Multiple state regulations are applicable to businesses that use, store, or manufacture lawn care products. These include:
- Fertilizer and soil or plant additive - ATCP 40
- Pesticide - ATCP 29
- Containment of fertilizers and pesticides - ATCP 33
If you are doing lawn care for hire, no matter how informally, you may fall under the licensing requirements outlined below.
Requirement
| Fertilizer
| Soil or Plant Additive
| Pesticide
|
Business license
| Yes – only if you manufacture/distribute.
| Yes, if you manufacture/
distribute.
| Yes, if providing
commercial application or subcontracting. |
Product permit
| Yes, if less than 24% NPK
| Yes
| No
|
Report tonnage
| Yes
| Yes
| No
|
Containment
| Yes, for bulk containment.
| No
| Yes, for bulk. |
Product labeling
| Yes, if licensed
| Yes, if licensed
| No
|
Applicator certification and licensing
| No
| No
| Yes, commercial applicators only. |
Posting applications
| No
| No
| Yes
|
Landscape registry
| No
| No
| Yes. Refer to |
Phosphorous turf fertilizer
| Application restrictions exist. | No
| No
|
Fertilizer
A product is a fertilizer when it contains a plant nutrient ATCP 40.02(31), which will be listed on the label's guaranteed analysis for the minimum guarantee of each plant nutrient:
- primary nutrients ATCP 40.02(32): nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), or potassium (K);
- secondary nutrients ATCP 40.02(38): calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), or Sulfur (S);
- micronutrient ATCP 40.02(22): boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), or zinc (Zn)
Fertilizer License
An annual business license is required to manufacture ATCP 40.02(21) or distribute ATCP 40.02(6) fertilizers. The annual fertilizer license is valid from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The fee is $30.
If you're only purchasing fertilizers and apply them according to their label directions, you are exempt from fertilizer license requirements (e.g., mixing ingredients/concentrates according to label directions or combining identically labeled lots of bulk fertilizer.) Following fertilizer labeling instructions to create a known guaranteed analysis is not considered manufacturing a new fertilizer blend. Therefore, the license and permit is not needed.
When you change a fertilizer's nutrient guarantee, it is considered manufacturing and a fertilizer license is required. For example, the fertilizer product does not come with blending instructions and you mix 50 pounds of urea 46-0-0 into 200 gallons (approximately 1,780 lbs.) of water to create a 1.29-0-0 fertilizer.
Likewise, a license is required to relabel an existing fertilizer product with your own branded label.
Refer to the example of creating your own fertilizer blend and label featured further down the page.
Fertilizer Tonnage Reporting
Licensed business are required to annually report and pay tonnage fees of $0.62/ton for fertilizers products distributed into Wisconsin between July 1 and June 30. Weight of the entire product is reported, not just the plant nutrient component.
Fertilizer Permit
A fertilizer permit is required by Ch. ATCP 40.12 Wis. Admin. Code for products that have a combined guarantee of primary plant nutrients of less than 24% N P K (N+P+K < 24%). Each fertilizer product under 24% must be individually permitted. The fee is $25 per permit.
Fertilizer permits are not required for fertilizer products that are equal to or greater than 24% N P K or are derived from a single defined ingredient. For example, a 32-0-0 grade.
The fertilizer license application, tonnage reporting, and permit application forms are available on our website on the following page: Commercial Fertilizer Dealers.
Fertilizer Label
Fertilizer labels must include:
- Name and address of manufacturer
- Fertilizer product name
- Fertilizer grade
- Guaranteed analysis
- Net weight
- Applicable hazard caution statements and use directions
Bulk fertilizer labels must include:
- The name and address of recipient
- Date of delivery
- Net weight of each lot or load delivered
Soil or Plant Additive
Soil and plant additives are substances applied to seed, soil, or plants that claim to improve plant growth, crop yield or quality, or soil properties. Examples include humic acids and Mycorrhizae inoculants. Substances considered a soil or plant additive and those that are exempt are within the soil or plant additive definition in ATCP 40.02(41).
Soil or Plant Additive License
To manufacture or distribute fertilizer or soil or plant additive products (sometimes called soil amendment) into Wisconsin, an annual business licenses is required. The fee is $25.
Soil or Plant Additive Tonnage
Your business is also required to annually report and pay tonnage fees of $0.45/ton for soil or plant additive products distributed into Wisconsin.
Soil or Plant Additive Permit
Each soil or plant additive product is required to obtain a permit. The fee is $100.
The annual soil or plant additive license, tonnage report, and permit application forms are available on DATCP's Soil or Plant Additives webpage.
Combination products
These products are regulated by more than one code.
- Fertilizer-additive products containing a plant nutrient and a soil or plant additive substance
- Fertilizer-pesticide products containing a plant nutrient and pesticide, often called a weed and feed
- Pesticide-additive products containing a pesticide and a soil or plant additive substance
Permits for fertilizer and soil or plant additive products remain active for the life of the company and product, unless the ownership of the company, the product's active ingredient contents, or recommended amount or frequency of application change. Turf phosphorous restrictions s. 94.643 Wis. Stats.- Turf fertilizer containing phosphorus can only be used when establishing turf, or in locations where a laboratory soil test determines the turf is deficient in phosphorous.
- Fertilizers are prohibited from application on impervious surfaces and frozen ground.
Pesticides
If you apply fertilizer-pesticide mixes (weed and feeds, or fertilizer-insecticide mixes), it is considered a pesticide application. These products are registered as pesticides and display an EPA registration number on the label.
The license requirement is triggered by the label claim that a product kills, controls, or prevents some type of pest (including weeds); and by the fact that you must be a licensed commercial pesticide application business to use or direct the use, as a contractor for-hire, even if the products you are applying can be purchased by anyone in a retail store; and even if they are "natural" products, such as corn gluten meal.
Commercial Pesticide Application Business License
A commercial pesticide application business license is required for any business which makes commercial for-hire applications of pesticides. More information about this can be found on DATCP's Commercial Pesticide Application Business License webpage.
All applicators employed by the business must also hold an individual commercial pesticide applicator license and be certified in the appropriate category(ies). Requirements for pesticide applicator certification and licensing are found on DATCP's Commercial Applicator webpage.
Advanced notification of commercial landscape pesticide applications is required by the landscape registry. Learn more by visiting DATCP's Landscape Pesticide Registry webpage.
Containment - Fertilizers and Pesticides
If you store fertilizers or pesticides in containers larger than 55 gallons or 100 pounds, bulk storage regulations apply.
A mix/load pad is necessary to transfer bulk product into a mobile container or vehicle.
Secondary containment structures are required for all containers larger than 55 gallons liquid or 100 pounds dry, and including mobile containers kept at a storage facility for more than seven days.
Rinsate must be managed appropriately, and a discharge response plan must be developed.
Example: Creating your own fertilizer blend, guaranteed analysis, and label
- Steps to determine the Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K) percentages for the guaranteed analysis of the fertilizer product:
- Manufacturing a proprietary blend by mixing 500 pounds of 20-0-5 granular fertilizer into 500 gallons of water (sometimes called "melting fertilizer.")
- 20 lbs Nitrogen (N), 0 lbs. Phosphorus (P) and 5 lbs. Potassium (K) are in 100 lbs. of the fertilizer product.
- Fertilizer total weight is 500 lbs. (5 units of 100 lbs. of fertilizer.)
- Total Nitrogen is 20 lbs. N X 5 units = 100 lbs. N
- Total Phosphorus is 0 lbs. (zero in the granular fertilizer.)
- Total Potassium is 5 lbs. K X 5 units = 25 lbs. K
- 1 gallon of water weighs 8.3 lbs.
- Water total weight is 500 gallons X 8.3 lbs. = 4,150 lbs
- Total Batch Weight is 4,150 lbs. of water + 500 lbs. of fertilizer = 4,650 lbs. total batch weight
Determine % guaranteed analysis of fertilizer:
Formula: Fertilizer Weight / Total Batch Weight X 100* = % by Weight of Nutrient
100 lbs. N / 4,650 lbs. batch = 0.0215 X 100 = 2.2% Nitrogen
0 lbs. P / 4,650 lbs. batch = 0.00 X 100 = 0% Phosphorus
25 lbs. K / 4,650 lbs. batch = 0.0054 X 100 = 0.5% Potassium
Guaranteed Analysis of Batch = 2.2 – 0 – 0.5 (N – P – K)
*The number 100 is a constant used to convert the concentration to a percentage (%) value.
Fertilizer manufacturers are required to develop a product label containing specific information.
Packaged fertilizer label:
- Name and address of the manufacturer or distributor
- Product name
- Fertilizer grade (primary nutrients N, P, K)
- Guaranteed analysis
- Net weight of fertilizer in the package
- Use directions and relevant hazard caution statments
Bulk fertilizer label:
- Name and address of the manufacturer or distributor
- Name and address of recipient
- Date of delivery
- Product name, if any
- Fertilizer grade (primary nutrients N, P, K)
- Guaranteed analysis
- Net weight of each lot or load
Example Fertilizer Label:
PackageBusiness Name
101 Street Address
City, WI, 50000
(123) 456-7890
| Special Lawn Blend 2.2 – 0 – 0.5
Guaranteed Analysis
Total Nitrogen (N)…….. 2.2%
0.5% Urea Nitrogen
Total Phosphorus (P)… 0.0%
Total Potassium (K)……0.5% Derived from urea and muriate of potash
|
Use
Directions: Turf: Apply at a rate of 2 gallons per 1,000 sq. ft.
|
Net weight 40 lbs.
|
Bulk statement for each delivery
Business Name
101 Street Address
City, WI, 50000
(123) 456-7890
| Special Lawn Blend 2.2 – 0 – 0.5
Guaranteed Analysis
Total Nitrogen (N)…….. 2.2%
0.5% Urea Nitrogen
Total Phosphorus (P)… 0.0%
Total Potassium (K)……0.5% Derived from urea and muriate of potash
|
Customer:
John Smith
123 Oak St.
Town, WI 54123
|
Use
directions as applicable
|
| Date of delivery:
June 1, 2022
| |
Net weight 40 lbs.
|
Videos for Lawn Care Businesses and Consumers
Video about requirements for lawn care services:
| Video about how to choose a lawn care service:
|