Beef settlement claim form: what filing involved, and where it stands

Last verified 10 August 2026 · By Class Action Buddy

This is the US Consumer Indirect Purchaser beef settlement — In re: Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation, No. 0:22-md-3031 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Tyson and Cargill settled for $87.5 million combined; JBS and National Beef did not. For what that fund works out to per person, see our companion page on what the beef settlement pays.

What the claim form asked for

The official form ran to four sections. Knowing what it wanted is still useful if you filed and are being asked to clarify something, or if you want to judge whether a similar claim is worth your time.

1. Claimant information. Name, or a business name if the purchases were used by the business rather than resold. Street address, city, state, ZIP, mobile number, email. If you filed for somebody else, your own contact details went in a separate block and any authorization agreement had to be attached — payment still went directly to the claimant.
2. Purchase information. Five questions: did you buy qualifying cuts; did you buy them in a covered state; were you an individual or a business; did you buy monthly across the whole class period, and if so how many pounds a month (if not, how many months and how many pounds); and roughly how much you spent per month.
3. Payment election. One method only, from six.
4. Certification. A signature and date, certifying the claim was accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge, that you were a class member, and that you would furnish more information if the administrator asked.

The form ends with a numbered list of 284 named cuts across the four primals, so a claimant could check a specific product rather than guess.

The two gates that decided eligibility

These are the two gates a claim had to clear before the purchase estimate mattered at all.

The cut. Only fresh or frozen beef made from chuck, loin, rib or round primal cuts counted. The form excludes anything ground, marinated, seasoned, flavored, breaded or cooked, and anything sold as USDA Prime, organic, No Antibiotics Ever, antibiotic free, 100% grass-fed, kosher, halal, certified humane, Wagyu or "American-Style Kobe Beef". Ground beef being out surprises most people.

The state. The purchase had to be made in one of 26 states or the District of Columbia — Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. These are the states whose laws let indirect purchasers sue for antitrust damages. Buying in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Georgia did not qualify, however much beef it was.

How claimants chose to be paid

Section III let you pick one of six: a digital payment by Amazon, Starbucks, PayPal, Venmo or Instacart, or a mailed paper check. A digital election needed a valid email address and phone number, and keeping those current is the claimant's responsibility.

Worth correcting, because we had this wrong ourselves: this settlement did not require Venmo. Our app only supported the Venmo option, which is a limit of our software rather than a term of the settlement.

The mailing route, and why our cut-off was earlier

Claims could go in online or by mail. A mailed form had to be postmarked by 30 June 2026 and sent to Consumer Indirect Beef Litigation, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 3605, Portland, OR 97208-3605.

Class Action Buddy fills the official PDF from your profile, shows you the completed form and captures your signature; the signed claim is then printed and mailed to the administrator. Because that involves physical mail, the app works to a seven-day mailing buffer — it stops offering a settlement roughly a week before the official date, so a claim mailed through it still arrives in time. For this settlement that meant an effective cut-off around 23 June 2026, not the 30th. You remain the claimant throughout: the app is a tool for completing and sending the official form, not a filing service acting for you.

If you already filed

There is nothing else to do. The administrator says every claim is being reviewed, that deficient claims will be flagged and given time to respond, and that payment follows once that finishes. Its own wording is that the process "can take time, please be patient." No payment date has been published. Final approval was granted on 29 May 2026, after a fairness hearing on 20 May.

Check the official settlement website for status updates rather than any third-party page, this one included.

If you missed the deadline

You have not been shut out of the case. Staying in the class released your claims against Tyson and Cargill only. The administrator's FAQ is explicit that if you did not file by 30 June 2026 you can still take part in any future settlements or judgments the consumer plaintiffs obtain against the other defendants — and the case is still being litigated against JBS and National Beef.

In practical terms: watch the official site for a second claims window. If one opens, the eligibility rules above will most likely be the ones that apply again, so it is worth knowing now whether your purchases and your state would qualify. Class Action Buddy tracks the settlements that are currently open if you want the next one flagged rather than found by accident.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still file a beef settlement claim?

No. The claim window for the Tyson and Cargill settlements closed on 30 June 2026. Online submissions had to be in by that date and mailed claim forms had to be postmarked by it. The administrator states that anything arriving later will not be considered.

What did the beef settlement claim form ask for?

Four sections. Your name and address, plus contact details if you were filing for someone else. Then whether you bought qualifying cuts, whether you bought them in a covered state, whether you were an individual or a business, and your best estimate of pounds per month and dollars spent per month. Then how you wanted to be paid. Then a signature.

Did I need receipts for the beef settlement?

No. The form says you did not need to provide any documentation at the time of filing, only a good-faith estimate of what you bought. The administrator did reserve the right to ask for supporting information later, and claims that look deficient are contacted during review.

Which beef counted towards a claim?

Fresh or frozen beef made from chuck, loin, rib or round primal cuts, bought in one of 26 states or the District of Columbia. Ground beef did not count, and nor did anything marinated, seasoned, flavored, breaded or cooked, or beef sold as USDA Prime, organic, grass-fed, kosher, halal, certified humane, Wagyu or American-Style Kobe Beef.

I filed a claim. What happens next?

Nothing is required from you. The administrator says all claims are being reviewed and that anyone whose claim looks deficient will be contacted and given time to respond, with payment following once that is finished. No payment date has been announced. Watch the official settlement website rather than third-party pages for updates.

I missed the deadline. Is that the end of it?

Not for the case as a whole. The 30 June 2026 deadline closed the Tyson and Cargill settlements only. The litigation continues against JBS and National Beef, and the administrator states that people who did not file by that date can still take part in any future settlements or judgments obtained against the remaining defendants.