Am I too small to be covered? This page gives the threshold for every enacted packaging EPR state, whether the two tests are joined by AND or OR, and whether relief is automatic or has to be applied for. Two states break the pattern, and both breaks are expensive to get wrong.
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Facts on this page were last verified against primary sources on July 26, 2026. The EPR Atlas is re-checked weekly; this stamp moves only when a verification pass actually runs, not when the site rebuilds.
Almost every producer asks the same question first: am I too small to be covered? The answer turns on two things that are easy to conflate. One is the number. The other is whether the two tests are joined by AND or by OR, which decides whether meeting one of them is enough. Minnesota uses AND, so both conditions must hold. Most other states use OR, so either one qualifies you.
| State | Threshold | Test logic | How relief works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | <1 ton OR <$5M global revenueverified July 26, 2026 | OR logic. Either test qualifies. | Automatic where the test is met. A tiered flat fee is available above it. |
| Colorado | <1 ton OR <~$5.5M global revenueverified July 26, 2026 | OR logic. Either test qualifies. | Automatic where the test is met. |
| California | <$1M CA gross sales, must applyverified July 26, 2026 | Revenue only | Application required. This is a formal exemption you must apply for, not an automatic switch. |
| Maine | <1 ton OR <~$2M revenueverified July 26, 2026 | OR logic. Either test qualifies. | Statutory. Mechanics follow once a Stewardship Organization is under contract. |
| Minnesota | <1 ton AND <$2M revenue (both must be met)verified July 26, 2026 | AND logic. Both tests must be met. | Automatic where both tests are met. |
| Maryland | <1 ton OR <$2M global revenueverified July 26, 2026 | OR logic. Either test qualifies. | Automatic where the test is met; MDE publishes an exempt producer determination form. |
| Washington | <$5M revenue (effective Jan 1, 2031)verified July 26, 2026 | Revenue only | Automatic where the test is met, but not until 2031. |
Assuming California relief is automatic. It is not. Sub-$1M producers must formally apply for the exemption. A producer that reads the $1M line as an applicability switch and files nothing stays obligated, and California carries the highest penalty exposure of any state at $50,000 per day per violation. This is the single most commonly repeated error in vendor-published guidance.
Reading Minnesota as OR logic. Minnesota requires both under one ton AND under $2M in revenue. A producer that clears only one of the two is covered. Guidance that describes this as an either-or test understates who is obligated.
One more worth diarying: Washington's $5M threshold does not take effect until January 1, 2031. Small producers are not exempt in Washington during the program's start years.
Threshold: <1 ton OR <$5M global revenue. Test logic: OR logic. Either test qualifies.. How relief works: Automatic where the test is met. A tiered flat fee is available above it.
Meeting either the tonnage test or the revenue test is enough, so a producer above one ton but under $5M global revenue still qualifies. Oregon is also the only state with a published flat-fee alternative for producers who sit just above the exemption. Under ORS 459A.884(6) and the CAA 2026 Oregon Producer Fee Schedule, producers with gross revenues under $10 million supplying more than five metric tons into Oregon, or the reverse, may elect a flat fee instead of per-pound reporting: $1,200 for 1 to 2.5 metric tons, $2,500 for 2.5 to 5, $4,100 for 5 to 7.5, and $5,800 for 7.5 to 10. The two lowest tiers are also open to producers above $10 million in gross revenue.
Threshold: <1 ton OR <~$5.5M global revenue. Test logic: OR logic. Either test qualifies.. How relief works: Automatic where the test is met.
Colorado also has an open rulemaking on Section 1.8 covering producer responsibility authorization and the dollar limit exemption, so this threshold may move.
Threshold: <$1M CA gross sales, must apply. Test logic: Revenue only. How relief works: Application required. This is a formal exemption you must apply for, not an automatic switch.
California is the trap. A producer under $1M in California gross sales is not automatically out; it must apply for the exemption. Sub-threshold producers that assume they can ignore the program remain obligated. California also offers three compliance pathways: join CAA, form an independent PRO, or file individually through PEPRS.
Threshold: <1 ton OR <~$2M revenue. Test logic: OR logic. Either test qualifies.. How relief works: Statutory. Mechanics follow once a Stewardship Organization is under contract.
Maine has not selected a Stewardship Organization yet, so the registration mechanism that would apply the exemption does not exist yet.
Threshold: <1 ton AND <$2M revenue (both must be met). Test logic: AND logic. Both tests must be met.. How relief works: Automatic where both tests are met.
Minnesota is the strictest of the seven and the most misread. Because both conditions must hold, a producer under one ton but over $2M in revenue is obligated, and so is a producer under $2M that ships more than a ton. Vendors routinely describe this as OR logic, which understates who is covered.
Threshold: <1 ton OR <$2M global revenue. Test logic: OR logic. Either test qualifies.. How relief works: Automatic where the test is met; MDE publishes an exempt producer determination form.
MDE posted a compliance guide and an exempt producer determination form in June 2026 under COMAR 26.04.14.
Threshold: <$5M revenue (effective Jan 1, 2031). Test logic: Revenue only. How relief works: Automatic where the test is met, but not until 2031.
Washington is the one to diary. The $5M threshold does not take effect until January 1, 2031, so a small producer is not exempt during the program start years.
Being covered is the start, not the end. Your fee depends on what you sell and how recoverable it is, and the levers are mostly design levers. Estimate your exposure in the EPR fee calculator, check the reporting deadlines for your states, then look at how rates differ by material before deciding what to change.
Every state guide carries the full fee schedule, registration deadlines, program plan status, eco-modulation detail, statute and rule text, and exemptions.