Mill Assessment
What is Mill Assessment?
California assesses a fee on all pesticide sales into the State, starting at the point of first sale. A “mill” is equal to one-tenth of a cent. California’s mill assessment is currently 24.5 mills or 2.45 cents per dollar sales. Pesticide registrants, pest control dealers, and pesticide brokers who sell pesticides into or within California must be registered or licensed with California and pay mill assessment fees.
Mill will be increasing each year for the next few years.
From July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, inclusive, the rate shall be 27 mills ($0.027) per dollar sales of all sales of registered pesticides for use in this state plus any additional assessment authorized by Section 12841.1.
From July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027, inclusive, the rate shall be 29 mills ($0.029) per dollar sales of all sales of registered pesticides for use in this state plus any additional assessment authorized by Section 12841.1.
On and after July 1, 2027, the rate shall be 30 mills ($0.030) per dollar sales of all sales of registered pesticides for use in this state plus any additional assessment authorized by Section 12841.1.
We do anticipate the additional assessment authorized by Section 12841.1 will increase to 1.04 mills ($0.00104) in 2026.
Why Do We Charge a Mill Assessment?
The mill assessment supports our mission to protect human health and the environment by supporting the Department’s pesticide regulatory programs.
How Does Mill Assessment Work?
The mill assessment program is a self-assessment system. Each quarter, we send reporting forms to pesticide registrants, licensed pest control dealers, and licensed pesticide brokers for these entities to report their sales. Completed forms are due to us within 30 days of the end of the quarter.
MillPay
The MillPay system is a secure, online portal that will accept electronic payments, including EFT, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. MillPay also accepts payments by check.
MillPay registrants, brokers, and dealers may submit pesticide sales data from a pre-populated list of pesticide products or upload a file of all pesticide products, sales, and quantity amounts directly to the MillPay website.
MillPay includes automatic calculations, online payment options, and the ability to view or print recent reports.
Registering for MillPay
- Companies must provide DPR with an Authorized MillPay User letter (up to three persons) for each firm and/or license number (See Template Letter, PDF). This letter must be on company letterhead and mailed to DPR or emailed to MillPay@cdpr.ca.gov.
- Request a MillPay account online.
- Once DPR Staff approves your account, you can begin reporting your pesticide product sales online and paying Mill Assessment fees using MillPay
The credit card processing vendor will charge a service fee of 2.7% to users who pay mill assessments via a credit card. The vendor retains the service fee, which is not the revenue of DPR.
Contact the Mill Assessment Office
Mill Assessment Forms
Forms for individuals signing up for Mill Assessment.
Pesticide Container Recycling Program
California established a law for recycling rigid, non-refillable, high-density, polyethylene (HDPE) pesticide containers of 55 gallons or less.
FAC 12841.4 requires every registrant of any production agricultural- or structural-use pesticide product sold for use in California to participate in a recycling program. California designed recycling requirements to enhance and strengthen existing voluntary efforts to recycle HDPE containers and divert used containers away from landfills.
How to Recycle
Identify HDPE containers by the embossed #2 recycling symbol found on the bottom of the plastic container. They need to be triple-rinsed before they are eligible for recycling. Collected containers are then chipped and used to make things such as fence posts, pallets, speed bumps, marine pilings, drain tiles, and various other industrial supplies. There are several recycling providers and locations in California. For a list of these providers, please send us an email.
Contact: millassessment@cdpr.ca.gov
Recycling Rate
We are responsible for estimating the recycling rate for HDPE containers. The rate consists of a three-year rolling average calculated by dividing the “actual pounds of HDPE containers collected in California” by the “pounds of HDPE containers sold into California.” We currently use data from the Ag Container Recycling Council to calculate this rate, which represents approximately 90% of the containers recycled in California.
The Estimated Recycling Rate is 50% based on a three-year rolling average for years 2019, 2020 and 2021. We use the most recent data to complete the three-year rolling average. Many factors may impact the accuracy of the recycling rate (including, by not limited to):
- Products sold in California and then resold in other states
- Weather impacts
- Container size trends
- Crop changes
- Inventory carryover
Pesticide Recycling Program Resources
Tools to better understand our pesticide recycling program.
Recycling for Homeowners
Find out more information on the disposal and recycling of homeowner-use pesticides and pesticide containers see information below.
Website: search.earth911.com
Phone: 1 (800) CLEAN-UP
2023 Mill Assessment Study
We receive a majority of our resources through the DPR Fund—80% of which comes from the mill assessment levied on the sale of registered pesticides at the point of first sale into the state.
In order to inform our budget, we conducted a mill assessment study that examined the existing structure and rate of our mill assessment system. The study concluded in 2023 and offered greater insight into reforming the future of our mill assessment system.
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Still have a Question or Need More Information?
Please contact us with questions or visit the Contact Us page on our website to connect with other programs at DPR.
Email: millassessment@cdpr.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 445-4159
Mill Assessment Office
1001 I Street, P.O. Box 4015
Sacramento, CA 95814-4015