Fuels and Fuel Additives
E15: Registration
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Notices & Regulations
- E15 Registration
- Misfueling Mitigation Plans
- Survey Plan
The Clean Air Act and EPA regulations require that manufacturers of gasoline and diesel fuels and fuel additives produced and commercially distributed for use in highway motor vehicles must register their gasoline and diesel fuels and fuel additives with EPA. In addition to providing basic information such as product and manufacturer identification, manufacturers are required to analyze the emissions generated by the fuel and fuel additive products, survey existing scientific information for each product, and where adequate information is not available, conduct specified tests to screen for the potential adverse health effects of these emissions. The primary purpose of the registration program is to provide information for identifying and evaluating the potential adverse effects of fuels and fuel additives emissions to help inform any future regulatory decision-making. All individual fuel and fuel additive manufacturers involved in manufacturing E15 must register. Registration forms for fuel and fuel additive manufacturers can be found here.
The Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy submitted information and analysis for satisfying the testing requirements for registration of E15. Their submission can be found here. EPA has released its evaluation of the submission. The Evaluation Document concludes that the submission would be sufficient to satisfy the testing requirements for an E15 registration application. The Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy are making their submission available to those F/FA manufacturers who wish to register E15 for use without charge.
In addition to testing information, a fuel or fuel additive manufacturer wishing to register E15 must include in its E15 registration application product and manufacturer identification, specific compositional data and total annual production volume. EPA acts on fuel registration applications as they are received. A manufacturer has registered E15 when EPA approves its E15 registration application.
On April 2, 2012, EPA approved the first applications for registering ethanol for use in making E15. A list of companies that have approved E15 applications may be found on the Registration and Health Effects Testing page. The list is updated at least every two months and includes the names of those companies that did not make a confidential business information claim for the ethanol concentration for which they sought registration.
Although a prerequisite to introducing E15 into the marketplace, registration by itself does not mean E15 can immediately be sold. E15 was granted conditional waivers to be introduced into commerce for use in model year 2001 and newer light-duty motor vehicles (cars and all but the largest pick-up trucks, vans and SUVs), and the misfueling mitigation conditions of the waiver must be met before E15 can be lawfully sold. Specifically, those fuel and fuel additive manufacturers wishing to sell E15 must obtain EPA approval of, and implement a misfueling mitigation plan (see here) and a survey plan before selling E15. In addition, other federal, state and local requirements and practical concerns, such as dispenser and tank compatibility, must be addressed. Since a number of states restrict the sale of some gasoline-ethanol blends, state law changes may be needed before E15 may be sold in those states.
- Fact Sheet: Evaluation of E15 Health and Emissions Information (PDF) (3 pp, 543K, EPA-420-F-12-013, February 2012)
- Evaluation of RFA/GrE Submission in Partial Fulfillment of 40 CFR 79 Tier 1 and Tier 2 E15 Registration Requirements (PDF) (17 pp, 660K, EPA-420-R-12-010, February 2012)
- E15 Emissions Testing and Health Effects Submission by the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy (PDF) (689 pp, 8.25MB, submitted February, 3, 2012)
- Letter from EPA to RFA and GE about E15 Health Effects Submission (PDF) (2 pp, 85K, signed February 17, 2012)
If you have questions or request information, please contact the appropriate support or help line found on the Support & Help page.
Please visit EPA's Transportation and Air Quality web-based repository of mobile source documents, Document Index System (DIS). This searchable repository contains regulations, Federal Register notices, policy letters, and guidance documents.
Please visit our Related Links page for other fuel related information within EPA, other U.S. Agencies, and other fuel related websites.