Renewal Late Fees (And How to Avoid Them)

Registering for a license to sell stuffed products is just one half of compliance — staying on top of renewals is the other. All licenses expire after a certain amount of time, and missing the renewal date may result in state/city regulatory agencies charging you a late fee.

Here we explore what late fees are, which regulatory agencies charge late fees, and how you can avoid late fees by paying your invoices on time.

What are late fees?

There are six government agencies that add late fees to all unpaid license renewals after the license expiration passes. Five out of the six agencies have bulk expiration dates, meaning all licenses for that agency expire on a specific date. 

California

Renewal deadline: 2 years after license is issued

Late fee: $100 (initial) + $225 (additional, if 90 days pass without payment)

Connecticut

Renewal deadline: April 30

Late fee: $10

City of Detroit

Renewal deadline: December 31

Late fee: $50

Oklahoma

Renewal deadline: July 31

Late fee: $2.50

Utah

Renewal deadline: December 31

Late fee: $25

West Virginia

Renewal deadline: July 15

Late fee: $25

How GRS addresses late fees

If you’re subscribed to either GRS’ License Management or Guaranteed Compliance tier of Monitored Services, GRS handles renewals on your behalf. When a state/city regulatory agency is on track to charge you a late fee, we add that late fee to your GRS invoice. Our team will send out an updated invoice to the email address(es) listed in your account.

A note on states with bulk expiration dates / renewal seasons

Certain states have renewal seasons, listed below. If your license in one of those states is expired and it is currently outside of that state’s renewal season, the state will automatically add a late fee in the fee price.

North Carolina is the only regulatory agency with a bulk expiration date that does not charge late fees.

• Connecticut: March 1 - April 30
• City of Detroit: Nov 1 - Dec 31
• Oklahoma: May 1 - July 31
• West Virginia: May 1 - July 15
• Utah: Nov 1 - Dec 31

Why was I charged a late fee before the actual renewal date?

You may see a late fee appear on your GRS invoice before the actual renewal deadline dates listed above. This is because renewals must be physically mailed, and our Documentation Team needs a long buffer time to prepare the necessary documents and allow for US postal services to deliver them in time so that your licenses do not lapse.

How can I avoid late fees?

The best way to stay ahead of late fees is to pay your GRS invoice as soon as you receive it. As long as an invoice is paid prior to when state/city regulatory agencies add late fees to your account, the GRS Documentation Team will process your invoice in time to avoid penalties.

Our late fee schedules are listed in our monthly newsletters. If you are not subscribed, you can sign up today by entering your email address below.