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What Ohio requires before soil amendments, plant amendments, inoculants, biostimulants and similar products are sold there, field by field, with the source for each. Checked on October 4, 2026.
Whether a product is a fertilizer, soil amendment, plant amendment or beneficial substance depends on what its label claims, and each state decides; the same product can fall in different categories in different states. This site lists what each state's law and agency say. It does not say which category any product is in.
Fees, forms and rules change: confirm with the state agency before you register or sell.
| Regulating agency | Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), Division of Plant Health, Pesticide & Fertilizer SectionThe words in the source (2)“Pesticide & Fertilizer Section” “unless it has been registered by the manufacturer with the department of agriculture” |
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| Product categories the state defines | Agricultural additive: a substance intended to improve, for agricultural production purposes, the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of soil or other growth medium, or to improve crop production, plant growth, quality or yield. It excludes fertilizers, liming materials, pesticides, rhizobial inoculants, peat, peat moss, pine bark, gypsum, perlite, sand, unmanipulated manures and mulches; ODA says products not intended for agricultural use are not ag additives. Specialty fertilizer: fertilizer for uses other than commercial crop production (e.g. lawn and garden).The words in the source (4)“"Agricultural additive" means any substance or mixture that is intended to improve for agricultural production purposes the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of soil or other growth medium” “rhizobial inoculants, peat, peat moss, pine bark, gypsum, perlite, sand, unmanipulated animal or vegetable manures, mulches” “The following products are not considered ag additives: any product not intended for agricultural use” “"Specialty fertilizer" means any fertilizer designed, labeled, and distributed for uses other than the production of commercial crops.” |
| Product registration required | Yes, for agricultural additives: no distributor or manufacturer may sell or distribute an agricultural additive in Ohio unless the manufacturer has registered it. Products not intended for agricultural use are not agricultural additives under ODA's guidance; specialty fertilizers are registered separately.The words in the source (2)“No distributor or manufacturer shall sell, exchange, offer for sale or exchange, or distribute for sale or exchange in this state any agricultural additive unless it has been registered by the manufacturer with the department of agriculture.” “Each brand and product name of each grade of agricultural additive distributed in Ohio is required to be registered annually.” |
| Registration fee per product | $50 per agricultural additive product per year ($50 per brand and grade for specialty fertilizers).The words in the source (3)“Each application for registration of an agricultural additive shall be accompanied by a registration fee of fifty dollars.” “$50 per product per year Registration period: January 1 - December 31” “accompanied with a fee of fifty dollars for each brand and product name of each grade” |
| Licence or permit fee | None for agricultural additives in sections 905.01 to 905.11. A $50 fertilizer licence per location applies to manufacturing or distributing fertilizer, but distributors of registered specialty fertilizer need no licence. Note: That the additive sections set no licence is our reading of sections 905.01 to 905.11 (we read 905.01-.04, .06, .07 and .11). The words in the source (2)“No person shall manufacture or distribute in this state any type of fertilizer until a license to manufacture or distribute has been obtained by the manufacturer or distributor from the department of agriculture upon payment of a fifty-dollar fee” “No distributor shall be required to obtain a license under division (A) of section 905.32 of the Revised Code to distribute fertilizer if the fertilizer is registered under division (A) of section 905.33 of the Revised Code.” |
| Renewal period and date | Agricultural additive registrations run January 1 to December 31 and expire December 31; renewal applications can be submitted 45 days before expiry. (Specialty fertilizer registrations run December 1 to November 30.)The words in the source (2)“All registrations shall expire on the thirty-first day of December” “Renewal applications can be submitted 45 days before the expiration date.” |
| Tonnage reporting and inspection fee | None for agricultural additives: ODA says no sales reports or inspection fees are due. (Specialty fertilizers: annual tonnage report for November 1 to October 31, due by November 30, $0.25 per ton; packages of 10 lb or less exempt from the fee.)The words in the source (3)“No sales reports or inspection fees are due for agricultural additives.” “However, the inspection fee does not apply to packaged fertilizers that are in containers of ten pounds or less.” “Annual tonnage reports must be submitted to our office for the sales period of November 1 through October 31.” |
| Efficacy or data requirements | Yes: the agricultural additive application must include evidence that the additive has been tested for efficacy in the laboratory and in the field, the test methodology and the test results, plus the expected results or effects. If the evidence is insufficient, ODA may require samples, tests or more information. ODA will not register an additive that will not or is not likely to produce the claimed results, or is not useful for agricultural production in Ohio.The words in the source (3)“Evidence that the additive has been tested for efficacy in the laboratory and in the field, information describing the test methodology used, and a description of the test results” “he may require the applicant to submit samples, conduct tests, or submit additional information” “The additive will not or is not likely to produce the results or effects claimed when used as directed; or (3) The additive is not useful for agricultural production in this state.” |
| Label requirements (summary) | Brand name; purpose or proposed use; net weight; directions for use; the results or effects to be expected when used as directed; a guaranteed analysis (each active and inert ingredient and its percentage for chemical products, or the number and kind of viable microorganisms per mL or g for microbial products); the registrant's name and address; and the ODA registration number. The label is an express warranty of the results it shows.The words in the source (3)“(A) The additive's brand name; (B) Its purpose or proposed use; (C) The net weight of the contents of the container; (D) Directions for the additive's use; (E) The results or effects that can be expected when the additive is used as directed” “(H) The additive's registration number provided by the director of agriculture.” “The information on the label constitutes an express warranty of the results or effects shown on the label when used as directed.” |
| Exemptions relevant to small sellers | Outside the agricultural additive definition: products not intended for agricultural use (per ODA), rhizobial (legume) inoculants (registered with ODA's Grain, Feed, and Seed Section), peat, peat moss, pine bark, gypsum, perlite, sand, mulches and unmanipulated manures. Manures and residual farm products are not fertilizers unless sold with a guaranteed analysis.The words in the source (3)“Rhizobium bacteria capable of inoculating legume plants are Legume Inoculants, not agricultural additives.” “excludes fertilizers, agricultural liming materials, pesticides, fertilizer pesticide mixtures” “"Fertilizer" does not include lime, limestone, marl, unground bone, water, residual farm products, and animal and vegetable manures unless mixed with fertilizer materials or distributed with a guaranteed analysis.” |
| AAPFCO Uniform Beneficial Substances Bill | No beneficial substances law found; Ohio regulates these products under its 1981 agricultural additive law (ORC 905.01 to 905.11). Status: Own law (not the AAPFCO bill) Unverified. We could not fully confirm this from a primary source; see the note. Check with the state before relying on it. Note: We did not search 2025-26 Ohio General Assembly bills. The words in the source (2)“Effective: November 5, 1981” “As used in sections 905.01 to 905.11 of the Revised Code” |
| Online portal or form | Ohio AgEnterprise portal (https://ohioagenterprise.agri.ohio.gov/web), with an OH ID account; label PDF uploaded and fee paid online.The words in the source (2)“Log in to the registration portal at https://ohioagenterprise.agri.ohio.gov/web” “Create your OH ID user account” |
Other states: California, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Washington. Which states have adopted the AAPFCO beneficial substances bill.