Check whether a produce business needs a PACA license
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Extract whether the person buys or sells fresh or frozen fruits or vegetables, the pounds in a day, whether the person negotiates sales for someone else, and any calendar-year invoice total for a frozen-only broker or a retailer. Do not decide that a license is required, and do not complete an application.
- What the lawyer must review
- The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service licensing page states that a person who buys or sells more than 2,000 pounds of fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables in any given day must be licensed. A person who negotiates a sale for someone else must be licensed on the first transaction and may be a commission merchant, broker, or growers' agent. A broker who handles only frozen fruits and vegetables is not subject until the invoice value of total negotiated sales exceeds $230,000 in a calendar year. A retail seller is subject once the invoice cost of fresh and frozen purchases exceeds $230,000 in a calendar year. Knowing operation without a license may bring a penalty of up to $1,200 for each violation and up to $350 for each day the violation continues. The page states license fees as of 2010: a base annual fee of $995 plus $600 for each branch or additional facility, with aggregate annual fees not to exceed $8,000. The lawyer treats the 2010 fees as a dated statement and checks the current fee. The trust page is the companion source on the trust a licensee maintains. ABA Model Rules 1.1 and 5.3 and Formal Opinion 512 leave the licensing decision with the lawyer.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Potential support includes extracting and organising information. Confirm the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Confirm the appropriate instructions, permissions and cultural context with the relevant people before using information or communicating the result.
- Verify the applicable jurisdiction and the version of each relevant law, rule or instrument in force at the material time.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.