Bilingual Labeling
EPA is publishing new resources and updating existing ones to help pesticide registrants with the translation of pesticide labels into Spanish. The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5) requires the safety and health portions of pesticide product labels to be translated into Spanish. Spanish is the primary language for most American farmworkers. This effort makes health and safety information on pesticide labels more accessible, fostering better understanding and compliance with label instructions.
- Spanish Translation Guide for Pesticide Labeling
- Bilingual Labeling Q and A
- PRIA 5 Implementation
- Implementation of PRIA 5 Bilingual Labeling Requirements to Make Bilingual Pesticide Labeling Accessible to Farmworkers (Docket)
Introduction to Bilingual Labeling
The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5), enacted on December 29, 2022, amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requiring Spanish language translation for sections of end-use product labels where translation is available in the EPA Spanish Translation Guide for Pesticide Labeling (or Spanish Translation Guide). Beginning on December 29, 2025, product labels on restricted use pesticide products and agricultural use products with the highest toxicity (category 1) will be required to bear Spanish language translations for the health and safety sections. Following this first phase, pesticide labels must include these translations on a rolling schedule depending on the type of product and the toxicity category, with the most hazardous and toxic pesticide products requiring translation first. All pesticide labels must have translations by 2030. The translations must appear on the pesticide product container or must be provided through a hyperlink or other readily accessible electronic method.
EPA wants to ensure the transition to bilingual labeling increases accessibility for pesticide users, pesticide applicators and farmworkers to make pesticides safer for humans and the environment. The Agency intends to update these website resources as various PRIA 5 requirements and deadlines are met, and new information is available.
Implementation and Tracking
FIFRA, as amended in accordance with PRIA 5, requires bilingual labeling changes to be implemented through a non-notification procedure (PRN 98-10). The non-notification process means that a product label may be updated with Spanish translations without notifying EPA (or EPA reviewing the label), if that is the ONLY change being made to the label. The Spanish text must be a true and accurate translation of the English text. (Note: Both English and Spanish versions of the labeling must appear on a container or a link to such translation. Spanish text may be used on all or part of the labeling.)
Non-notification label changes are not systematically tracked by EPA.
Under PRIA 5, the Agency is required to develop, implement, and make publicly available, a plan for tracking the adoption of bilingual labeling by December 29, 2024. The proposed plan and pre-publication notice will be available in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2024-0438 at www.regulations.gov for public comment for 30 days following final publication in the Federal Register. EPA will review the public comments and develop a final plan for tracking the implementation of bilingual labeling. The agency intends to begin tracking the labels with the issuance of the Maintenance Fee Forms to all of the pesticide registrants in the fall of 2025.
Deadlines
PRIA 5 provides deadlines for bilingual labeling to appear on pesticide products. These deadlines are established on a rolling schedule from December 29, 2025, to December 29, 2030, with translations for the most hazardous and toxic pesticide products required first. The deadlines are as follows:
PRIA 5 Bilingual Labeling Requirements
| Pesticide Product Type | Bilingual Labeling Due |
|---|---|
| Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs) | December 29, 2025 |
| Agricultural Products (Non-RUPs) | |
|
Acute Toxicity Category I
|
December 29, 2025 |
|
Acute Toxicity Category II
|
December 29, 2027 |
| Antimicrobial and Non-Agricultural Products: | |
|
Acute Toxicity Category I
|
December 29, 2026 |
|
Acute Toxicity Category II
|
December 29, 2028 |
| All Other Pesticide Products | December 29, 2030 |
Additionally, PRIA 5 requires the Agency to notify registrants within 10 days of updating the Spanish Translation Guide.
- For agricultural use pesticide labels, companies must update their product label with the new information within one year after the date of publication of the updated Spanish Translation Guide or the latest EPA approved label (whichever is earlier).
- For antimicrobial and non-agricultural use pesticide labels, companies must update their product label with the new information within two years after the date of publication of the updated Spanish Translation Guide or the latest EPA approved label (whichever is earlier).
Exceptions
Antimicrobial pesticide products and non-agricultural/non-RUP pesticide products may provide a link to the safety data sheets (SDS) in Spanish in lieu of including a translation or a link to the label translation. This can be done via scannable technology or other electronic methods readily accessible on the product label.