7 U.S.C. § 87f–1 — Registration requirements

(a) The Secretary of Agriculture must make rules to register everyone who is regularly in the business of buying grain for sale in foreign commerce, or handling, weighing, or transporting grain for sale in foreign commerce. Four kinds of people do not have to register: someone who only buys, handles, weighs, or transports grain for sale once in a while, not as a regular business; a grain producer who only occasionally sells or transports grain they bought; someone who hauls grain for pay but does not own any part of that grain; and someone who buys grain to feed animals or process it, not to resell it, as long as any resale is only occasional. (b) People who must register have to give the Secretary: the business's name and main address; the names of all its directors; the names of its main officers; the names of anyone who controls the business; a list of places where it does substantial business; and any other information the Secretary needs. If the registering person also controls a related business that buys, handles, weighs, or transports grain for sale in interstate commerce, they must give the same information about that business too. A person "controls" a business if they own 10 percent or more of it directly, or if they control another business or group of businesses that together own 10 percent or more of it. When counting that 10 percent, the law adds in ownership held by the person's spouse, minor children, and relatives who live in the same household. (c) The Secretary gives a certificate of registration to anyone who meets these rules, and the certificate must be renewed every year. If any of the required information changes, the certificate holder must tell the Secretary within 30 days of finding out. No one may buy grain for sale in foreign commerce, or handle, weigh, or transport grain in foreign commerce, without a valid, unsuspended, unrevoked certificate. (d) The Secretary can suspend or revoke a certificate, but only after giving the holder a hearing under the federal rules in sections 554, 556, and 557 of title 5. The Secretary can do this if the person violated this chapter or its regulations, or was convicted of a crime under title 18 involving the handling, weighing, or inspection of grain. (e) The Secretary must charge and collect fees from every registered person. The fees are set based on what it costs the Secretary to run the registration program, and the money goes into the fund described in section 79(j) of this title.