Office of Indiana State Chemist
Verified September 7, 2026. Figures quoted from the statute, rule, fee page or form.
Indiana counts pet food as commercial feed and licenses both the firm and, for small packages, the products. IC 15-19-7-24 requires a commercial feed license for each Indiana manufacturing location, at $50 per calendar year, and the Office of Indiana State Chemist says everyone must be licensed regardless of company size or amount distributed. Each pet food distributed in containers of ten pounds or less is then listed at $50 per product per calendar year in place of the tonnage fee, renewed before January 1. The office asks to review every label before printing. Indiana's home-based vendor rules are limited to human food, and the Department of Health sends pet treat makers to the state chemist.
| Item | What Indiana says | Cite |
|---|---|---|
| Firm instrument | YesCommercial feed license issued by the state chemist, applied for on Form F-1, one per Indiana manufacturing location | IC 15-19-7-24(a) (Distributors; commercial feed licenses) |
| Firm fee | Yes$50 per license per calendar year (January 1 to December 31, renewal received after January 16 carries a further $50 late filing fee, and distributing before filing carries a $50 late filing fee) | IC 15-19-7-24(c)(1)-(3) (licence fee and both late fees) |
| Firm fee period | YesCalendar year; the license is issued for a calendar year and expires December 31 of the year for which it was issued | IC 15-19-7-24(c) |
| What one firm instrument covers | YesThe license reaches a person who manufactures a commercial feed or whose name appears on the label, and each location that manufactures commercial feed in Indiana must have its own license | IC 15-19-7-24(a) (Distributors; commercial feed licenses) |
| Product registration | DependsA distributor subject to the small-package inspection fee must file a listing of pet and specialty pet foods distributed in containers of ten pounds or less, renewed annually before January 1, at $50 per product; a product distributed only in packages over ten pounds is not listed and pays tonnage instead, and a company selling the same recipe in a two pound bag and a six pound bag owes both the small-package fee on the small bag and tonnage on the larger one | IC 15-19-7-31(c) and (c)(1) |
| Fee per product | Yes$50 per product per calendar year for packages of ten pounds or less, renewed before January 1, with a $10 per product late filing fee if the renewal is received after January 16 or an unlisted product is distributed | IC 15-19-7-31(c)(1) |
| Product registration period | YesAnnual, calendar year; the listing is renewed before January 1 of each year | IC 15-19-7-31(c)(1) |
| Small package threshold | YesPackages of ten pounds or less, tested package by package, so the same recipe sold in a two pound bag and a six pound bag pays the $50 annual small-package fee on the small bag and the tonnage fee on the larger one | IC 15-19-7-30(b), inside the section 30 fee run |
| Small package fee | Yes$50 per product per calendar year in place of the tonnage inspection fee, for pet food and specialty pet food distributed in packages of ten pounds or less | IC 15-19-7-30(b) (amount and substitution) |
| Tonnage fee applies | DependsYes for products not prepackaged, sold in bulk or by piece, or in packages over ten pounds, at $0.40 per ton per calendar quarter with a $5 minimum per quarter; a company selling the same recipe in both small and large packages owes both the small-package fee and tonnage | OISC handout "Indiana Pet Treat Sales", p.1 |
| Tonnage rate | Yes$0.40 per ton on all commercial feeds distributed into or within Indiana | IC 15-19-7-30(a) (Inspection fees) |
| Tonnage minimum | Yes$5 per tonnage filer per calendar quarter, where a quarterly feed tonnage report is required | IC 15-19-7-30(a)(4), inside the section 30 fee run |
| Tonnage reporting | YesQuarterly tonnage reports of net tons distributed in the preceding calendar quarter, filed not later than January 31, April 30, July 31 and October 31, with payment; fees not remitted within fifteen days after the due date carry a penalty of ten percent of the amount due or $50, whichever is greater | IC 15-19-7-31(a) (Quarterly tonnage reports) |
| Label goes in with the filing | YesOISC states that all product labels must be reviewed by its office before printing expenses occur, and a copy of every label goes in with the license application and the small-package product list | OISC handout "Indiana Pet Treat Sales", p.3 |
| Out-of-state sellers | YesAn out-of-state distributor may not cause a commercial feed to be distributed in Indiana without a commercial feed license issued by the state chemist | IC 15-19-7-24(b) |
Three flavors, every one of them sold in packages of 10 lb or less, licensed and listed in the same calendar year.
Every figure above is multiplied out from the figures printed beside it, and each of those comes from a quote in the table. Laboratory work for the guaranteed analysis, packaging, a sales tax permit and a business entity filing are separate costs from separate agencies and are not counted here.
File Form F-1, the commercial feed license application
One license per Indiana manufacturing location, and the license also reaches a person whose name appears on the label. The fee is $50 per calendar year and the license expires December 31. Distributing before the application is filed carries a $50 late filing fee, and so does a renewal received after January 16.
Send every label to the office before you print
The office states that all product labels must be reviewed by its office before printing expenses occur. A copy of every label goes in with the license application and with the small-package product list, so the review is part of the filing rather than a separate fee.
List every small-package product
A distributor subject to the small-package inspection fee files a listing of pet and specialty pet foods distributed in containers of ten pounds or less, at $50 per product per calendar year, renewed before January 1. A renewal received after January 16, or an unlisted product distributed, carries a $10 per product late filing fee.
Decide whether a quarterly tonnage report applies
Products not prepackaged, sold in bulk or by piece, or in packages over ten pounds pay $0.40 per ton with a $5 minimum per calendar quarter, reported by January 31, April 30, July 31 and October 31. A company selling the same recipe in a two pound bag and a twelve pound bag owes the small-package fee on the small bag and tonnage on the larger one.
Put the Indiana label items on every bag
The product and brand name, the species conspicuously designated, and the quantity statement all sit on the principal display panel. Add the guaranteed analysis, the ingredient statement by AAFCO name and definition, the guarantor's name and address, and the intended use, Treat, Snack or Supplement, on the front, which the office requires.
Renew both by the end of December
The license and the product listing both run on the calendar year and both renew before January 1, with January 16 as the date after which the late fees start: $50 on the license and $10 per product on the listing.
The $50 listing fee covers pet food distributed in packages of ten pounds or less, tested package by package. Bulk, by-the-piece and over-ten-pound sales pay tonnage at $0.40 per ton with a $5 minimum per quarter, and a company selling both sizes owes both the listing fee and the tonnage.
IC 15-19-7-2(b) keeps raw meat outside commercial feed only when it is unground and not mixed with other materials, and the office adds that the exemption holds only while the product is not adulterated and the label makes no nutritional claim. A raw treat sold with a guaranteed analysis or a nutrition claim is commercial feed.
The Indiana license and listing cover distribution into or within Indiana. Every other state runs its own feed law with its own instrument and its own fee, and AAFCO states that shipping product into a state in response to an internet purchase counts as distribution there.
The license reaches a person who manufactures a commercial feed or whose name appears on the label, so a shop reselling another firm's labeled feed is outside it and a maker who bakes and labels their own treats is inside it. The office applies that to farmers market sales in one pound bags, and it says it does not inspect a home kitchen under normal circumstances, only on a customer complaint.
Indiana defines pet treat only in the glossary of the Form F-1 instructions, as a commercial feed provided to a pet as a reward or snack and not intended as complete feed. The statute carves nothing out for chews, so a chew sold as a treat is listed, labeled and fee-paid like any other product unless the office says otherwise in writing.
IC 15-19-7-40(8) makes it a prohibited act to distribute an animal feed stated, promoted or advertised as suitable for human food unless it meets all federal, state and local health and labeling requirements for human consumption. Human grade on a treat label is a claim with a statutory test behind it, not a marketing flourish.
| Item | What Indiana says | Cite |
|---|---|---|
| Required label items | YesProduct and brand name required on the principal display panel (IC 15-19-7-25.4(a)(1) with 27.5); species designation required, the species of pet or specialty pet conspicuously designated on the principal display panel (25.4(a)(2)); quantity statement required on the principal display panel (25.4(a)(3)); guaranteed analysis required (25.4(a)(4) with 29.5); ingredient statement required, ingredients identified by AAFCO name and definition (25.4(a)(5) with 25.5); nutritional adequacy or purpose statement required except when the dog or cat food is clearly and conspicuously identified on the principal display panel as a snack or treat (25.4(a)(6) with 25.7(c)); feeding directions required only for dog or cat food labeled as complete and balanced (25.4(a)(7) with 25.8(a)); calorie content statement not required by Ind. Code ch. 15-19-7; guarantor name and address of the manufacturer or distributor required (25.4(a)(8) with 28.2); precautionary statements not separately listed in 25.4(a), the drug and warning requirements sitting elsewhere in the chapter; OISC additionally instructs treat makers to put the intended use, Treat, Snack or Supplement, on the front of the label | IC 15-19-7-25.4(a)(1)-(8) (Pet food and specialty pet food label requirements), sliced plain-text extract |
| Guaranteed analysis | YesA pet food or specialty pet food label must list minimum crude protein, minimum crude fat, maximum crude fat where required by IC 15-19-7-28.1, maximum crude fiber, maximum moisture, with additional guarantees following moisture | IC 15-19-7-29.5(a)(1)(A)-(F) (Listing of guaranteed analysis) |
| What a treat is excused from | DependsA dog or cat food clearly and conspicuously identified on the principal display panel as a snack or treat needs no statement of nutritional adequacy or purpose (IC 15-19-7-25.7(c)) and, not being labeled complete and balanced, owes no feeding directions either (IC 15-19-7-25.8(a)); nothing else is waived, and OISC requires the intended use, Treat, Snack or Supplement, on the front of the label | IC 15-19-7-25.7(c) |
| AAFCO text adopted | YesAAFCO ingredient names and definitions are mandatory on the label (IC 15-19-7-25.5(a)(3)) and the AAFCO Model Regulations for Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food, as published in the 2026 Official Publication, are the standard for a label review on request (IC 15-19-7-47(a)); no AAFCO Official Publication is in the snapshot | IC 15-19-7-25.5(a)(3) (Ingredient statement) |
| AAFCO edition | YesThe 2026 Official Publication of AAFCO, for the model bill only; that publication is not in the snapshot | IC 15-19-7-47(a) |
The full item list, both AAFCO editions and the exceptions are in the label guide, and the laboratory side of the guarantees is in where to get a guaranteed analysis.
IC 15-19-7-24(b) says an out-of-state distributor may not cause a commercial feed to be distributed in Indiana without a commercial feed license issued by the state chemist, so a maker elsewhere shipping to Indiana buyers takes the Indiana license and, for small packages, the Indiana listing. The same logic points the other way when you ship out of Indiana: the destination state's feed law applies there.
A home kitchen is outside FDA facility registration.
Facility means any establishment, structure, or structures under one ownership at one general physical location, or, in the case of a mobile facility, traveling to multiple locations, that manufactures/processes, packs, or holds food for consumption in the United States. [...] The private residence of an individual is not a facility.
Federal package rules still apply to every bag you sell.
Ingredients required to be declared on the label of a food [...] shall be listed by common or usual name in descending order of predominance by weight on either the principal display panel or the information panel in accordance with the provisions of § 501.2 .
Your state label rules come from an AAFCO model, not from FDA.
Pet food labeling is regulated at two levels. The current FDA regulations require proper identification of the product, net quantity statement, name, and place of business of the manufacturer or distributor, and proper listing of all the ingredients in the product from most to least, based on weight. Some states also enforce their own labeling regulations.
355 IAC 6, the Animal Foods rules, were transferred into Ind. Code ch. 15-19-7 with effect from July 2026. The office's pages and handouts still cite the old rule numbers and, in places, the repealed IC 15-5-3, and Forms F-1 and F-3 carry pre-transition revision dates. The requirements are the same; the citations on this page are the current statutory ones.
The Form F-1 instructions carry two revisions in our snapshot, and their glossary entries for pet treat do not match word for word. Neither is statute. The chapter itself defines no treat or snack, and uses the phrase snack or treat at IC 15-19-7-25.7(c) without defining it.
The record for Indiana carries 13 recorded gaps and 16 staleness flags from the reading pass. Those are about the documents, not about your product.
IC 15-19-7-40 makes the prohibited acts a Class A infraction, and the list includes failing to obtain a commercial feed license and failing to pay inspection fees or file reports. The money judgment for a Class A infraction sits in the general Indiana infraction sections, which we did not read. Inspection fees not remitted within fifteen days after the due date carry a penalty of ten percent of the amount due or $50, whichever is greater.
A sales tax permit comes from the revenue side of the state and lets you collect tax. It is not a feed instrument and no feed office issues it.
A business entity filing or a trading name registration comes from the secretary of state or the county. It records who you are. It says nothing about feed.
A local food handler card or a home kitchen permit belongs to the human food regime. Services that bundle these three and call the bundle a license are selling you paperwork you may well need, but not the instrument on this page.
The Indiana text we read gives no route around it. IC 15-19-7-24(a) licenses each location that manufactures commercial feed in Indiana and any person whose name appears on the label, pet food is commercial feed under 15-19-7-2, and the office's own deck for people who want to make and sell pet treats says everyone must be licensed regardless of company size or amount distributed.
No. Both Indiana home-production chapters are limited to human food, and the Indiana Department of Health states that the home based vendor rule is limited to human foods, with all pet treats and food regulated by the Office of Indiana State Chemist. Dog treats take the commercial feed license and the small-package listing instead.
Yes, the same one. The license attaches to manufacturing commercial feed in Indiana or having your name on the label, not to the channel. A marketplace listing, your own site and a market table all count. Shipping into other states adds their feed laws on top, and a buyer's state may want a license or registration of its own.
The commercial feed license is $50 per calendar year. Each pet food in packages of ten pounds or less is $50 per product per calendar year. Three flavors in small bags means $50 for the license and $50 three times over, which is $200 in the first year. Late fees are $50 on the license and $10 per product on the listing.
Yes, where the product is distributed in containers of ten pounds or less. IC 15-19-7-31(c) has the distributor file a listing of those products, renewed annually before January 1 at $50 per product, and a copy of each label goes in with it. A product sold only in packages over ten pounds is not listed and pays tonnage instead.
The product and brand name, the species conspicuously designated, and the quantity statement on the principal display panel; the guaranteed analysis with minimum crude protein, minimum crude fat, maximum crude fiber and maximum moisture; the ingredient statement using AAFCO names and definitions; the guarantor's name and address; and the intended use, Treat, Snack or Supplement, on the front. A dog food clearly identified as a snack or treat needs no nutritional adequacy statement and, not being labeled complete and balanced, no feeding directions. Nothing else is waived.
Statute: yes: Ind. Code ch. 15-19-7 (Commercial Feed), Secs. 15-19-7-0.5 through 15-19-7-47. Rules: yes: 355 IAC 6-1-1 to 6-2-11 (Animal Foods), transferred into Ind. Code ch. 15-19-7 on July 1, 2026. Agency: yes: Office of Indiana State Chemist and Seed Commissioner (program page).
Snapshot read and adjudicated September 7, 2026, record date 2026-09-07. 38 recorded facts for Indiana.
DogTreatLicense is an informational reference about state commercial feed laws as they apply to people who make and sell pet treats in the United States. It reprints instrument names, fees, thresholds, label items and citations from state statutes, rules, fee schedules and agency forms, together with the date each state was last verified. Nothing on this site is legal advice, and fees and rules change. Confirm with the state feed control office before you register or sell.
Read the terms before you rely on any figure here.