What provisional registration is
Provisional registration means an authorisation to do trial work in New Zealand with an intended trade name product. This may be to:
- get more information on that product (for example, about its efficacy, safety, or residue levels) and determine whether it should be registered in New Zealand, or
- do general research or trials for registration of the product in another country.
You're not allowed to market a provisionally registered product – you can only use it for the purposes in the provisional registration.
You'll need provisional registration to do trial work on agricultural chemicals that:
- are not registered, or
- are registered for a different purpose or use, and off-label use is prohibited by its conditions of registration.
Products that can be provisionally registered
You can only get provisional registration for intended trade name products (TNPs).
A TNP is a product that is identified and packaged under a trade name for specific use/s. An intended TNP must be:
- intended for marketing under a particular trade name
- in the same formulation that will be used in a future application to register it
- packaged or have/will have packaging specifications for marketing it in New Zealand.
To do trial work on an agricultural compound that isn't a TNP, you need approval in special circumstances (research approval) – not provisional registration.
How to provisionally register your product
To provisionally register your agricultural chemical, fill out the application form (product data sheet) and send it to us with all the required information. Provisional registration in New Zealand will help you through the process and tell you what information to provide.
- Product data sheet for provisional registration [DOC, 492 KB]
- Provisional registration in New Zealand [PDF, 91 KB]
Get help from a consultant
If you aren't sure how to provisionally register your product, consider hiring a consultant to help you. As the regulatory body, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) can't provide consultation through the registration process.
Listed consultants are not MPI-endorsed. They nominate their own areas of expertise – refer to the key to areas of expertise at the bottom of this list.
