Obtaining approval for additives in plant protection products

As a manufacturer, you must have new additives in plant protection products tested and approved by the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety.

Antrag auf Genehmigung eines Zusatzstoffes gemäß § 42 PflSchG (PDF)

This form can be submitted electronically (e.g. via a secure contact form using your user account with login via the electronic ID function or the ELSTER certificate) or handwritten and signed in paper form to the responsible authority.
Antrag auf Genehmigung eines Zusatzstoffes gemäß § 42 PflSchG (DOC)

This form can be submitted electronically (e.g. via a secure contact form using your user account with login via the electronic ID function or the ELSTER certificate) or handwritten and signed in paper form to the responsible authority.

Street address

Bundesallee 51
38116 Braunschweig

Postal address

Postfach 1564

38005 Braunschweig

Mehr zur Behörde

Additives in crop protection products enhance their pesticidal effect, for example. They are also used, for example, in tank mixtures with crop protection products to improve the wetting or adhesion of crop protection products or to reduce foaming.

Additives must not have any harmful effects, in particular on human and animal health, groundwater and the natural balance.
If you, as a manufacturer or distributor of plant protection products, want to use and market a new additive, you must therefore have it tested and approved by the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) beforehand.
The BVL makes the decision in cooperation with the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the Federal Environment Agency and the Julius Kühn Institute.

The approval is granted for a period of 10 years. The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety publicly announces the approval of additives and the revocation of approvals in the Federal Gazette or in the Federal Gazette online.

Additives must not have any harmful effects, in particular on human and animal health, groundwater and the natural balance.

Required Documents
You must submit the following documents:
- Formulation of the additive (Appendix 1).
- Intended use, intended area of application and intended crops, application rate (Appendix 2)
- Safety data sheets of the additives used
- safety data sheets of the additive
- draft directions for use
- any further studies required, for example, for use with insecticides, toxicological studies cited in the safety data sheet of the additive.

You must submit an application to the BVL. Proceed as follows:

Open the BVL website and download the "Application for the authorisation of an additive according to § 42 PflSchG". Please note the instructions for completing the application form.
Complete the application on the computer, print it out, sign it and send it to the BVL by post or e-mail.
The BVL will check your application.
You will receive an approval or rejection by post