Pet food and treats are commercial feed under state law, so the license comes from the state feed control office, often the department of agriculture or a state chemist, not the health department. States do it one of two ways, and some do both: register each product, often every year with a fee per product, or license the facility that makes it. Then comes the feed label, with a guaranteed analysis of protein, fat, fiber and moisture that human food labels don't have, and the federal layer: FDA facility registration for a plant that makes animal food, and FDA's animal food rule, 21 CFR part 507, with lighter requirements for a business under $2,500,000 a year. Each state you sell into can have its own rules, which matters once a pet shop chain in another state calls. Texas, the example's state, licenses each feed facility, for up to $75, and charges $50 a year per product packed in containers of 5 pounds or less. In the example below, an Austin pet food maker sorts its licenses. Below are the layers, Texas's rules, the example, and a free checklist.
The short version
- Pet food and treats are commercial feed, licensed by the state feed control office.
- States register each product, license the facility, or both; fees are often per product.
- Each state you sell into can have its own registration.
- The label adds a guaranteed analysis: protein, fat, fiber, moisture.
- FDA facility registration for a plant that makes animal food.
- FDA's animal food rule, lighter for a business under $2,500,000 a year.
- Texas: a facility license up to $75, plus $50 a year per product in packages of 5 pounds or less.
- TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and which pet shops got it. More below.
The layers
| Layer | Who issues it | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | State | An LLC filing, or an assumed name |
| Sales tax | State revenue department | A permit, and which sales are taxable |
| Feed registration or license | State feed control office | Per product, per facility, or both; in each state you sell into |
| Inspection or tonnage fees | State feed control office | Per product or per ton, with reports |
| Feed label | State and FDA, 21 CFR part 501 | Name and address, brand, net quantity, guaranteed analysis, ingredients |
| FDA facility registration | FDA | For a facility making animal food, unless it's a retail food establishment |
| Animal food rule | FDA, 21 CFR part 507 | CGMPs, preventive controls, or a qualified facility's modified requirements |
The federal definitions are in 21 CFR 507.3, and the label's name and place of business in 21 CFR 501.5. This is general information, not legal advice.
Texas's rules
| Rule | Texas Agriculture Code, chapter 141 |
|---|---|
| Pet food is commercial feed | Any material used as a feed for an animal (141.002) |
| A facility license | For each facility that makes or distributes commercial feed, up to $75 by rule; a store selling others' labeled feed doesn't need one (141.021) |
| How long it lasts | Permanent, unless revoked, withdrawn, or a year passes with no activity (141.023) |
| Small packages | $50 a year for each product in containers of 5 pounds or less, per state fiscal year (141.071) |
| Bigger packages | 15 cents a ton, with a $100 minimum paid in advance (141.071) |
| Reports | Sworn tonnage reports, quarterly or yearly (141.072) |
| The label | Name and principal address, brand, net quantity, guaranteed analysis, each ingredient's common name (141.051) |
The statute is on the Texas Legislature's site. How another state does it, product by product, is in dog treat business license.
An example: an Austin pet food maker
Willow Creek Pet Co., the made-up pet company in Austin, Texas, I use in these examples, makes freeze-dried chicken toppers and salmon cat treats in a rented kitchen, sold online, at markets and to Austin pet shops:
| Layer | Status |
|---|---|
| Business name, an LLC | Done, January 2025 |
| Texas sales tax permit | Done, January 2025 |
| Feed facility license | Done, February 2025; permanent while active |
| Inspection fees, two products in 1 oz and 3 oz pouches | $100 paid September 2, 2026, for the fiscal year to August 2027 |
| Tonnage report | To check with the state chemist's office, for flat-fee products |
| Feed labels | Done: guaranteed analysis, ingredients, net weight, name and address |
| FDA facility registration | Done February 2025; renewal due by December 31, 2026 |
| Animal food rule | A qualified facility: well under $2,500,000 a year |
| Dog shampoo | Not feed |
| Product liability insurance | Done January 15, 2026; renews January 15, 2027 |
A third product, a 4 oz duck topper, adds another $50 a year, so the owner adds new flavors in September, when the fiscal year's fees are paid. The products' numbers are in cat treat business plan, and using a maker instead in pet food co-packer.
Get the checklist
Download the pet food license checklist. One sheet: each layer, who issues it, what it is, whether you need it, the cost, the date done and the renewal date; the status and the total cost fill in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Fees per product, reports by weight, and a pet shop's question about one bag: a checklist doesn't count pouches sold or say which batch went where.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and best-by date, and where every pouch went.
Each batch a lot. A batch of chicken toppers records the chicken lots it used, automatically, gets a lot with its best-by date, and lot labels print for the pouches.
Sales by product. Orders and sales are kept by product, so the pouches of each product sold are in your records when a report is due.
Where it went. Each pet shop's order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows every customer a batch reached.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which chicken went into a batch | Not recorded | Lots recorded on the batch |
| Pouches sold for a report | Added up from receipts | Sales by product |
| Which pet shops got a batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Lots, batches and recipes are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.