Registration of Pesticides - Frequently Asked Questions
Q2. What Pesticides does CRD Regulate?
Q3. What Legislation deals with Pesticides?
Q4. Do Organic, Natural or Bio pesticides have to be Registered?
Q5. How do I register a Product/What Data is Required to Register a Product?
Q6. How do I Register a Specific Off Label Approval (SOLA)?
Q7. How much does it Cost to Register a Pesticide Product?
Q8. How Long Does it Take to Register a Product?
Q9. How do I go about Importing a Pesticide Product for my Own Use in the UK?
Q10. How do I go about Importing a Pesticide Product so I can Sell it in the UK?
Q11. I want to make a Change to my Current Product, what do I Need to do?
Q12. I want to Know How to Label My Product.
Q13. Why is the EC Reviewing Pesticides?.
Q14. What does MAFF or MAPP mean?
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What are Pesticides?
Pesticide is a broad term, covering a range of products that are used to control pests. Slug pellets, ant powder, weed killers, rat and mouse baits are all pesticides. Other pesticides you may have heard of include:
- insect killers (insecticides),
- mould and fungi killers (fungicides),
- weed-killers (herbicides),
- slug pellets (molluscicides),
- plant growth regulators,
- bird and animal repellents and
- rat and mouse killers (rodenticides).
Further information on pesticides.
Q2. What Pesticides does CRD Regulate?
CRD regulates pesticides for use in plant protection, used in agriculture, horticulture and the home garden situation. Further information on the scope of the regulations for these products can be found in A brief guide to the process of registering a pesticide available on this website.
Non-agricultural pesticides and biocides are also regulated by CRD. However, information about these products is held on the main HSE website at the following link: http://www.hse.gov.uk/biocides/index.htm
Link to page with further information on CRD's Pesticides responsibilties.
Q3. What Legislation deals with Pesticides?
The current legislation concerning agricultural, horticultural and home garden pesticides in the UK is:
- (Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA).
- Control of Pesticides Regulations (COPR).
- Plant Protection Products Regulations (PPPR).
- The Pesticide (Maximum Levels in Crops, Food and Feedingstuffs) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 (as amended).
Legislation concerning biocides and non-agricultural pesticides can be found on the main HSE website at the following link: http://www.hse.gov.uk/biocides/index.htm
Q4. Do Organic, Natural or Bio pesticides have to be Registered?
All pesticides must be approved for use in the UK. This includes organic, natural or bio pesticides. Please see the question 'How do I register a product/What data is required to register a product' for further details on registering agricultural, horticultural and home garden pesticides.
Macro-organisms e.g predatory insects are excluded from the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986 (as amended) (COPR) and the Plant Protection Products Regulations 2003 for England and Wales. Therefore, macro-organisms do not require registration from CRD.
The use of macro-organisms which are non-indigenous species to the UK, falls under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1985 (as amended). The use of such organisms, therefore, requires a licence.
Plant Protection Products containing viable micro-organisms (e.g. biologicals) as the active substance also require approval under pesticide regulations. Further information on biologicals can be found on our website.
Q5. How do I register a Product/ What Data is Required to Register a Product?
Gaining approval of a pesticide can be very complex and may be expensive. In the first instance you should refer to our website for details on how to gain approval of a pesticide (nb. this website deals with agricultural, horticultural and home garden pesticides).
If you refer initially to the Registration Overview, this will give you a summary of how to make an application for approval. This provides a website page, which will link to further more detailed sections of our website which you may find useful. You may also wish to refer to our Applicant Guide, Data Requirements Handbook and Labelling Handbook.
Before you make an application for approval we can give you guidance on what information/ data you will need to submit, how much it is likely to cost and the timescale involved. In order to do this however we will require as much information as possible about your proposed product. Such as:
- Active substance,
- Formulation type,
- Whether it is for professional or amateur use,
- Crops/Situation to be used on,
- Target pest/disease/weed,
- Rates of application,
- Details of container.
The more information you provide the easier it is for us to help you. All information provided will be treated as confidential. If you would like us to provide further advice please contact our Applicant Enquiry Team.
Q6. How do I Register a Specific Off Label Approval (SOLA)?
For information on how to register a Specific Off Label Approval, please refer to our Applicant Guide.
Q7. How much does it Cost to Register a Pesticide Product?
This depends upon what type of application you are making. Simple changes to pesticides, for example a change in the product name, can be considered in an Administrative application. However, if you wanted to add an entirely new crop to the label or change the field of use from agricultural to home garden, this would require more detailed consideration and the evaluation of data, subsequently the fee would be higher.
Each application is considered on a case-by-case basis and the relevant fee determined. Details of our fees can be found on our website.
Q8. How Long Does it Take to Register a Product?
This depends upon the nature of the application you make and what changes you request. For example, a simple change in product name will take less time than a change in field of use from a professional product to a home garden. The length of time to complete an evaluation is very much a case-by-case basis. Details of the current processing times can be found in our Applicant Guide.
Q9. How do I go about Importing a Pesticide Product for my Own Use in the UK?
If you wish to bring a pesticide product into the United Kingdom (UK) which is the same as one which is already approved here, then you may be able to apply for an own-use parallel import.
If you wish to bring into the UK a pesticide product which is not the same as one which is already approved here in the UK, then you will need to gain commercial approval for this product. For further details please see the question 'How do I register a product/What data is required to register a product?'.
Q10. How do I go about Importing a Pesticide Product so I can Sell it in the UK?
If you wish to bring a pesticide product into the UK which is the same as one which is already approved here, then you may be able to apply for a parallel import.
If you wish to bring into the UK a pesticide product which is not the same as one which is already approved here in the UK, then you will need to gain commercial approval for this product. For further details please see the question 'How do I register a product/What data is required to register a product?'.
Guidance on how to apply for a parallel import is available on our website.
Q11. I want to make a Change to my Current Product, what do I Need to do?
Depending on what changes you wish to make you will need to come in with an application. Information on how changes will be processed can be found in our Applicant Guide.
Q12. I want to Know How to Label My Product
Our Labelling Handbook provides guidance on how to label your product, such as size, graphics, text etc.
Q13. Why is the EC Reviewing Pesticides?
The aim of the EC Review is to harmonise the use of pesticides throughout the European Community. Under this review existing active substances are considered for inclusion on a 'positive list' called Annex 1. This is where the active substances have been shown to be without unacceptable risk to people or the environment.
Q14. What does MAFF or MAPP mean?
Each product must carry a unique product registration number which is allocated upon issue of the first commercial approval for that product. It is this registration number which (for agricultural, horticultural and home garden products) is also referred to as a MAFF or MAPP number.
‘MAPP’ stands for ‘Ministerially Approved Pesticide Product’ number. It is issued for all new products given approval on or after 1 July 1999, or where approval is given for a significant change in identity for an existing product on or after 1 July 1999.
All agricultural, horticultural or home garden pesticide products which were given approval before 1 July 1999 were issued with a ‘MAFF’ registration number. 'MAFF' refers to Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The devolution of Scotland and Wales lead to the MAPP numbers being used instead.
The Applicant Guide provides more details on why there was a change from MAFF to MAPP numbers.