An Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) Nursery license is required by anyone growing or selling nursery stock in Oregon if they sell more than $250 of nursery stock in a fiscal year.
Exception: Landscaping businesses or brokers that do not propagate plant material or store live plant material for more than one year do not need a nursery license, but they still need to send notification emails to the ODA if they import plants from other states.
If you do not sell nursery stock, you are not a nursery. Please see definitions and examples below to determine if you qualify as a nursery.
You are a nursery if you...
- Grow plants at a home or non-commercial location and sell that living material
- Are a non-profit or other group holding a plant sale
- Grow plants in a greenhouse or field that will be sold as nursery stock
- Are a wholesaler selling or shipping livng plants around the state, country, or world
- Are a landscaper who also propagates plants
You are a Christmas Tree grower if you....
- Grow Christmas trees that will be harvested this year.
What is Nursery stock?
Nursery stock includes all botanically classified plant material that is sold with the intention that the buyer will keep that plant growing. Plant material that is sold where the buyer will use the plant material as food, decoration, or other non-living purpose is not nursery stock. Christmas tree growers also need to have a license, even though their trees will be harvested.
Nursery stock includes (but is not limited to):
- Plants in flats, pots, the field, or greenhouses that will be sold with roots intact
- Bulbs, corms, scions, non-food tubers, grafts, and cuttings for propagation
- Plants collected from the wild that are kept for propagation or sale
Nursery stock does not include:
- Field and forage crops (grains, vegetables, bulbs and tubers of vegetable crops)
- Produce or food (fruits, vegetables, tubers intended to be eaten)
- Cut flowers or decorative tree parts (wreaths, garlands, cut Christmas Trees)
- Seeds (managed by the ODA's Market Access Seed Regulatory Program: link here)
Examples differentiating similar plant material:
Nursery Stock (requires license)
| NOT Nursery Stock (no license needed)
|
- Tomato seedlings/starts
- Tree cuttings for propagation
- Flower bulbs
- Dahlia tubers
- Olive trees for sale
| - Tomatoes for food, tomato seeds
- Tree cuttings for decorations
- Flower cuttings
- Food tuber (potato, taro, etc.)
- Olive trees in an orchard
|
Christmas Trees (requires license)
| Christmas Trees (NO license needed)
|
- Grow more than one acre of Christmas trees and trees are being harvested
| - Grow more than 1 acre of Christmas trees but harvesting hasn't begun
- Grow less than one acre of trees
- Deal harvested Christmas trees (lots)
- Wreathes, garlands, other cut decorations
|
Apply for a Nursery or Christmas Tree License
- Print the nursery license application
- Send completed application with appropriate fees to ODA
- Use the nursery license calculator to determine appropriate nursery license fees
- License is not prorated and expires June 30 of each year
- For additional details about these programs, please contact your Nursery Inspector or our Main Office at: Nursery Contact Email (503-986-4644)
Nursery license types
Each of the following includes one retail location. Additional retail locations require additional dealer licenses. For Christmas Tree licenses scroll down.
- Nursery Stock Growers & Collectors of Native plants (grow plants outside or in greenhouses)
- Greenhouse Growers (exclusively grow plants in greenhouses or indoors, no outside fields)
- Nursery Dealers, Florists & Landscapers (sell, but do not propagate any plants)
- Temporary Nursery License (for non-profit plant sales)
New Nursery Applicants
License seasons begin on July 1st and run through June 30th of the following year. License fees are based on sales (grower licenses) or purchases (retail licenses) of nursery stock for the previous fiscal year. New applications for a nursery license should report $0 for the gross annual sales or purchases for the previous season and pay the minimum license fee of $158.
New Nursery Application July 2024 - June 2025.pdf
Solicitud de Licencia de Vivero julio 2024 a junio 2025.pdf
Nursery License Renewals
License seasons begin on July 1st and run through June 30th of the following year. If you are already a licensed nursery, you should have been emailed links to renew your license online. If you did not get those emails, please contact nursery@oda.oregon.gov to update your email address. Below is a physical copy of the license renewal form that needs to be printed out and mailed in to the address on page 3 of the form.
Your fee is based on either gross sales of nursery stock (both grower licenses) or gross purchases of nursery stock (dealer license). Nursery stock is living plant material, do not include the value of soil, cut flowers, or other non-living material in these estimates. Please use the online calculator below to fill out page 2 of the renewal form. Late fees are incurred for license renewals after August 30th. The late penalty fee is 30% of the base fee line in the calculator output.
Online bill pay link
Nursery License Fee Calculator
Temporary Nursery License
A temporary nursery license is required for a non-profit (501-C3) organization to hold a plant sale of up to seven (7) consecutive days. Additional sales throughout the year require additional temporary licenses. The license fee is a set $5. The application below needs to be printed out and mailed in to the address on the form along with a payment. The temporary license will be emailed and physically mailed to the contact listed on the form.
Christmas Tree License
An ODA Christmas tree license is required for growers of Christmas trees with acreage of one acre or more. The license is only required once harvest has begun, and is not needed during the initial years of establishing the fields. Please fill out the Christmas Tree Grower Application below, and any additional compliance agreement forms. Refer to the Christmas Tree Shipping Guide to learn more about the requirements and forms needed to ship to domestic and international locations.
2024 Christmas Tree Shipping Guide .pdf
Print the Christmas Tree Grower application below. Send completed application with appropriate fees to ODA. Use the Christmas Tree license fee calculator to determine appropriate nursery license fees. License is not prorated and expires June 30 of each year.
Christmas tree Grower Application.pdf
Christmas Tree License Fee Calculator
For additional details about this programs, please contact your Nursery Inspector or our Main Office at: Nursery Contact Email (503-986-4644)
Compliance Agreements for Christmas Tree Growers
Please refer to the Christmas Tree Shipping Guide above to determine if you will need any of the following Compliance Agreements for selling your trees this winter.
Link to ODA Christmas Tree information