Commercial Feed Inspection Fee Reporting

Every registrant or licensee is required to submit a Semi-Annual Commercial Feed Inspection Fee Report on the forms provided below. The report must be filed regardless of the amount of feed distributed or inspection fees owed.

The initial distributor of a commercial feed in or into Washington is responsible for paying the inspection fee unless the feed is distributed to a responsible buyer or if the product is a pet food and is distributed in less than ten pound packages.

If you manufacture commercial feed in Washington, and you are not a responsible buyer, you are required to pay inspection fees on only that portion of the manufactured feed for which fees have not already been paid. For example, if you purchase and use canola meal as one of the ingredients in your feed, you are not required to pay inspection fees for that portion of your feed since inspection fees have already been paid by the initial distributor of the canola meal.

Only those companies that are on the responsible buyers list can be exempted to by the initial distributor. These companies are required to report and pay inspection fees on all commercial feed they receive.

Note: A responsible buyer can exempt to another responsible buyer. The inspection fee must be paid by the last responsible buyer to distribute the commercial feed.

If you distributed a feed and are required to pay, the minimum inspection fee is $12.50. If you did not distribute any feed into the state, then the minimum inspection fee does not apply, however you must still file an inspection fee report claiming zero distribution.

Semi-Annual Report forms are mailed out on the following schedule:

• January - June: forms are mailed out June 1st of every year with the commercial feed license renewal application.
  • January - June reports are due in the office by July 31st.
• July - December: forms are mailed out by the second week of December.
  • July - December reports are due in the office by January 31st.

It is your responsibility to report on time.

Please make sure that your contact information is up to date in our records so that we can ensure a timely delivery of your reporting forms.

If you did not receive your Semi-Annual Report by the middle of June or the end of December; you can find the forms online or contact the department at (360) 902-1942.

Any registrant or licensee who fails to file a complete report and/or pay the inspection fee by the due date is required to pay a late fee equal to 15% of the inspection fee owed or $50, whichever is greater.

Once the department has processed all Semi-Annual Reports submitted for the reporting period, companies that failed to submit a report will be sent a delinquent notice. Any company submitting a late report is subject to late fees.

A responsible buyer is a licensee who has agreed to be responsible for submitting the semi-annual report and paying inspection fees for all commercial feeds they distribute.

To become a responsible buyer, complete form 4304 Application for Responsible Buyer Status or contact the department and request the application. Once you've completed the form and sent it in, you will be added to the Responsible Buyer List.

As mentioned above, it is normally the initial distributor that pays the inspection fee on commercial feed they distribute into the state.

As a responsible buyer you are now responsible for paying the inspection fees on all commercial feed you distribute (unless exempted to another responsible buyer). You will also need to report who you purchased product from.

The following are the forms a responsible buyer is required to complete:
Please request inspection fee report forms from the department by email at feedreg@agr.wa.gov.