New Mexico pet food & treat registration

New Mexico registers: per product: each commercial feed, including pet food, specialty pet food and treats, is registered every year. No firm license. Product fee: $102–$127/yr. License or firm fee: None. Tonnage report: some products.

Calculate your New Mexico fees

The facts, with sources

Agency	New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA), Feed, Seed and Fertilizer SectionSource: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu
What's registered	Per product: each commercial feed, including pet food, specialty pet food and treats, is registered every year. No firm license.Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · NMDA: “Commercial feeds, which include pet foods and specialty pet foods, are registered by the individual product label.” Pet food page: “New Mexico registers individual products verses licensing companies.” NMSA 76-19A-10(A). Pet food “includes pet treats, biscuits, training foods, sample sizes as well as the more traditional pet foods.”
Product registration fee	$2 registration fee per product per year; plus a $25 annual inspection fee per product sold in packages of 10 lb or less; plus a $100 Spay and Neuter Program fee per dog or cat food product, unless exempt.Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · Application form: “Registration Fee: $2.00 per product regardless of weight”; “Inspection Fee: An additional $25.00 per product if available in quantities of 10 pounds or less”; “Spay and Neuter Program Fees: An additional $100.00 per pet food product.” NMSA 76-19A-10(A), 76-19A-10.1 and 76-19A-12(A). The $100 fee does not apply to a veterinarian-prescribed diet, or to pet food made by a manufacturer whose pet food gross revenue is no more than $3,000,000 a tax year (notarized exemption form, filed every year).
Package-size rule	10 lb or less: $25 annual inspection fee per product instead of tonnage. Over 10 lb: quarterly tonnage report and fee. Sold in both: pay both. Sample sizes are not exempt.Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · NMDA: “If products are distributed in both 10 pound (or less) packages and packages greater than 10 pounds, both the $25.00 inspection fees and quarterly inspection fees are required for those products. There is no exemption for sample size containers.” NMSA 76-19A-12(A). One $2 registration covers all sizes of the same label.
License / firm fee	None (New Mexico registers products, not companies)Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · NMDA: “New Mexico registers individual products verses licensing companies.”
Registration period	Calendar year: from approval to December 31Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · Application form: “All registrations are valid from the day of approval till December 31 of the same year.” NMSA 76-19A-10(A): “A commercial feed registration expires annually on December 31.”
Renewal due	By December 31 each year (registrations expire December 31)Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · NMDA mails renewal applications about six weeks before December 31. Renew on the paper renewal application; new products need the new product registration form.
Tonnage report required?	Yes, for products sold in bulk or in packages over 10 lb. Products sold only in packages of 10 lb or less pay the $25 annual inspection fee instead.Source: nmonesource.com · NMSA 76-19A-12(A), as amended by Laws 2026, ch. 13 (SB 143), effective July 1, 2026: $0.25 a ton, at least $5.00 per reporting period. NMDA's tonnage page and fact sheet still show $0.15 a ton and no minimum. Late: 20% or $10, whichever is greater. Fee depends on tonnage; see the agency. Source for the new rate: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/26%20Regular/final/SB0143.pdf
Tonnage report frequency	Quarterly (calendar quarters). A report is required even if no sales were made. Fee depends on tonnage; see the agency.Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu
Tonnage report due	Within 30 days after each quarter: January 31, April 30, July 31 and October 31Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · NMSA 76-19A-12(C)(1). NMSA 76-19A-12(A), as amended by Laws 2026, ch. 13 (SB 143), effective July 1, 2026: $0.25 a ton, at least $5.00 per reporting period. NMDA's tonnage page and fact sheet still show $0.15 a ton and no minimum. Late: 20% or $10, whichever is greater. Fee depends on tonnage; see the agency.
Form or portal	https://nmdeptag.nmsu.edu/media/pdf/Commercial-Feed-Registration.pdfSource: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · Application for Registration of Commercial Feed (paper; mail with labels and fees to NMDA Feed, Seed & Fertilizer Section, P.O. Box 30005, MSC 3150, Las Cruces, NM 88003-8005). Spay and Neuter Program fee exemption form: https://nmdeptag.nmsu.edu/media/pdf/spay-and-neuter-program-exemption-form.pdf
License / firm form	NoneSource: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · No company license in New Mexico; only products are registered.
What to send	The Application for Registration of Commercial Feed listing each product and all its package sizes, a complete legible label for each product, and the fees: $2 per product, $25 per product sold in 10 lb or less, and $100 per dog or cat food product (or the notarized Spay and Neuter exemption form).Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · Labels as 8.5 x 11 or 11 x 17 hard copies, or digital files named to match the products on the application. Label changes need a Label Revision form and the new label.
Home-kitchen pet treats	No published rule No published rule found on selling pet treats made in a home kitchen; ask the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (feed program). Agency page.Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · 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. Selling homemade dog treats in New Mexico

Checked October 3, 2026 against the linked agency pages, forms and statutes.

Also see: AAFCO's New Mexico page. AAFCO's state pages show no update date.

Where AAFCO's page differs

AAFCO's page lists “Registration Fee: $2.00 per product regardless of weight. Inspection Fee: An additional $25.00 per product if available in quantities of 10 pounds or less paid with the registration fee.”; the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA) says “Spay and Neuter Program Fees: An additional $100.00 per pet food product.” (on top of the same $2 and $25 fees; some products are exempt)Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu

The facts above follow the state's source. Compared October 4, 2026.

Horse, livestock, poultry and wild-bird feed

Different rules Different: other feed (horse, livestock, poultry, wild-bird) is registered the same way ($2 per product, $25 per product in packages of 10 lb or less, quarterly tonnage on larger packages and bulk), but the $100 Spay and Neuter Program fee applies only to dog and cat food.Source: nmonesource.com · NMSA 76-19A-4, 76-19A-10, 76-19A-10.1 and 76-19A-12.

For other animal feed in New Mexico: product fee $2–$27/yr; license or firm fee None; tonnage report some products.

Product registration fee	$2 registration fee per product per year; plus a $25 annual inspection fee per product sold in packages of 10 lb or less. No Spay and Neuter fee.Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · NMSA 76-19A-10(A) and 76-19A-12(A). The $100 Spay and Neuter Program fee applies only to pet food (dog or cat food), NMSA 76-19A-10.1.

Calculate New Mexico fees for other animal feed · New Mexico commercial feed license · All 50 states and DC for feed

Selling pet or horse supplements? What New Mexico's feed law says, word for word.

Due dates

December 31: New Mexico feed and pet food registrations expire December 31; renew by then (renewal applications are mailed about six weeks before) (if you register products)Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu
January 31, April 30, July 31, October 31: New Mexico quarterly commercial feed tonnage report and inspection fee due for the previous calendar quarter. Fee depends on tonnage; see the agency. (only if you have products under tonnage reporting)Source: nmonesource.com

See all states' renewal dates

Good to know

Spay and Neuter Program fee: $100 a year per dog or cat food product, on top of the registration fee. Exempt: veterinarian-prescribed diets, and pet food from a manufacturer whose pet food gross revenue is no more than $3,000,000 a tax year. The exemption form must be notarized and sent every year, or you are charged the fee.Source: nmonesource.com · NMSA 76-19A-10.1. Laws 2026, ch. 32 (SB 38, signed March 5, 2026) repealed the July 1, 2026 sunset, so the fee continues: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/26%20Regular/final/SB0038.pdf. NMDA page: https://nmdeptag.nmsu.edu/licensing-and-registrations/commercial-feed-registration.html
“Pet food” in New Mexico means food for dogs or cats only. Food for caged or tank pets (gerbils, hamsters, birds, fish, snakes, turtles) is “specialty pet food”: registered the same way but not charged the $100 Spay and Neuter fee.Source: nmonesource.com · NMSA 76-19A-2(P) and (T); 76-19A-10.1(A) applies to “each pet food”.
Raw meat pet food is exempt only if the meat is not ground and not mixed with other ingredients.Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · 21.18.3.7(C) NMAC exempts “raw meat and loose salt when unground and when not mixed or intermixed with other materials”: https://www.srca.nm.gov/parts/title21/21.018.0003.html
A distributor does not need to register a brand that someone else has already registered in New Mexico. For tonnage, the person who sells to the consumer reports and pays unless an earlier distributor already did; NMDA holds the registrant ultimately responsible unless another party agrees to report.Source: nmonesource.com · NMSA 76-19A-10(B) and 76-19A-12(C)(1); NMDA tonnage page: https://nmdeptag.nmsu.edu/aps/fsf/commercial-feed-tonnage.html
Late tonnage reports or payments: penalty of 20% of the fee due or $10, whichever is greater, even when reporting zero. Missing reports can lead to cancelled registrations and a stop-sale on all of the company's products.Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · NMSA 76-19A-12(C)(2) and (D).
From July 1, 2026 the NMSU board of regents may raise NMDA's feed inspection fees each year for inflation (consumer price index) until July 1, 2031.Source: nmlegis.gov · Laws 2026, ch. 13 (SB 143), section 7, amending NMSA 76-19A-12(B).
NMDA proposed in 2026 to repeal and replace its commercial feed rule (21.18.3 NMAC), mainly to update pet food labeling to current AAFCO models, including nutrition information disclosures. Hearings were held August 4 and 6, 2026. The proposed rule does not change fees.Source: nmdeptag.nmsu.edu · Check NMDA for the adoption date before relying on the current labeling rule.

Selling in more than one state?

The free calculator adds up product and license fees across states and flags the tonnage-report states. The $49 Registration Pack turns it into a per-product, per-state checklist with form links and a renewal calendar.

Making treats at home? Selling homemade dog treats in New Mexico · Do I need a license to sell dog treats? · Selling online · Tonnage reports by state

Nearby states

Arizona pet food registration (product fee none; license $10 per facility/yr)
Colorado pet food registration (product fee $25/yr; license $75 per company/yr)
Oklahoma pet food registration (product fee none; license $50 per firm/yr)
Texas pet food registration (product fee $50/yr; license $75 per facility, one time)
Utah pet food registration (product fee $75/yr; license none)

Other states: Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming