# Find EPA pesticide residue limits and product labels URL: https://leafwrit.com/us/epa-pesticide-product-lookup/ Reviewed: 2026-10-26 [Open EPA's official pesticide-tolerance information](https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-tolerances/indexes-part-180-tolerance-information-pesticide-chemicals-food-and-feed) to find pesticide residue limits for food and feed commodities. [Open the official Pesticide Product Label System](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) to identify a product and retrieve its label. These searches answer related but different questions: a tolerance concerns a chemical and commodity, while a label lookup concerns the registered product and its directions. ## Choose the right search for the question EPA's tolerance index helps locate tolerances, exemptions, commodity groupings and the corresponding sections of 40 CFR Part 180. EPA's product-search guidance identifies PPLS as the searchable label collection. Start by deciding whether you need a food-residue provision, a product document, an ingredient's regulatory history or state registration information. | Your question | Official route | Information to prepare | | --- | --- | --- | | What residue provision covers this commodity? | EPA tolerance index and current Part 180 | Chemical identity and exact commodity term | | What does this container's label say? | EPA PPLS | EPA registration number and product name | | Which regulatory actions concern an ingredient? | EPA Pesticides Chemical Search | Active ingredient or CAS number | | Is this product registered in California? | California DPR CalPEST | Product identity and state search context | | What happens after cancellation? | The final EPA action and existing-stock terms | Registration number, order and affected use | Those routes come from EPA's search documentation and California DPR's public search. Keep the questions separate when saving results. A product name, a commodity category and an active ingredient are not interchangeable identifiers. ## Find a tolerance using the chemical and commodity EPA explains that Pesticides Chemical Search can identify the common chemical name, CAS registry number, EPA PC code, the relevant Part 180 section and whether a tolerance or exemption has been set. Use the ingredient identity from the actual product information, then identify the food or feed commodity involved. Retain both terms in the search note. The commodity wording matters. EPA's index instructions describe a Commodity, Crop Group, Crop Subgroup column and explain how preferred commodity terms help locate entries. Search the exact food or feed form relevant to the question, then read the applicable regulatory section rather than treating a broad everyday crop name as a complete match. If the question concerns a processed fraction or a crop group, preserve that wording in your inquiry to the relevant adviser or regulator. A private worksheet can include the commodity description used by the business alongside the term found in the index. That makes an ambiguous crop-name match visible before a residue statement is repeated in a customer report. ## Read the current regulation behind the index EPA explicitly says its index files are current as of the dates indicated in the files and directs readers to the electronic Code of Federal Regulations for the latest tolerance information. Use the index as a navigation aid, then open the referenced current Part 180 section. Record the provision and retrieval date with the chemical and commodity. Read the context of the entry, including the residue definition and any qualification attached to the commodity or exemption. Keep a copy of the actual passage used to answer the question. This guide does not publish a universal maximum residue level or a numerical table detached from the current chemical-specific rule. A residue inquiry needs the actual regulation applicable to the identified chemical and commodity. Do not turn a tolerance search into a spray-rate calculation. EPA's labeling guide identifies the label as the source of directions for product use. The tolerance-index system and the product's application directions serve different functions, even when the same ingredient appears in both. ## Search PPLS with the product's registration number EPA's PPLS documentation supports searching by product or active alternative brand name, chemical name, company name and EPA registration, distributor product or special-local-need number. For a container in your store, begin with its registration number and retain the product name as a cross-check. A search by a common ingredient alone can identify many different products. When searching by name, inspect the company and product identity in the results before opening a label. If a name has changed or ownership transferred, EPA says PPLS also shows product-transfer history. Keep the registration number with your saved document so the relationship remains understandable after a brand or company change. For the working record, transcribe the number exactly as shown on the product evidence. Avoid substituting another number from nearby packaging without identifying what it means. The purpose of the lookup is to connect the actual product to its documents, not to find any label whose name resembles the one recorded by the applicator. ## Read label history and stamped dates correctly EPA describes PPLS as a collection of current and historical labels in text-searchable PDF format. Its documentation explains a filename pattern using company number, product number and stamped date. The stamped date identifies the label document; it is not itself a universal product use-up deadline. Keep the document's identity and the action affecting use separate in your notes. When several labels appear, retain the label associated with the product and use under review and investigate the regulatory history where necessary. For a completed application, save the source evidence that explains the directions followed at that time. For a proposed application, assess the current applicable labeling and any relevant regulatory action rather than selecting an old document solely because its directions are convenient. A useful saved reference contains the search date, registration number, product name, document title and stamped date. If a colleague supplied the PDF, verify the identity against the official result. This is an editorial traceability practice, not a claim that a downloaded PDF alone resolves every authorization question. ## Cancellation, withdrawal and existing-stock dates EPA's cancellation guidance distinguishes a cancellation request, the final cancellation order and the existing-stock conditions in that order. It explains that further sale and distribution after cancellation must follow those conditions. Do not treat a notice requesting comment as the final decision, and do not infer one general sell-through or use-up period for all products. For a product affected by a regulatory action, identify the exact registration number and affected uses, then read the final action and any later amendment. Record separately the action's effective date and any different dates governing sale, distribution or use. Those are questions for the actual decision; this guide supplies no invented deadline or default remaining-stock allowance. If the stock on hand and the action are difficult to reconcile, prepare the container label, quantity, registration number and acquisition information for the relevant authority or qualified adviser. Keep that inquiry connected to the stock record. A historical label in PPLS is useful evidence, but its availability does not settle the effect of a later cancellation order. ## Check the relevant state context California DPR's CalPEST public search distinguishes product information and special regulatory actions, including Section 18 emergency exemptions and Section 24(c) special-local-need registrations. Use the state route for a California authorization question after identifying the federal product. Preserve the state action or use information separately from the federal label result. For another state, use that state's pesticide regulatory agency and product information. Frame the question with the product number, actual site, intended use and relevant date. This page provides no claim that a federal database result establishes registration in every state. Its purpose is to help you collect the right product evidence for the correct authority. ## Preserve useful evidence in the spray-record workflow Before an application, keep the exact product identity and applicable directions connected to the planning decision. After an application, retain what was actually used and the supporting document reference. Keep residue enquiries, product searches and completed-treatment records distinguishable so that a customer can see which question each document answers. Use EPA and state services for official product and regulatory information. The [apple schedule guide](/us/apple-orchard-spray-schedule/) connects product documents to orchard planning; the [inspection checklist](/us/pesticide-record-inspection-checklist/) helps organize evidence for a record review. ## EPA registration number and EPA registered products ### EPA reg no: what the number consists of The EPA registration number is made of the company number and the product number, for example 100-60. Enter it in PPLS to retrieve the label of that product. ### Check an EPA registered pesticide, fungicide or herbicide To check an EPA registered pesticide or EPA registered fungicide, search PPLS by product name, active ingredient, company or EPA registration number. The label it returns is the document to read. The Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is the EPA office that regulates the manufacture and use of all pesticides, including insecticides and herbicides. To check EPA registered herbicides, or a list of EPA approved herbicides, search PPLS the same way. ### Biopesticide registration Biopesticides are pesticides derived from natural materials such as animals, plants, bacteria and certain minerals. EPA lists biopesticide registration as one of its registration types, next to conventional and antimicrobial registration. To check a biopesticide product, search PPLS by name or registration number like any other product. ### EPA approved aquatic herbicides Look up an aquatic herbicide in PPLS like any other product. Its label names the water sites it covers. EPA's notice on the Aquathol K label (EPA Reg. No. 70506-176), for example, calls for the wording "This product is for use on aquatic weeds in irrigation canals, drainage canals, ponds, and lakes." Before treated water goes onto a crop, read any restrictions on irrigation use of treated water on the label of the product you use. ## Use the official search fields when a name gives poor results The current PPLS entry page provides a registration-number field, product or alternative-brand-name field, company name and number fields, a chemical-name field and a CAS-number or PC-code field. Its instructions allow a percent sign as a wildcard for partial matches. For a precise product question, preserve the complete registration number and compare the matching identity; for an ingredient survey, label the result as an ingredient search. The official screen distinguishes a Section 3 registration, a three-part distributor-product number and a special-local-need identifier. It explains that an SLN search uses the two-letter state abbreviation and its numerical identifier. Follow those on-screen instructions rather than stripping punctuation from every identifier or treating all number formats as identical. Copy the container’s identifier into your working note before adjusting the search syntax. PPLS also warns that several PDFs and related correspondence can be needed to establish a product’s complete current terms of registration. It excludes supplemental distributor product labels from its collection even though distributor numbers can be searched. If your retail container has distributor branding, keep that container’s labeling with the search result and investigate the relationship instead of assuming the first master-label PDF reproduces every detail on the package. For an unsuccessful search, retain the attempted identifier, field selected and spelling used. Compare the number with the container and try the alternative official fields. A failed name match describes a search result; it does not establish a cancellation date, a tolerance exemption or permission to apply the product. ## Product label searches by name: start from the container Many product names are short, and one name can belong to several formulations. Copy the full product name, registrant and EPA registration number from the container before you search PPLS, then compare each result with that identity. If no result matches, ask the registrant or your state authority. ### F Stop fungicide label: match the container Search the F Stop fungicide label under both spellings, F Stop and F-Stop, and keep any formulation suffix from the container. Choose the document whose registration number matches. ### Captan fungicide label: keep the formulation Captan is sold in several formulations. If the container says Captan 4L, look for the Captan 4L fungicide label and match the registration number. Search a Captan 50 WP fungicide label or a Captan 50W fungicide label exactly as the container prints it, and do not substitute the first Captan PDF that appears. ### Dual herbicide label: keep numbers and suffixes Dual 2, Dual II and Dual 8E are written differently on the container. Search the Dual 2 herbicide label, the Dual II herbicide label or the Dual 8E herbicide label under the name printed on the container, and compare the document date and registration number before you read a rate. ### Panoramic herbicide label: keep 2SL For the Panoramic 2SL herbicide label, keep 2SL in the search and match the registration number and registrant. ### Metalaxyl fungicide label: ingredient or product Metalaxyl is an active ingredient, not a product. A search on it only starts the identification: find the formulated product's name and registration number, then read that product's label. ### Freedom herbicide label: keep 280SL For the Freedom 280SL herbicide label, keep 280SL in the search and compare the registration and company in the result with the container. ### Force insecticide label: keep 3G For the Force 3G insecticide label, match the 3G wording and the registration number to the container before you take application instructions from the document. ### Priority herbicide label: 8E or MA Check whether the container says Priority 8E or Priority MA. Search the Priority 8E herbicide label or the Priority MA herbicide label under the exact name on the container. ### SDS for an insecticide: match the safety document Ask the manufacturer for the safety data sheet of the exact product and formulation, and keep it with the label. For the CB 80 insecticide SDS, keep CB 80 and the manufacturer in the request. ### Fifteen more product names For each name below, search PPLS by the registration number printed on the container, then check that the result carries the same product name. Do not take the number or the status from a list on this page: read them in the PPLS result. | Product name | Type | Where to search | | --- | --- | --- | | Aim EW | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Barrier | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Authority Edge | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Blade | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Citation | Insecticide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Companion | Fungicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Evergreen | Pesticide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Far-Go | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Journey | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Last Call | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Roundup Custom | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Scion | Pesticide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Shutdown | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Snapshot DG | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | | Spectrum | Herbicide | [PPLS](https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1) | ## Distinguish ingredient identifiers from product identifiers EPA's search guidance supports chemical common names and Chemical Abstract Service registry numbers. Its tolerance index also describes EPA PC codes and the relevant Part 180 section. Those identifiers concern the chemical being investigated. PPLS product registration numbers concern the product whose labeling you are retrieving. Preserve both when a residue question begins with a container rather than a named ingredient. A practical lookup note can contain product name, registration number, active ingredients, chemical identifier, commodity term, regulatory section and document references. Use separate headings so a CAS number is not mistakenly entered as a product registration number. If a product contains more than one active ingredient, investigate the ingredient relevant to each question rather than treating the mixture's brand name as the tolerance entry. For an adviser inquiry, identify whether you need regulatory interpretation, a label document, a laboratory-result comparison or state authorization information. These are different questions and may need different supporting evidence. This guide does not interpret an analytical result or infer compliance from a search match. ## Use the commodity index as a navigation aid EPA's index organizes information by commodity, crop group and crop subgroup. It also offers chemical and pesticide-family information to help users locate the applicable section. Keep the preferred commodity wording visible while searching, particularly where the everyday crop name does not explain the food or feed form under review. The index explains that its files reflect the dates indicated and points to current eCFR text for the latest information. Save the index reference as a search aid and the actual current section as the regulatory evidence. A copied index row should not silently acquire the status of a newly amended regulation. For a private worksheet, distinguish the original customer description from the regulatory commodity term you found. Record who resolved an ambiguous match and the source used. If the commodity is not clearly identified, assemble the product and crop information for a specific inquiry rather than inserting the nearest familiar term into a customer-facing statement. ## Recognize what the label collection excludes The live PPLS entry page identifies exclusions including pesticide devices, company numbers with no registered products and supplemental distributor product labels. It also explains differences between EPA-stamped labels and marketplace packaging. Preserve those limitations when interpreting an unsuccessful search or comparing a retail label with an official PDF. The entry page describes brand-name activity indicators as determined by the registrant. Keep a brand-name status distinguishable from a state authorization question or the effect of a cancellation order. A familiar active alternative name is an aid to identifying the product; it does not answer every regulatory question associated with the proposed application. If packaging and database naming differ, retain the registration number and full container evidence. Use company and transfer history to investigate identity. EPA documents product transfers in PPLS, so historical company information can help explain why an older document bears a different registrant name. ## Read an action through its final disposition A regulatory search can return a petition, a proposed action, a public-comment notice or a final order. EPA's cancellation guidance explicitly describes the progression from request through comment period to final cancellation. Identify the document's role before treating its date as an operative deadline. For a real affected product, assemble the registration number, product name, affected use, final action, effective date and any subsequent amendment. Read the actual existing-stock terms rather than inferring them from the age of the container. This suggested evidence structure makes the interpretation inspectable without inventing a remaining-stock allowance. Keep correspondence addressing a specific stock situation beside the action and container evidence. Record which question was answered and by whom. If a later action changes the relevant conditions, preserve both the earlier reference and the change explanation. A historical PDF can remain useful evidence while the current decision requires another document. ## Prepare a reproducible search record Write down the question, search service, selected field, entered text, retrieval date and result identity. Save the complete relevant document with its headings and related correspondence. A bare search-result title or bookmarked landing page may be insufficient to show the passage actually used in a decision. For a colleague's review, ask them to reproduce the product match from the registration number, locate the ingredient and commodity in the tolerance route, and identify any state or cancellation question still requiring its own evidence. Correct a mistaken search field or ambiguous commodity label before the result is reused in another application folder. A concise finding should state the scope of the evidence: product labeling located, chemical-specific section identified, state action retrieved or a technical inquiry prepared. Keep a claim about residue compliance separate from those retrieval milestones. The official searches organize evidence; they do not turn a generic database match into a laboratory conclusion or an application recommendation. ## Connect the search with a completed treatment Use a stable application reference to connect the product evidence, actual treatment and any later residue inquiry. Preserve the original product identity when a company or brand changes. If a corrected registration number is established from the source container, retain the explanation rather than silently rewriting an old record. For an inspection packet, distinguish the label used to understand the application from a tolerance provision consulted for a separate commodity question. Keep the source date and purpose with each document. That makes it possible for another reader to follow what the record establishes and which official decision supplied the relevant information. ## Interpret the terminology beside a tolerance entry EPA defines a commodity as an unprocessed or partially processed good and explains that crop groups contain botanically or taxonomically related crops. Representative crops supply residue data for the group, while subgroups are smaller, more closely related groupings. Preserve the actual group or subgroup reference instead of assuming that an everyday category such as “vegetables” has the same meaning. The index distinguishes pesticide type from pesticide family. Type describes the pest-control purpose, while family concerns similarities in chemical structure, properties and mode of action. A type or family helps navigate the index; neither substitutes for identifying the actual chemical and relevant commodity. Avoid using a broad family name as the product identity in an application record. EPA also identifies time-limited tolerances, regional limitations and indirect or inadvertent residues among the details in Part 180. Read those qualifications in the applicable current provision. They explain why copying an isolated number can omit the scope necessary to interpret it. Metabolites and the residue definition also belong to the chemical-specific reading rather than a generic brand-name search. The commodity index expresses tolerance values in parts per million, abbreviated ppm. Preserve the unit and regulatory context when assembling an inquiry; do not confuse that residue concentration with a formulated-product application rate or tank dilution. This article supplies navigation and terminology, without converting a tolerance into a pesticide dose or reproducing historical numerical examples as current limits. ### Where can I find EPA pesticide residue limits? Start with EPA’s tolerance-information index, identify the chemical and food or feed commodity, and follow the relevant 40 CFR Part 180 section in the current eCFR. ### How do I find an EPA pesticide label? Use official PPLS to search the EPA registration number, product or alternative brand name, company or active ingredient. ### Is an EPA registration number a residue limit? It identifies a product for lookup. Tolerance information is organized separately by pesticide chemical and food or feed commodity. ### Does a stamped label date mean the product expires then? EPA describes the date in the label filename as the stamped date. Cancellation and existing-stock conditions require their own review. ### Does PPLS confirm California product registration? Use California DPR’s CalPEST search for California products and special regulatory actions in addition to the federal label search.