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Maryland registers: per product: each brand name or product name of commercial feed, including pet food and specialty pet food, is registered before it is distributed in Maryland. No firm license. Product fee: $50/yr. License or firm fee: None. Tonnage report: no.
| Agency | Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), State Chemist SectionSource: mda.maryland.gov · Md. Code, Agric. §6-102: the State Chemist administers the Maryland Commercial Feed Law. |
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| What's registered | Per product: each brand name or product name of commercial feed, including pet food and specialty pet food, is registered before it is distributed in Maryland. No firm license.Source: mgaleg.maryland.gov · Md. Code, Agric. §6-107(a). Commercial feed includes feed for dogs and cats and for caged or tank pets such as hamsters, birds, fish, snakes and turtles (§6-101(d)). |
| Product registration fee | $50 per product per yearSource: mgaleg.maryland.gov · Md. Code, Agric. §6-107(c). MDA's Application for Registration of Commercial Feeds also says $50.00 per product or brand. |
| Package-size rule | No package-size rule. The $50 fee is per brand or product name.Source: mgaleg.maryland.gov |
| License / firm fee | None (Maryland has no firm license for feed or pet food)Source: mgaleg.maryland.gov · The Maryland Commercial Feed Law (Agric. §§6-101 to 6-117) registers products only. |
| Registration period | From the date of registration to April 30. Every registration expires April 30 each year.Source: mgaleg.maryland.gov · Md. Code, Agric. §6-107(d). MDA's application says the $50 covers the period from the actual date of registration until April 30, so a product registered in March still pays $50. |
| Renewal due | Renew by April 30 each yearSource: mgaleg.maryland.gov · Registrations expire April 30 (§6-107(d)). MDA's State Chemist Section takes renewals online. |
| Tonnage report required? | No. Maryland charges a flat fee per product; the feed law has no tonnage report or inspection fee for pet food.Source: mgaleg.maryland.gov · The only per-ton charge in the law is the equine feed assessment on horse feed (Agric. §6-107.2). |
| Tonnage report frequency | Not applicableSource: mgaleg.maryland.gov |
| Tonnage report due | Not applicableSource: mgaleg.maryland.gov |
| Form or portal | https://egov.maryland.gov/mda/chemistSource: mda.maryland.gov · New products: MDA first asks for a PDF of each label by email to labels.statechemist@maryland.gov, subject “Feed – Your Company Name”, for preliminary review (allow 2 weeks); the commodity coordinator then emails registration instructions. Renewals are online at the State Chemist Renewal and Reporting site. MDA's paper Application for Registration of Commercial Feeds (2018) is at https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/FeedReg.pdf but isn't linked from the current State Chemist pages. |
| License / firm form | NoneSource: mgaleg.maryland.gov · No firm license for pet food in Maryland. |
| What to send | A PDF of each product label, emailed to labels.statechemist@maryland.gov for preliminary review; then the registration MDA's commodity coordinator sends you, with $50 per product. MDA may ask for documents supporting any claim on the label.Source: mda.maryland.gov · MDA's paper application lists each product's complete name, protein, whether it is cat or dog feed, a label for each product, and a check payable to the Maryland Department of Agriculture. |
| Home-kitchen pet treats | No published rule No published rule found on selling pet treats made in a home kitchen; ask the Maryland Department of Agriculture, State Chemist Section. Agency page.Source: mda.maryland.gov · We read the agency's pet food and feed pages, its law and rules, and the state's cottage food rules, and found no statement either way on making pet treats in a home kitchen. Maryland's cottage food guidance applies to food for people only; the health department refers dog treat makers to the Department of Agriculture's State Chemist.Source: health.maryland.gov · Maryland Department of Health, Cottage Food FAQs (September 2025), Q33: “Are pet foods or treats covered in the guidance document? No. The cottage food guidance document applies to human food only.” Selling homemade dog treats in Maryland |
Checked October 3, 2026 against the linked agency pages, forms and statutes.
Also see: AAFCO's Maryland page. AAFCO's state pages show no update date.
Different rules Different. Horse, livestock, poultry and wild-bird feed is registered the same way, at $50 per product per year. Horse feed also carries Maryland's equine feed assessment, paid per ton each quarter by the registrant.Source: mgaleg.maryland.gov · Md. Code, Agric. §6-107 (registration) and §6-107.2 (equine feed assessment); COMAR 15.18.06.
For other animal feed in Maryland: product fee $50/yr; license or firm fee None; tonnage report no.
| Tonnage report required? | Only for horse feed: the registrant pays a per-ton assessment on commercial equine feed (for horses, mules, donkeys and ponies) sold in Maryland. Other feed has no tonnage report.Source: dsd.maryland.gov · COMAR 15.18.06.02 and .03; Md. Code, Agric. §6-107.2. COMAR sets $2 per ton (the statute allows up to $6) and calls it a 5-year program; MDA's current pages don't describe it, so ask MDA how to report. Fee depends on tonnage; see the agency. |
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| Tonnage report frequency | Quarterly, for horse feed only, on MDA's commercial equine feed assessment formSource: dsd.maryland.gov · COMAR 15.18.06.04B and C. |
| Tonnage report due | April 30, July 30, October 30 and January 30 (for the previous quarter), for horse feed onlySource: dsd.maryland.gov · COMAR 15.18.06.04B. Fee depends on tonnage; see the agency. |
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