The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) facilitates fair trading practices in the marketing of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables in interstate and foreign commerce. A major objective of the PACA program is to help ensure that dealers of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables get what they pay for and get paid for what they sell, including when their customers go out of business, declare bankruptcy, or simply refuse to pay for the fruits and vegetables received.

Complete a PACA license application (PDF), then mail the application and license fees to the address shown at the top of the form (Download Adobe Acrobat). You may also call us toll-free at 800-495-7222 and we will assist you in completing an application over the phone.

The PACA license is the only license required by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for you to operate in the produce industry. Your state, county, and local governments, however, may require other licenses, and we recommend that you contact them directly.

If you import produce, you must first obtain an import permit from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) by calling its toll-free at 877-770-5990.

A new license is required if the new business is a separate legal entity conducting business subject to the PACA. Some examples that would require a new license are changing the firm’s legal status from an individual owner to a partnership or to a corporation, changing the number of general partners in a partnership, or re-incorporating in a different state. The addition of a branch facility or an additional trade name does not require that you obtain a new license. If you have questions about your need for an additional license, call us at 800-495-7222 and we will be glad to help you.

A broker negotiating contracts involving fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables between a buyer and a seller must be licensed under the PACA. A broker negotiating only sales of frozen produce on behalf of the vendor, however, is not required to be licensed until the value of the contracts exceeds $230,000 in any calendar year.

Yes, any person may apply for a PACA license. Many growers obtain licenses to take advantage of the alternative method for filing for PACA Trust Preservation.

Send us a letter or E-mail stating that you want to file a complaint. In the letter, provide us with the name of the company and the details about the transaction(s) involved. You should also enclose copies of any documents pertaining to the transactions along with the $100 filing fee. The complaint may be mailed to any of the PACA offices listed in our office directory.

Call us toll-free at 800-495-7222 and we will be happy to provide you with general information about your prospective customer’s PACA complaint and license history.

When a PACA-licensed firm fails to pay an award, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) automatically suspends its license and the firm is prohibited from operating in the produce industry until the award is paid to your satisfaction. While the firm’s license is suspended, the firm’s officers are also restricted and cannot be employed or affiliated with any other PACA licensee without the consent of the Secretary of Agriculture. We monitor the activities of these firms and individuals, and may pursue further civil court actions if they operate in violation of the PACA restrictions.

You may also pursue the matter further and file a civil action in U.S. District Court to have the USDA award reduced to a court judgment. If the judgment is not satisfied, the Court may further penalize the firm, which could include an attachment of assets.

No.

The Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation (DRC), based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, offers advice, education, mediation and binding arbitration of freight claims to DRC members. The DRC can be contacted at 613-234-0982.

You must notify the buyer (the debtor) within 30 days of the date that payment was due or notification was received that a customer’s check bounced. There are two ways to preserve your trust rights.

1. A PACA licensee can fulfill this notification requirement by adding the following exact wording to its usual invoice or billing statement:

2. The perishable agricultural commodities listed on this invoice are sold subject to statutory trust authorized by section 5(c) of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499e(c)). The seller of these commodities retains a trust claim over these commodities, all inventories of food or other products derived from these commodities, and any receivables or proceeds from the sale of these commodities until full payment is received.

Other produce sellers, like unlicensed growers, must provide the debtor with a written notice of their intent to preserve trust benefits under the PACA within 30 days from the date that payment was past due or notification was received that a payment instrument was dishonored.

After preserve your rights under the PACA trust provisions, the buyer should be holding the proceeds from the resale of that product 'in trust.' You can file an action in U.S. District Court seeking to enforce payment under the trust.

It is common for a trust enforcement action to seek a temporary restraining order freezing the bank accounts of a buyer until the trust creditor is paid. Many produce sellers have found this a very effective tool to recover payment for produce. Attorneys that specialize in agricultural law, such as the PACA, advertise in produce industry publications. Sellers may also seek attorney referral through industry trade groups as well as their local bar association.

Having first preserved your PACA trust rights, you should notify the bankruptcy court that you are a priority creditor under the PACA trust provisions (7 U.S.C.499e(c)). Priority creditor status should be indicated on the "Proof of Claim" submitted to the clerk of the bankruptcy court. Under bankruptcy law provisions, trust creditors will have priority to be paid first from the PACA trust assets. Trust assets include any produce inventory, products derived from that produce, as well as cash or accounts receivable generated from the resale of produce.

The PACA is an industry-specific law and if your attorney does not have experience working with the produce industry, some helpful references follow.

The PACA is found in 7 U.S.C. §499 et seq. The trust provisions of the PACA are set out in 7 U.S.C. §499e(c). The related regulations are found in 7 C.F.R. § 46.46. You may also request pamphlet copies from any of the PACA Branch field offices or by calling toll free 877-622-4716.

The following is a basic list of PACA trust related cases that may be useful to review.