If your products ship into more than one state, packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules have probably already landed on your desk, usually as a confusing email from a producer responsibility organization asking you to register and report tonnage you’ve never had to track before. Seven states have now enacted packaging EPR laws, each with its own deadlines, exemption thresholds, and reporting quirks. That makes multi-state compliance genuinely hard for a small team without a dedicated compliance hire.
This checklist walks through which states have live packaging EPR obligations, how the registration and reporting process generally works, and the mistakes that trip up small brands most often. It’s not a substitute for legal advice on your specific packaging mix, but it will help you figure out what to check and in what order.
Quick Answer
As of September 2026, seven states have enacted packaging EPR laws: Oregon, Colorado, California, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington. Oregon and Colorado already have active producer fee obligations. California, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington are moving through registration and early reporting phases. Maine is the exception: it has no producer registration, reporting, or fee obligations at all yet, because the state has not selected a stewardship organization. Its June 2026 request for proposals drew no bids. If you sell packaged products into any of the other states, the first steps are the same everywhere. Confirm whether you meet each state’s small-business exemption, register with the Circular Action Alliance (the PRO managing most of these programs so far) or the relevant state agency, and start tracking the packaging materials and weights you place into each state’s market.
The Seven EPR States and Where Each One Stands
Oregon was the first state to move from law to active enforcement, with its program running since mid-2025 and the Department of Environmental Quality now publicly tracking noncompliant producers. Colorado’s program went live with active fee obligations in early 2026. Both states have real financial consequences for brands that miss registration or reporting windows, so if you sell into Oregon or Colorado, treat those two as your top priority.
California’s law (SB 54) has a longer runway, since most substantive stewardship requirements don’t take effect until the early 2030s. Producers still had registration and reporting deadlines in 2026 (registration by June 1, a baseline data report by July 1). The state’s de minimis exemption is also narrower than Oregon’s, so smaller brands shouldn’t assume they’re automatically exempt. Maryland had a producer registration and simplified supply-report deadline of May 31, 2026, though fee assessments there aren’t expected to begin until 2028. Minnesota’s program is the least far along of the ones actually running, with its formal stewardship plan not due until 2028 and producers expected to start covering program costs around 2029, though pre-program reporting requirements already apply. Washington is moving through its early implementation steps in 2026, but full program requirements don’t phase in until 2030. Confirm current Washington deadlines with the Department of Ecology.
Maine has no producer deadline of any kind in 2026. Its Department of Environmental Protection issued a request for proposals for a stewardship organization in June 2026, and the response deadline in mid-August passed with no proposals submitted. The Circular Action Alliance publicly declined to bid, citing the scope of the RFP. Under Maine’s law, the producer registration clock only starts once a stewardship organization makes a registration mechanism available, so as of September 2026 there is no registration process, no reporting deadline, and no fee timeline. The state had earlier anticipated producer registration and invoicing beginning around the end of 2026. It now says it is assessing all of its options, so that earlier timeline shouldn’t be relied on. If you sell into Maine, there’s nothing to register for yet, but don’t take that as permanent, since obligations will begin once the state puts an administrator in place.
The Circular Action Alliance (CAA) administers most of the other programs, which is good news for multi-state brands. One CAA account can cover reporting obligations across several states, even though each state still layers its own deadlines and rules on top. Maine is the current exception, simply because it doesn’t yet have any designated PRO to register with.
Building Your Compliance Checklist
Start by mapping where you actually sell. Pull a state-by-state breakdown of where your packaged products are sold or shipped to end consumers. EPR obligations are typically triggered by where packaging ends up, not where your company is headquartered.
Next, check exemption thresholds for each state on that list. Most states exempt very small producers based on either total company revenue or the total weight of packaging placed into that state in the prior year. The thresholds, and whether it’s an “or” versus “and” test, differ by state and are adjusted periodically. Verify current figures directly with the state agency or the CAA rather than relying on a number you saw last year.
If you’re not exempt in a given state, register with the CAA (where it’s the administrator) or the applicable state agency. Set a calendar reminder well ahead of each state’s reporting deadline. Several 2026 deadlines clustered around late May and early June, and missing a reporting window can trigger noncompliance listings even before any fees are assessed. Skip this step for Maine until the state names a stewardship organization and announces a registration process, but check back periodically since that could change with limited lead time.
Once registered, build a simple packaging inventory. For every SKU, log the materials used (plastic type, paper, glass, metal), approximate weight per unit, and units sold into each state. This is the data every state ultimately wants, and building it once as a spreadsheet or lightweight database saves you from redoing the work for each state’s separate report.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Don’t assume one state’s exemption applies everywhere. A brand that qualifies as exempt in Colorado on a revenue basis may still owe registration in California, since the tests aren’t identical. Also don’t wait for a formal notice before checking your obligations. Several states, including Oregon, have started proactively identifying and contacting noncompliant producers rather than waiting for self-reporting.
A common mistake for small CPG brands is only counting primary packaging (the box or bag touching the product) and forgetting that some states also count secondary and shipping packaging, like the corrugated case or pallet wrap used to ship product to retailers. Check each state’s definition of “covered materials” before you finalize your packaging weight data, since gaps here are one of the most frequent causes of reporting errors.
Finally, keep a compliance log even in states where you’re currently exempt or, in Maine’s case, where there’s simply no program to register with yet. Thresholds and program timelines get revisited as programs mature. If your sales volume grows or Maine’s program restarts, you’ll want documentation showing when and why you determined you weren’t yet obligated in each state.
Explore more: more packaging compliance guides.
Multi-State Packaging EPR Compliance FAQs
What is packaging EPR and why does it apply to small brands?
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws make the companies that put packaging into the market responsible for funding its collection and recycling, rather than leaving the full cost to municipal recycling programs. Most state laws apply based on revenue or packaging volume thresholds, so small brands aren’t automatically excluded. You need to check each state’s specific exemption criteria.
Do I need to register in every state where a packaging EPR law is enacted?
Only if you don’t meet that state’s small-business exemption, you sell packaged products to consumers in that state, and the state actually has a registration process open. Maine is the current exception. The law is enacted, but with no stewardship organization in place yet, there’s nothing to register for as of September 2026.
What is the Circular Action Alliance?
The Circular Action Alliance (CAA) is the producer responsibility organization designated to manage packaging EPR compliance, registration, and reporting on behalf of producers in most of the states that have enacted these laws, which simplifies reporting for brands that sell across multiple EPR states. Maine has not yet named a PRO of any kind.
Why hasn’t Maine started producer registration yet?
Maine’s EPR law requires a stewardship organization to be selected before the producer registration clock can start. The state issued a request for proposals in June 2026, and no proposals were submitted by the August deadline. It currently has no administrator, no registration mechanism, and no reporting or fee deadlines. Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection has said it is assessing all options and that further information will follow.
What happens if I miss a state’s EPR reporting deadline?
Consequences vary by state, but they can include being publicly listed as noncompliant, referral for enforcement action, and in some states restrictions on continuing to sell into that market. Oregon has been particularly active about identifying and listing noncompliant producers.
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Photo by Compagnons on Unsplash.