UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (date of earliest event reported): September 19, 2014

AMERICAN VANGUARD CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

4695 MacArthur Court, Suite 1200

Newport Beach, California 92660

(Address of principal executive offices)

Registrant’s telephone number: (949) 260-1200

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

On September 19, 2014, American Vanguard Corporation issued a press release announcing that its board of directors had declared a cash dividend in the amount of five cent ($0.05) per share of common stock to holders of record as of October 8, 2014 to be distributed on October 22, 2014. The complete text of that release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, American Vanguard Corporation has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AMERICAN VANGUARD DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND

Newport Beach, CA – September 19, 2014 – American Vanguard Corp. (NYSE:AVD) announced that its Board of Directors has declared a $0.05 cash dividend payment to be distributed on October 22, 2014 to shareholders of record as of October 8, 2014. Eric Wintemute, Chairman and CEO of American Vanguard, stated, “This dividend continues our history of providing such returns to our shareholders and reflects our confidence in the long-term prospects of the company, despite short-term challenges. We also want to thank our shareholders for their continued support.”

Historical Cash Dividends:

Notes: A Special Dividend of $0.10 per share was paid in December 2012 and is not included in the 2012 dividend calculation above. The Company revised its dividend payment method from a semi-annual to a quarterly approach beginning in the second half of 2013.

About American Vanguard

American Vanguard Corporation is a diversified specialty and agricultural products company that develops and markets products for crop protection and management, turf and ornamentals management and public and animal health. American Vanguard is included on the Russell 2000^® & Russell 3000^® Indexes and the Standard & Poors Small Cap 600 Index. To learn more about American Vanguard, please reference the Company’s web site at www.american-vanguard.com.

In its public commentary, the Company may discuss forward-looking information. Except for the historical information contained in this release, all forward-looking statements are estimates by the Company’s management subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ from management’s current expectations. Such factors include weather conditions, changes in regulatory policy and other risks as detailed in the Company’s SEC reports and filings. All forward-looking statements, if any, in this release represent the Company’s judgment as of the date of this release.