Fertilizer tonnage reports and inspection fees, explained

Who files fertilizer tonnage reports, how often, when they are due, what per-ton inspection fees and minimums cost, and when a zero report is required.

October 10, 2026 9 min read By the CropClerk compliance team

A fertilizer tonnage report tells a state how many tons of fertilizer you distributed there during a reporting period, and it usually comes with an inspection fee charged per ton. Depending on the state, reports are due monthly, quarterly, twice a year or once a year, and many states want one even when you sold nothing. The filer is generally the last registrant or licensee in the chain: the one that sells to a buyer who is not registered.

What the report and the fee are

The report is a signed statement of the net tons you distributed into the state, usually by product or grade. The inspection fee is a per-ton charge paid with it. Arkansas, for example, splits its $2.40 per ton between the Plant Board Fund ($0.62) and a University of Arkansas soil testing fund ($1.78).

Not every report carries a fee. Maine requires an annual report but repealed its tonnage fee in 2015. California collects semiannual statistical tonnage with no per-ton fee and charges a quarterly mill assessment on sales dollars instead. We found no tonnage program for packaged home-garden fertilizer in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho (repealed in 2022), Montana (specialty products are excluded) or Wyoming.

Who files

Most fertilizer laws place the report and fee on the last registered or licensed party that distributes to a non-registrant, such as a retailer or the end user. Connecticut, Kentucky and Washington word it this way. Connecticut and Washington add that the fee is paid once: if a prior distributor paid, the next one does not.

For a brand, that usually means you. Washington's fee applies to fertilizer distributed to nonregistrants, which include consumers and most retailers, so a brand normally owes it on all of its Washington tonnage. In Wisconsin, the brand pays tonnage on retailer sales unless a licensed buyer agrees in writing to pay.

Sales between registrants

Sales or exchanges between registrants, licensees or manufacturers are commonly exempt, as in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and New Hampshire. The exemption comes with paperwork: Indiana's Form B-5, Michigan's exemption form, or in Wisconsin the buyer's license number and a written agreement on who pays.

Where the rule works differently

Colorado has no manufacturer-to-manufacturer exemption. Tonnage can be deferred to another registrant in AgLicense, but the registrant named on the label stays responsible.
Nebraska puts the fee on whoever sells to the ultimate user, so on wholesale sales to Nebraska retailers the statute places it on the retailer.
Nevada holds the registrant responsible unless it assigns the duty by a written contract that meets NRS 588.210(5).

Reporting periods and due dates

As of October 2026, state rules use every common cycle:

Monthly: Alabama (by the 15th), Arkansas (by the 20th), North Carolina (by the 15th).
Quarterly: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia.
Semiannual: California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington.
Annual: Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi (per current forms; a 1997 statute text says quarterly), New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin.

Periods do not always follow the calendar. Texas quarters follow a September 1 fiscal year and end November 30, February 28 or 29, May 31 and August 31. Ohio and Utah count November 1 through October 31. Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Virginia and Wisconsin use July–June years.

Some states add a monthly report on top of the main one. Illinois wants a monthly summary of sales to consumers and end users by the 10th, Maryland a monthly report by the 10th, West Virginia a monthly county report by the 15th, and New Mexico monthly reports by the 15th.

When official sources disagree

Due dates conflict in several states. Pennsylvania's statute says January 31 and July 31; the department's page says February 15 and August 15. Connecticut's statute says July 30 and the department says July 31. Alabama's statute says the 15th and its form says the 20th. For the July–December 2026 period, Nebraska's statute lists December 31, 2026 and the department says the last day of January. Filing by the earlier date avoids the question; ask the agency which date it enforces.

Rates, minimums and free tons

Headline per-ton rates run from $0.10 (Nebraska) to $2.40 (Arkansas) as of October 2026. Vermont is the outlier: $30 per ton on nonagricultural fertilizer, against $0.50 for agricultural.

For a small brand, the minimum usually matters more than the rate. Here is what 2 tons in one reporting period would cost in five states:

State	Period	Rate	Minimum or credit	Fee on 2 tons
Kansas	Semiannual	$1.67/ton	None found	$3.34
Oregon	Semiannual	$0.45/ton	$15 per period	$15.00
Missouri	Semiannual	$0.60/ton	$50 per period	$50.00
New Jersey	Semiannual	$0.30/ton	First 10 tons free	$0.00
Vermont	Annual	$30/ton (specialty)	$150	$150.00

Missouri's 2017 rule sets $0.60 per ton; an older rule still printed in the code says $0.50. At 2 tons the $50 minimum applies either way.

Other mechanics to know:

Michigan waives fees under $5 and Rhode Island waives fees under $1, but the report is still filed.
Texas collects a $100 minimum annual inspection fee in advance with the first quarterly report and credits it against the year's fees.
Arkansas and Wisconsin round up to the next whole ton. In Arkansas, 3,000 lb (1.5 tons) pays as 2 tons: $4.80.

Rates are often several fees in one

Minnesota's published $1.11 per ton for July 2025–June 2026 is an inspection fee of $0.44 plus $0.40 and $0.27 for two other funds; the rate for July 2026–June 2027 was not found. Wisconsin lists $0.70 per ton for July 2026–June 2027 tonnage, including a surcharge it resets each year. Some charges sit outside the headline rate: Florida adds a $0.50 per ton nitrogen fee to its $1.00 inspection fee on mixed fertilizer, Iowa adds a nitrogen groundwater protection fee (about $0.09 per ton on a 10-10-10), and Illinois invoices a separate research assessment that its FAQ puts at $1.00 per ton.

Zero reports

Many states want a report for every period, sales or not, and some charge for it:

Vermont: the $150 minimum applies even with no sales.
Colorado: the $50 minimum applies to zero reports.
Washington: a $12.50 filing fee for a zero semiannual report, or $25 for an annual one.
New Hampshire: the $9 minimum applies to zero tonnage.
Oklahoma: $10 for a period with no distribution.

Format matters too. Michigan rejects zero reports unless they are emailed as .xlsx with an explanation, and Wisconsin wants a signed report showing zero tons with an explanation. Late zero reports draw penalties in Iowa and Kentucky (10%, minimum $50). Florida's rule says that if quarterly sales do not exceed one ton, you file a zero report and carry the amount forward; confirm that with FDACS before relying on it. For Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Utah, the sources did not say whether a zero report is required, so ask.

County, grade and other detail

Some states want more than a total. Florida's FDACS-13238 breaks tonnage out by county, grade, package type and use code. Pennsylvania wants county, farm or non-farm use and bag, bulk or liquid for each brand and grade. Kansas asks for county codes and UFTRS fertilizer codes, and California for county, dry or liquid and material code, rounded to whole tons. Alabama's statute requires semiannual county-by-grade tonnage. Texas, by contrast, asks home-garden products for total quarterly tonnage with no county or grade breakdown.

So capture the destination county on every shipment from the start.

Tonnage rules by state

State	Tonnage report	Due	Inspection fee	Minimum
Alabama	Monthly	By the 15th of the next month	$0.75/ton	—
Alaska	Not required	—	—	—
Arizona	Quarterly	Last day of the next month	$0.25/ton	$2
Arkansas	Monthly	By the 20th of the next month	$2.40/ton	—
California	Twice a year	30 days after the period	No fee (statistical report); 0.25% of sales assessed quarterly	—
Colorado	Yearly	By February 15	$1.10/ton	$50
Connecticut	Yearly (July–June)	By July 30	$0.25/ton	$10
Delaware	Twice a year	Last day of the next month	$0.25/ton	—
Florida	Quarterly	30 days after the period	$1/ton, plus $0.50/ton nitrogen fee	—
Georgia	Quarterly	30 days after the period	$0.60/ton	—
Hawaii	Not required	—	—	—
Idaho	Not required	—	—	—
Illinois	Twice a year	30 days after the period	$0.25/ton	$15
Indiana	Twice a year	Last day of the next month	$0.45/ton	$10
Iowa	Twice a year	31 days after the period	$0.17/ton	—
Kansas	Twice a year	31 days after the period	$1.67/ton	—
Kentucky	Quarterly	Last day of the next month	$0.50/ton	—
Louisiana	Quarterly (from July)	30 days after the period	$1/ton	$10
Maine	Yearly (July–June)	By September 1	No fee	—
Maryland	Twice a year	31 days after the period	$0.25/ton	—
Massachusetts	Twice a year	By the 1st of the next month	$0.15/ton	$5
Michigan	Yearly	By January 31	$0.35/ton	—
Minnesota	Yearly (July–June)	By July 31	$1.11/ton	$10
Mississippi	Yearly (July–June)	30 days after the period	$0.25/ton	—
Missouri	Twice a year	30 days after the period	$0.60/ton	$50
Montana	Not required	—	—	—
Nebraska	Twice a year	31 days after the period	$0.10/ton	$10
Nevada	Quarterly	By the 15th of the next month	$0.30/ton	$5
New Hampshire	Twice a year	30 days after the period	$0.37/ton	$9
New Jersey	Twice a year	30 days after the period	$0.30/ton	—
New Mexico	Quarterly	Last day of the next month	$0.35/ton	$5
New York	Yearly	By February 1	Per-ton rate at 500+ tons not confirmed	$50 under 500 tons
North Carolina	Monthly	By the 15th of the next month	$0.50/ton	—
North Dakota	Yearly	By January 31	$0.20/ton	$10
Ohio	Yearly (November–October)	By November 30	$0.25/ton	—
Oklahoma	Twice a year	31 days after the period	$1/ton	—
Oregon	Twice a year	30 days after the period	$0.45/ton	$15
Pennsylvania	Twice a year	31 days after the period	$0.17/ton	$25
Rhode Island	Yearly (July–June)	By July 15	$0.15/ton	—
South Carolina	Quarterly (from July)	30 days after the period	$1.50/ton	—
South Dakota	Yearly	By January 31	$0.90/ton	$10
Tennessee	Yearly	By July 1	$0.20/ton	$100
Texas	Quarterly (from September)	31 days after the period	$0.36/ton	—
Utah	Yearly (November–October)	By December 31	$0.35/ton	$20
Vermont	Yearly	By January 15	$30/ton	$150
Virginia	Yearly (July–June)	By August 1	$0.25/ton	$35
Washington	Twice a year	31 days after the period	$0.35/ton	$25
West Virginia	Quarterly	30 days after the period	$0.40/ton	—
Wisconsin	Yearly (July–June)	By September 30	$0.70/ton	$29
Wyoming	Not required	—	—	—

Tonnage reports and inspection fees for packaged specialty fertilizer. From CropClerk’s state research, reviewed October 2026. Agencies change fees and forms; confirm with the agency before you file.

Getting the numbers right from every sales channel

A tonnage report is only as good as the shipment data behind it. Build each period's numbers from the ship-to address, by product and package size:

Shopify and other direct sales. Export orders with the full ship-to address, and resolve the county from it where a state asks.
Amazon and marketplaces. Use order-level shipment reports by the customer's ship-to state. If inventory sits in a fulfillment center in a state, ask that agency how it treats stored stock. Colorado and Oregon exclude product shipped through the state but not destined for it.
Wholesale and distributors. Record each retailer's ship-to location. If you claim a registrant-to-registrant exemption, keep the buyer's license or registration number and any written agreement on who pays.
Conversion. Multiply units by net weight and divide by 2,000. Liquids need a weight; Nevada computes liquid at 8 lb per gallon.
Returns. We found no published treatment of returned product in Florida, Virginia, California or New York. Agree an approach with the agency and apply it consistently.

Take a 4-lb bag of 10-10-10 sold on Shopify into Ohio. Ohio's report covers November 1 to October 31 and is due November 30. Packages of 10 lb or less pay no inspection fee, but Ohio still wants the report, even at $0.00. The same bag shipped to Kansas pays $1.67 per ton with no minimum: 1,000 bags is 2 tons and $3.34. For how package size changes the math, see small-package fertilizer rules. For marketplace specifics, see selling fertilizer on Amazon and Shopify.

Filing late

Many states charge 10% of the amount due with a floor: $10 in Georgia, $50 in Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. Some are steeper. Kansas charges $10 per calendar day, Nebraska adds 25% per month (capped at 100%), and Texas charges the greater of $50 or 15% and cancels the registration if that is unpaid before the 61st day after the quarter. South Carolina cancels registrations automatically when fees are unpaid 30 days after the due date. If you have missed periods, see what to do if you sold fertilizer without registering.

Figures are as of October 2026 and come from the agency pages, forms and statutes listed below. Rates and minimums change, so confirm with the agency before you file.

Sources

Figures reflect our research as of October 10, 2026. State agencies change fees, forms and deadlines, so confirm with the agency before you file. This article isn’t legal advice.

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