Clarification on “Not Registered for Use by CA” and Similar Statements on Pesticide Labels

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (U.S. EPA) and California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) have made recent changes to policy on state-specific language on pesticide labels intended to reduce delays related to state-specific uses. Pesticides must be registered for sale and use with the U.S. EPA prior to California registration. DPR conducts a scientific evaluation in addition to U.S. EPA’s evaluation. During the evaluation process, DPR may determine there is not sufficient data to support registration of a specific use in California. In these instances, registrants may submit data to support the use or choose to revise their label to add a qualifying statement removing the specific use in California. Historically, registrants have revised their label by adding the statement “Not for Use in California.” The revision to the label must first be accepted by U.S. EPA before it can be accepted by DPR, often leading to delays in the registration process. This California Notice is intended to clarify options to expedite the addition of state-specific label statements based on recent guidance from U.S. EPA.