South Carolina pet food & treat registration

South Carolina registers: per product: every commercial feed product, including pet food and pet treats, is registered and renewed each year before it is sold in South Carolina. No firm license. Product fee: $20/yr. License or firm fee: None. Tonnage report: no.

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The facts, with sources

Agency	South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA), Consumer Protection Division, Animal Feed Safety ProgramSource: agriculture.sc.gov
What's registered	Per product: every commercial feed product, including pet food and pet treats, is registered and renewed each year before it is sold in South Carolina. No firm license.Source: agriculture.sc.gov · S.C. Code §46-27-210. SCDA's FAQ: “Currently, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) does not require tonnage reporting or license fees.”
Product registration fee	$20 per product per year ($15 registration fee plus a $5 technology processing cost)Source: agriculture.sc.gov · The feed act itself sets no fee. The $15 comes from budget proviso 44.7 of the FY 2026-27 Appropriations Act, which lets SCDA require annual registration of feed labels and charge $15; the $5 technology cost is SCDA's. Provisos are renewed in each year's budget. Proviso text: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/appropriations2026/tap1b.htm
Package-size rule	No package-size rule. One registration covers all package sizes of the same formula.Source: agriculture.sc.gov · SCDA FAQ question 7.
License / firm fee	None (South Carolina has no firm license for feed or pet food)Source: agriculture.sc.gov · SCDA FAQ question 2.
Registration period	Calendar year; all registrations expire December 31Source: agriculture.sc.gov
Renewal due	Renewals are due January 1; a $10 late fee per product applies to products registered after January 15Source: agriculture.sc.gov
Tonnage report required?	No. SCDA does not require tonnage reporting.Source: agriculture.sc.gov · SCDA FAQ question 2.
Tonnage report frequency	Not applicableSource: agriculture.sc.gov
Tonnage report due	Not applicableSource: agriculture.sc.gov
Form or portal	https://feedregistration.agriculture.sc.gov/RegistrationSource: agriculture.sc.gov · SCDA's online Feed Registration portal (create an account). Paper option: South Carolina Feed Registration Application, CPD Form #1000 (rev. 10/21/25), https://agriculture.sc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/FeedRegistrationApplication2025.pdf (for up to 30 products; use the portal for more).
License / firm form	NoneSource: agriculture.sc.gov · No firm license for pet food in South Carolina.
What to send	Online: submit each product with a PDF of its label in SCDA's portal; after the Feed Registration Specialist approves it, SCDA emails a payment link for $20 per product. Paper: the Feed Registration Application listing each product's complete brand name and type (pet food, pet treat, specialty pet, etc.), a label for each product, and a check for $20 per product payable to South Carolina Department of Agriculture.Source: agriculture.sc.gov · SCDA returns forms and checks sent without product labels. A certificate of registered products is emailed or mailed to you. Online payment steps are in SCDA FAQ question 13.
Home-kitchen pet treats	Allowed South Carolina's Department of Agriculture allows pet food and treats to be made in a home kitchen “at this time”, but doesn't recommend it. Condition: Register each product, including for online sales. A consumer complaint can lead to an inspection of the home kitchen.Source: agriculture.sc.gov · SCDA Feed Registration FAQ (9/20/21), question 9: “although SCDA allows firms to make pet food or treats in your home kitchen at this time, it is not recommended. If SCDA received a complaint about your products from a consumer, you may be subject to a complaint follow-up and inspection of your home kitchen.” South Carolina's home-based food production (cottage food) law applies only to food for people and doesn't cover pet treats; they fall under the Commercial Feed Act.Source: agriculture.sc.gov · South Carolina Home-based Food Production Law Guidance (July 2025), Foods NOT Allowed: “The Cottage Food Law only applies to products intended for Human consumption and does not cover the production of pet treats for dogs, cats, or other animals.” Selling homemade dog treats in South Carolina

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

Also see: AAFCO's South Carolina page. AAFCO's state pages show no update date.

Horse, livestock, poultry and wild-bird feed

Same rules as pet food Same as pet food: every commercial feed product (livestock, horse, poultry, wild bird and so on) is registered at $20 per product per year, with no license or tonnage report.Source: agriculture.sc.gov

For other animal feed in South Carolina: product fee $20/yr; license or firm fee None; tonnage report no.

Calculate South Carolina fees for other animal feed · South Carolina commercial feed license · All 50 states and DC for feed

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

Due dates

January 1: South Carolina feed and pet food registrations expire December 31; renew by January 1 ($20 per product; $10 late fee per product after January 15) (if you register products)Source: agriculture.sc.gov

See all states' renewal dates

Good to know

Late fee: $10 per product. SCDA's feed page says it applies to products registered after January 15; the application says it applies when a firm fails to register within fifteen working days of being notified; the FAQ says it applies when payment isn't made within 15 days of approval.Source: agriculture.sc.gov · Check with SCDA which applies to you.
Who registers: each manufacturer, importer, jobber, agent or seller, for each feed with a distinct name or trademark. If the manufacturer, importer or jobber has registered it, its agents and sellers need not. The firm named on the label is responsible for registration.Source: scstatehouse.gov · S.C. Code §§46-27-210 and 46-27-220; Reg. 5-203(7).
Home-kitchen pet treats must be registered to sell them, including online. SCDA allows home-kitchen pet food and treats but does not recommend it, and may inspect the kitchen after a complaint.Source: agriculture.sc.gov · SCDA FAQ question 9.
Bones, chews and toys don't need registration if their labeling follows AAFCO SUIP #24 and makes no claim of food use or nutritional value. Animal food with CBD is not allowed.Source: agriculture.sc.gov · SCDA FAQ questions 8 and 11.
No sale until you have received the certified approved copy of your registration.Source: scstatehouse.gov · Reg. 5-206(1).
Not Kelly Registration Systems: South Carolina uses SCDA's own Feed Registration portal.Source: agriculture.sc.gov
“Pet” means any domesticated animal normally kept in or near the owner's household, and “pet food” is any commercial feed made for pets.Source: scstatehouse.gov · S.C. Code §46-27-20(2) and (3).
SCDA's chart “Commercial Feed or Animal Remedy?”: “If the product has all AAFCO approved ingredients, in most cases, regardless of the intended use, the product would be considered a feed-supplement.” A product with all non-AAFCO-approved ingredients and a non-nutritional intended use “would be considered an animal remedy.”Source: agriculture.sc.gov

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 South Carolina · Do I need a license to sell dog treats? · Selling online · Tonnage reports by state

Nearby states

North Carolina pet food registration (product fee $5–$45/yr; license none)
Georgia pet food registration (product fee $40/yr; license $75 per firm/yr)
Florida pet food registration (product fee none; license $40–$3500/yr by tonnage)

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