falsification) signed by applicant Raw-milk pet products: labels must be pre-approved by RA-plant@pa.gov before licensing
Check payable to	Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Mail to	PA Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Commercial Feed, 2301 N Cameron Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110

How the online filing goes

Online or paper?
Apply for New License → Feed Manufacturers (from user guide)
Business information (labels from form API-225) (from user guide)
Type of business / activities (check all that apply) (from user guide)
Verification → submit → pay (from user guide)
Renewal (from user guide) — Logon/Register → Shopping Cart

Your packet lists every value for each screen. Online: credit card at PaPlants checkout (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, JCB, Diners Club per form API-225), no added fee. Paper: $25 check or money order payable to 'Commonwealth of Pennsylvania' stapled to the API-225 and mailed to PA Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Commercial Feed, 2301 N Cameron Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110.

Forms

Good to know

Tonnage report has separate lines for Dog Food, Cat Food, Other Pet Food; companies with any sales under 1 ton must report 1 ton ($25 minimum).
Seed form number 'API-221' is wrong; the current application is API-225 (Rev. 10-2025) and the tonnage report is API-216.
PDA accepts but does not require AAFCO PFLM labels.

Agency

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Commercial Feed
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/food/pet-food-animal-feed
717-705-0816 (Bureau of Plant Industry licensing assistant)

Sources: Pet Food & Animal Feed – PA Department of Agriculture · Application for a Commercial Feed License (API-225) · Annual Commercial Feed Tonnage Report (API-216) · 3 Pa.C.S. §5105 Inspection fees. Verified 2026-10-08. Not legal advice; confirm with the state before paying.