By Christina Wilkinson
Last updated on February 18, 2026
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has released a new Notice to Stakeholders which provides clarifications and updates to the scope of label or formulation changes accepted by amendment, notification, or non-notification in their state. The criteria are similar but not identical to the U.S. EPA’s process.
Background on the three different methods for revising a product label or formulation:
Amendments – Must be reviewed and accepted by DPR prior to distribution and sale in California. FIFRA-related changes fall under this category, such as adding pests, revising the directions for use, or adding new product formulations.
Notifications – Allow the registrant to distribute and sell in California once the notification is received by DPR. Most Non-FIFRA-related changes fall under this category, such as deleting use sites or adding graphics.
Non-Notifications – No submission to DPR required.
We encourage you to review the entire notice, but below are just some of the notable clarifications:
Label revisions now clarified as being allowed via Notification (“submit and go”)
- Minor corrections or clarifications that DPR specified could be implemented at the next label update. Examples include adding “virus” after virus names or updating nomenclature of organisms.
Label revisions now allowed via Non-Notification (no submission required before distributing/selling)
- Changing a company name, phone number, and/or address on the label as long as there was no change in ownership. The company profile at DPR must still be updated with the changes, which can now be done via CalPEST.
- Adding/revising other governmental-required labeling – examples: Prop 65, “Do Not Flush” logo, DOT symbols/graphics
- Adding, revising, or deleting multilingual translations of the accepted English labeling elements
- Revising, adding or deleting minor or Non-FIFRA related label elements – examples: company/brand logos, program logos such as DfE and NSF, recycling logos, trademark notations
- Correcting typos or printing errors
- Redesigning label format as long as the changes do not modify label text – examples: changes from paragraphs to bullets/chart, changes in color/style, configuration or placement of label elements, inclusion of packaging-related statements such as “peel here” and “open here”
- Adding, revising or deleting non-pesticidal characteristics:
- Non-pesticidal effectiveness claims such as “cleans”, “whitens”, “eliminates odors”
- Price claims, such as “great value”, “bonus size”
- Country of origin statements
- Adding or removing “new” from the label
- Changing package size and net contents (if there are no correlating changes to other FIFRA-related labeling elements, such as Storage & Disposal or the Directions for Use) or adding container labels with new package sizes (if the text is identical to currently accepted labels)
Formula revisions now allowed via Non-Notification (no submission required before utilizing new formula)
- Correcting typos or printing errors
- Changing source of active ingredient to another registered source with no resulting change in inert ingredients
- Changing source or manufacturing information of inert ingredients
- Changes in component brand names
DPR notes that they will not issue any refunds for pending submissions that have changes that are now qualified as non-notifications, but those submissions can be withdrawn if desired. For pending amendment submissions with changes that are now qualified as notifications, the registrant may proceed to distribute before DPR approval.
Questions about how these changes will affect your current or pending projects? Contact your SRC consultant for help!
