Selling commercial animal feed in the United States means satisfying two layers of regulation: a federal layer run by the FDA, and a state layer run by each state's feed control official. Companies routinely get caught out by the state layer, because you generally need to be licensed or registered in every state where your product is distributed, not just where it is made.

This guide covers livestock and commercial feed. Pet food and speciality pet food follow the same structure but with additional per-product registration schedules in many states.

The federal layer (FDA)

Facility registration. If you manufacture, process, pack, or hold animal food for consumption in the US, your facility must be registered with the FDA under section 415 of the FD&C Act, and the registration must be renewed every other year. Farms are generally exempt.

FSMA Preventive Controls for Animal Food (21 CFR part 507). Registered facilities must follow Current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements (subpart B), and, unless exempt, conduct a hazard analysis and implement risk-based preventive controls with monitoring, corrective actions, and verification. Businesses meeting the "qualified facility" definition (typically very small businesses) follow the CGMP requirements and modified requirements, but are exempt from the full preventive controls framework. They must attest to this status in their facility registration.

Medicated feed. Feeds containing veterinary drugs bring in 21 CFR part 558. If you manufacture feed from Category II, Type A medicated articles you need a medicated feed mill licence, and anyone distributing feed containing a Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) drug must notify the FDA before first distribution and keep distribution records for two years. See our separate VFD guide for the full breakdown.

The state layer

Every state regulates commercial feed, in most cases through a feed law based on the AAFCO Model Bill administered by the state department of agriculture or a state chemist's office. AAFCO itself is a standards body, and holds no regulatory authority; the states do the enforcing.

There is no uniformity in registration and licensing between states. The common building blocks are:

Firm or facility licensing. The company (as guarantor on the label) or each distributing facility holds a licence, renewed annually in most states.

Product registration. Each product/label is registered with the state, most commonly applied to pet food and small packages.

Tonnage and inspection fees. Most states fund their feed programmes with a fee per ton distributed in the state, reported quarterly, twice-yearly, or annually.

Three verified examples show the spread:

  • Texas (Office of the Texas State Chemist, Texas A&M): a one-time facility licence of $75, plus annual registration of $50 per product for packages of 5 lb or less. No facility may distribute feed in Texas until licensing is confirmed.
  • California (CDFA Commercial Feed Regulatory Program): an annual commercial feed licence of $500 per facility (July to June year), plus an inspection tonnage fee, currently $0.12 per ton.
  • Iowa (Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Commercial Feed & Fertilizer Bureau): licensing of the label guarantor with online application and renewal, plus per-package registration for small pet food packages.

Fees and thresholds change. Treat the numbers above as illustrations of the structure, and confirm current figures with the state programme before budgeting.

What this means in practice

  1. Register your facility with the FDA and note your renewal window.
  2. Classify yourself under 21 CFR 507: full preventive controls, or qualified facility.
  3. List every state your products will ship into, including drop-shipments and distributor territories.
  4. For each state, check whether you need a firm licence, product registrations, or both, and what tonnage reporting applies.
  5. Assign ownership of renewals and tonnage reports. Missed renewals are the most common enforcement trigger.

Find your state programme

For a detailed comparison of all fifty states (licence models, tonnage rates, renewal dates), see our state-by-state comparison guide. AAFCO maintains the authoritative directory of state feed control officials and a State Regulatory Requirement Summary covering registration and licensing requirements per state:

Sources

This guide is general information for industry professionals, not legal advice. Requirements and fees change; confirm with the FDA and the relevant state programme.