What does Oregon's packaging EPR law require from a brand?

Who has to register

Oregon's Recycling Modernization Act makes the producer of each covered product responsible. For a packaged item sold in a store, the producer is typically the brand owner. For an item sold online, the brand owner is still the producer of the original packaging, and the company that packs and ships the order is the producer of the shipping packaging. That second rule is in the statute, ORS 459A.866.

A brand that sells in both ways carries both. How each layer of a set or kit is counted is covered in kits, sets and bundles in an EPR report.

Who is exempt

A small producer is exempt from registering, reporting and paying fees. The statute lists seven ways to qualify, and meeting any one is enough. The two that matter most to a brand are gross global revenue under $5 million in the most recent fiscal year, or under one metric ton of covered products sold into Oregon in the most recent calendar year.

Related companies add their revenue and tonnage together before they are compared with the thresholds. DEQ recommends that producers close to a threshold register and report anyway.

Flat fee for smaller producers

CAA offers flat fee options to smaller producers instead of fees built from reported weights. Eligibility depends on revenue and on the tons sold into Oregon, and the tiers are set out in CAA's yearly fee schedule.

What is due and when

To use CAA's reporting portal, a producer first signs the Producer Participant Agreement and the Oregon addendum. Fees began on July 1, 2025. Each year a producer reports the weight of its packaging by material, and CAA turns that into an invoice.

Fees are built from the weight and type of each material. Rates differ by material and change every year, because they depend on what all producers report.

Dates to know

• May 31, 2027: CAA's standard report date for 2026 supply, unless CAA announces otherwise
• October 2026: CAA is expected to publish the 2027 Oregon fee schedule, as it did on October 29 last year
• January 2027: 2027 invoices are expected, with a second installment in July

What happens if a producer does not register

Failing to register with a producer responsibility organization is a Class 1 violation, with fines of up to $25,000 per day. DEQ may also ask the Oregon Department of Justice to seek an order barring sales of the product in Oregon.

Enforcement has started. On April 9, 2026, DEQ released its first quarterly Producer Status List, naming about 250 companies that had not registered, reported or paid. CAA contacted each one first and gave 90 days. DEQ then sent a formal warning and allowed 30 more days before a company was listed.

The court ruling

On August 27, 2026, a federal district court in Oregon upheld the law after a five day trial in National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors v. Feldon. The court rejected the claims under the dormant Commerce Clause and the Due Process Clause. Judgment was entered the next day.

In February 2026 the court had blocked enforcement against members of that trade group only. That injunction ended with the judgment. On September 25, 2026, the trade group filed a notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Law firms advising producers say to keep complying until a challenge succeeds and is binding.