Q.01

Are EPA pesticide registration fees going up this year?

Yes, for registration service fees (PRIA fees). On October 8, 2026, EPA announced a 5% inflation adjustment to pesticide registration service fees. It covers applications received on or after October 1, 2026, which is the start of FY 2027. Annual maintenance fees are a separate charge and this increase does not touch them.

The registration service fee increase

  • Size and scope: EPA describes it as "a 5% inflation adjustment increase in pesticide registration service fees" that "applies across all PRIA registration service fee categories for covered applications received during FY 2027" (EPA announcement).
  • Legal basis: The increase comes from the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5). It depended on EPA putting in place the process improvements recommended in the PRIA 5 Process Assessment Report. EPA says it has "begun or completed 80% of the recommendations" (same source).
  • Which schedule applies: It depends on when EPA receives the application. Applications received in FY 2025–FY 2026 use the FY'25–FY'26 fee column (FY 2025-2026 schedule). Applications received from October 1, 2026 use the FY 2027 schedule, which covers 226 fee categories across the Registration Division, the Antimicrobials Division, the Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, inerts, and miscellaneous actions (FY 2027 schedule).
  • Example: Category A450 (new use, direct food use, establish tolerance or tolerance exemption) is now $151,261, with a 23-month decision time (A450 category page). The pages I opened show only the FY 2027 amount, not the earlier figure, so I can't show the before-and-after for this category.

Maintenance fees

  • EPA says the adjustment "does not alter the annual maintenance fee caps or standard per-product maintenance fee structures" (EPA announcement).
  • The most recent maintenance fee I found is for FY 2026: $4,875 per registered product, the same as FY 2025. EPA kept it flat because FY 2025 collections closely matched the target. EPA aims to collect an average of $42 million a year through FY 2027. Fees and completed forms were due by January 15, 2026, and EPA cancels registrations without notice if they are not received (EPA FY2026 maintenance fee notice; 2026 fee tables).
  • I found no EPA notice yet setting the FY 2027 per-product maintenance fee.

Approach: The regulatory datasets I can search hold no EPA PRIA fee schedules, so I relied on EPA's official PRIA fee and pesticide announcement pages on epa.gov.

I can pull the FY 2027 fees for the specific PRIA categories you file under if that would help.

Q.02

How much is the increase under PRIA 5?

The PRIA 5 increase is 5%. It is applied on top of the registration service fee in effect on September 30, 2026, and covers applications received on or after October 1, 2026 (FY 2027). It is the second of two 5% steps in the statute, so a fee that took both steps ends up about 10.25% above the base PRIA 5 statutory table (1.05 × 1.05).

What FIFRA section 33 (7 U.S.C. 136w-8(b)(6)) provides

  • First step (A), FY 2025–2026: For applications received from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2026, EPA "may increase by 5 percent the registration service fee." This could only happen once EPA had started implementing clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection (k)(2)(A) [1].
  • Second step (B), "Additional adjustment," from FY 2027: For applications received on or after October 1, 2026, EPA "may increase by an additional 5 percent the registration service fee in effect as of September 30, 2026." The condition is that EPA has begun implementing the process-improvement recommendations in the subsection (c)(4) report [1]. EPA's October 2026 announcement says it is using this step, and that it has begun or completed 80% of those recommendations (EPA announcement).

In dollar terms

  • The increase is a percentage, not a fixed amount, so the dollar change differs by fee category. For example, A450 is $151,261 in FY 2027 (A450 category page). If that figure is exactly 5% above the September 30, 2026 fee, the earlier fee would have been about $144,058, an increase of roughly $7,200. That is my own arithmetic; EPA does not publish it on the page I opened.

What the 5% does not change

  • Fee waivers: The small-business waivers still apply on top of the adjusted fee: 50% for small businesses, and 75% for entities that meet the $10,000,000 average annual global gross revenue test [1].
  • Maintenance fees: These are set separately under 7 U.S.C. 136a-1(i). EPA must aim to collect an average of $42,000,000 a year for FY 2023–2027. The annual maximum per registrant for FY 2023–2027 is $172,000 for registrants holding 50 or fewer registrations and $277,200 for those holding more [2].
  • After FY 2027: The statute cuts registration service fees to 40% below the September 30, 2027 level in FY 2028, and to 70% below that level in FY 2029 [1].

Approach: I read the fee-adjustment provisions in the US Code text of FIFRA (2023 publication) and checked them against EPA's October 2026 PRIA announcement and fee category page on epa.gov. EPA's pesticide registration notices hold nothing on the PRIA 5 adjustment.

Q.03

Do pending applications pay the new fee?

No. Under PRIA 5 the extra 5% applies only to a "covered application received on or after October 1, 2026." An application EPA received on or before September 30, 2026 stays on the fee in effect when it was received (the FY'25–FY'26 schedule), even if it is still pending today [1].

Why the receipt date decides it

  • What triggers the increase: FIFRA section 33(b)(6)(B) (7 U.S.C. 136w-8) ties the "additional 5 percent" to applications received on or after October 1, 2026. It does not tie it to when EPA reviews or decides them. The first 5% step, in (b)(6)(A), was tied in the same way to applications received from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2026 [1].
  • When the fee is paid: The fee is "due upon submission of the application." The application must come with proof that the fee has been paid, or proof that at least 25% has been paid together with a waiver or reduction request [1]. A pending application has therefore already been charged under the earlier schedule.
  • What EPA says: EPA's announcement states the same scope: the 5% applies "for covered applications received during FY 2027." It says nothing else about applications already pending (EPA announcement).

When a pending application can still owe more The statute allows additional fees on an application in three cases [1]:

  • the applicant chose the wrong fee category or decision review period;
  • EPA denies a waiver request;
  • after initial or preliminary technical screening, EPA decides a different fee category and decision period apply.

Neither the statute nor EPA's announcement says whether a top-up like this, on an application received before October 1, 2026, is charged at the FY'25–FY'26 rate or the FY 2027 rate.

A new submission made on or after October 1, 2026 counts as received in FY 2027 and pays the adjusted fee. That includes withdrawing a pending application and filing it again.

Approach: I read the fee provisions in the US Code text of FIFRA (2023 publication) and checked them against EPA's October 2026 PRIA 5 announcement on epa.gov.

Q.04