1. (a) Each producer, including producers of covered material seeking an exemption pursuant to sections 18980.2.3, 18980.2.4, or 18980.5.2, shall register with the Department. The registration information and requests required under this section shall be submitted to the Department electronically through the Department's online reporting system. Retailers and wholesalers are not subject to this requirement if they are not the producer pursuant to subdivision (w) of section 42041 of the Public Resources Code of any covered material used by goods they sell, offer to sell, or distribute.

   1. (1) To register, a producer shall file at least the following information:

      1. (A) Contact information, including the name, title, email, and phone number, of a person authorized to act on behalf of the producer;
      2. (B) Legal entity name (a fictitious business name is not sufficient);
      3. (C) All business names under which the producer transacts business (i.e., fictitious business names or “dba” names);
      4. (D) Federal Employer Identification Number (or, for Importers of Record that do not have a Federal Employer Identification Number, a Customs Assigned Importer Number (also known as a “CBP-Assigned Number”));
      5. (E) Business mailing address;
      6. (F) Primary business address (physical address; must not be a post office box);
      7. (G) Business phone number;
      8. (H) Business email address.
   2. (2) A PRO shall register on behalf of each of its participant producers, except for those participant producers who choose to be reporting entities.

   3. (3) A producer shall ensure that the contact information on file with the Department is current and accurate.

      1. (A) Upon request by the Department, a producer shall resubmit the information required pursuant to paragraph (1) or verify that the information previously submitted remains accurate. Not complying with such a request or otherwise not cooperating with the Department's exercise of its investigatory authority under section 42080 of the Public Resources Code is a violation of the Act.
      2. (B) The failure to notify the Department of a change in its primary business address within 30 days of the change is a violation of subdivision (c) of section 42051 of the Public Resources Code, regardless of whether the Department requests resubmittal or verification pursuant to subparagraph (A).
      3. (C) A PRO may satisfy the requirement in subparagraph (B) on a producer's behalf by including the producer's primary business address in its PRO plan, plan update, annual report, or other written notification to the Department. The submission of a primary business address or other contact information by a PRO on behalf of a producer shall not relieve the producer of its obligation to ensure that the producer's contact information, including its primary address, on file with the Department is current and accurate.
   4. (4) If an entity becomes a producer after January 1, 2027, and joins a PRO within six months, as required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of section 42051 of the Public Resources Code, the PRO shall register the producer with the Department within 30 days of the producer being accepted as a participant producer.
   5. (5) If an entity becomes a producer after January 1, 2027, and seeks to become an Independent Producer, the entity shall register with the Department when they apply to become an Independent Producer pursuant to Article 5.

2. (b) If a participant producer's activities have changed such that it is no longer subject to the reporting requirements of this chapter:

   1. (1) If the participant producer is a reporting entity, it shall submit a request to the Department to inactivate its reporting system registration within 30 days of the change. Subject to subdivision (d), the Department shall inactivate the registration if the request describes changed business activities that render the producer no longer subject to the reporting requirements.

   2. (2) If the participant producer is not a reporting entity:

      1. (A) The participant producer shall notify the PRO within 30 days of the change.
      2. (B) The PRO shall submit a request to the Department to inactivate the reporting system registration for the participant within 30 days of receiving notification from the participant producer. Subject to subdivision (d), the Department shall inactivate the registration if the request describes changed business activities that render the producer no longer subject to the reporting requirements.
3. (c) If an Independent Producer's business activities have changed such that it is no longer subject to the reporting requirements of this chapter, the Independent Producer shall submit a request to the Department to inactivate its reporting system registration within 30 days of the change. Subject to subdivision (d), the Department shall inactivate the registration if the request describes changed business activities that render the Independent Producer no longer subject to the reporting requirements.
4. (d) The Department shall not approve a request for inactivation pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) until the requesting entity has submitted to the Department all outstanding reports required pursuant to section 18980.10.1 and the Department has deemed any such reports complete.
5. (e) Once approved, the effective date of an inactivation pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) shall be the date on which the producer's activities changed such that the producer became no longer subject to the reporting requirements of this chapter.
6. (f) A producer whose registration status was inactivated pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c), or a PRO acting on such a producer's behalf, shall notify the Department if the producer's activities have changed such that it has become subject to the reporting requirements of this chapter. The producer or PRO shall notify the Department within 30 days of such a change, and the Department shall reactivate the producer's registration status upon receipt of the notice. Following reactivation, the producer, or a PRO acting on its behalf, shall resume reporting by July 1 of the following calendar year. The first report after reactivation shall include all applicable data pertaining to the calendar year in which the activities changed such that the producer became subject to the reporting requirements, beginning as of the date of that change.
7. (g) No exemption from any other requirement of the Act or this chapter shall be construed as an exemption from the requirements of this section. In particular, the registration requirements and the requirement that producers maintain an address on file with the Department apply to all producers, even if they are granted an exemption from all other requirements of the Act and this chapter.

Note: Authority cited: Sections 40401, 40502, 42051 and 42060, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 42051, 42052 and 42060, Public Resources Code.

History

1. New article 10 (sections 18980.10-18980.10.2) and section filed 5-1-2026; operative 5-1-2026 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2026, No. 19).