The small producer exemption, state by state
Every state exempts small producers. No two states define small the same way, and in California you have to apply for it.
Every enacted US packaging EPR programme carries a de minimis exemption, and every one of them draws the line differently. If you take one thing from this page, take this: an exemption in one state has no bearing on any other, and in California it is something you apply for rather than something you simply qualify for.
| State | Revenue test | Tonnage test | Exempt if under | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon SB 582 (Recycling Modernization Act) | $5,000,000 global revenue | 1 tonne into the state | either test | charging now |
| Colorado HB 22-1355 | $500,000 global revenue | 1 tonne into the state | either test | charging now |
| California SB 54 (Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act) | $1,000,000 in-state gross sales | — | either test | Jan 2027 |
| Washington E2SSB 5284 (Recycling Reform Act) | $5,000,000 global revenue | — | either test | Jul 2029 |
| Maryland SB 901 | $2,000,000 global revenue | 1 tonne into the state | either test | Jan 2028 |
| Minnesota HF 3911 (Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act) | $2,000,000 global revenue | 1 tonne into the state | either test | Feb 2029 |
| Maine LD 1541 / LD 1423 | $2,000,000 global revenue | 1 tonne into the state | either test | Dec 2026 |
How to read the table
Revenue test. Most states measure your global revenue. California measures gross annual sales, at a threshold five times lower than Oregon’s and Washington’s.
Tonnage test. One metric tonne of covered material supplied into that state in the previous year. Covered material means packaging, and in several states also paper and foodservice ware. A tonne is less than it sounds: a brand shipping 80,000 corrugated shippers a year is already past it on that component alone.
Either or both. All seven states exempt you if you fall under either test. Minnesota’s de minimis provision is sometimes summarised as requiring both — it does not; the statute at Minn. Stat. § 115A.1441 subd. 13 applies the exemption on either criterion, as Fredrikson & Byron sets out. We had this wrong ourselves until we checked it against the statute rather than a summary table.
California: the exemption you have to ask for
CalRecycle’s guidance is explicit. A producer that believes it is under the $1M line must first register in the Packaging EPR Producer Reporting System (PEPRS), and then submit a small producer exemption application. There is no passive route.
And the exemption is narrower than it looks. CalRecycle notes that exemption from reporting and fees does not release a small producer from the substantive obligation underneath SB 54 — all covered packaging still has to be recyclable or compostable by 2032. An exemption today is relief from paperwork, not from the packaging redesign the statute is driving at.
Colorado has a middle tier
Colorado exempts producers under $500,000 in revenue outright, and creates a separate low-volume producer track for those under roughly $5.5M. That is a materially lighter obligation than full producer status, and it is easy to miss because it sits between the two states everyone reads about first.
Three things an exemption does not do
- It does not travel. Seven states, seven tests. Run each one.
- It does not persist. The tests are applied annually. A new retail account, a strong year, or a heavier pack can put you over without anything else changing.
- It does not excuse silence. Several states expect an exempt producer to identify itself rather than simply not appear. California requires it formally.