Florida pesticide inquiries and the route to other state regulators

For Florida pesticide licensing questions, start with the official FDACS pesticide licensing page. Choose applicator licenses, dealer licensing, frequently asked questions or the licensed-applicator search for your task. For another state, use the NPIC state pesticide regulatory agency directory, then open the agency’s page for your task.

NPIC's phone line is 1-800-858-7378.

State the task before choosing a contact

Contact the state pesticide agency about product registration, state use rules, notification or posting, certification, misuse or exposure complaints. Identify the decision you need and provide the relevant product, person or incident identifiers.

Florida: separate applicator and dealer routes

Choose the FDACS applicator-license link for operator credentials or the pesticide dealer licensing link for a sales business. Use the licensed-applicator search to verify an individual credential. A license issued by FDACS under Chapter 487, Florida Statutes, is required to apply restricted use pesticides to any outdoor area in Florida not associated with a structure, and approval from FDACS is required before any application of aldicarb.

Florida public applicators must pass the general standards (core) exam plus every category exam covering the restricted use work they will do for a government agency. A public license is valid only for restricted use pesticides used at a place of employment for a government entity, such as treating highway rights-of-way as an employee of the Florida Department of Transportation.

FDACS itself provides training manuals and classes for the regulatory pest control, regulatory inspection and sampling, chlorine gas infusion and sewer root control categories.

Iowa: use the Pesticide Bureau's service categories

For IDALS pesticide information, open Iowa’s Pesticide Bureau. Choose applicator licensing and certification, pesticide products, dealer licensing, use investigation and enforcement, or rules and codes. Use the testing resources for schedules, locations, manuals and study guides.

Pesticide questions for Iowa go to the Pesticide Bureau at 515-281-8591.

Texas: identify agricultural or structural work

In Texas, contact the Department of Agriculture, the lead pesticide agency. Use its Agricultural Pesticide Program for agricultural land, lawn and ornamentals, rights-of-way and public-health applications. Use Structural Pest Control Service for applications in and around structures. Select the separate dealer or product-registration service for those questions. The department is responsible for licensing and training pesticide applicators and for registering pesticides for sale in the state; its page links to separate forms for filing an agricultural pesticide complaint and a structural pesticide complaint.

Since May 19, 2025, Metro Institute administers the Texas Department of Agriculture’s pesticide applicator exams. Applicants complete an application and submit license fees to TDA first; after TDA issues an account number, they register for an exam on Metro’s website at one of several locations across the state. TDA also oversees worker protection and works to protect endangered and threatened species.

New York: recognize the environmental-agency route

In New York, contact the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Bureau of Pesticide Management. Use NYSPAD to search products and labels, applicators and technicians, businesses and agencies, courses and exams, or restricted-use dealers. To report pesticide misuse, file a complaint through a DEC regional office.

Start with jurisdiction, then choose the service

For Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands or the Virgin Islands, use the territory contacts in the agency directory. Washington, DC has its own contact entry. Write down the actual location in your question instead of picking a mainland office just because its name is familiar.

For tribal land, establish whether enforcement rests with the tribal designee or EPA. For US military installations, start with the Armed Forces Pest Management Board. When you ask which authority applies, give the actual worksite and the planned activity.

What the New York bureau handles

The New York bureau handles pesticide registration, application, use, distribution and sale, plus applicator certification and supervision. Direct compliance-assistance, outreach and enforcement questions to the appropriate program contact.

New York certification exams

For New York certification testing, choose online testing, an approved test center or the available regional-office paper exams. Online testing requires internet access and a quiet private space, with camera and microphone monitoring. Test centers use an in-person proctor. Follow the registration instructions for the selected format. New York asks for recertification applications 4–6 weeks before the certification card expires, to avoid a lapse.

NYS DEC credits for private applicators

A New York private applicator recertifies every 5 years, either by completing recertification training credits or by taking a recertification examination. How many credits are needed depends on the category or categories the applicator holds, and the category table on the DEC page gives the figure for each. Core credits count for all categories; of the credits required for a category, 25% must be specific to that category.

Use NYSPAD’s restricted-use dealer search to investigate a supplier. Search for an individual applicator’s credential through the applicator search instead.

Dept. of Pesticide Regulation (California DPR): choose the service you need

The official California Department of Pesticide Regulation website is the starting point for DPR services. Choose pesticide registration, professional licensing, safety, data and reports, or public involvement from the service menu. Choose the service for your question: product registration, applicator credentials, pesticide-use records and incidents each need different information.

The California Dept of Pesticide Regulation, written CDPR or DPR, runs the website cdpr.ca.gov.

California Dept of Pesticide Regulation license page (www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/liccert.htm)

The old licensing address cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/liccert.htm now sends you to the "Apply for a License" page. That page carries the packet for the Qualified Applicator License. The licensing exams include the Core Exam on laws, regulations and the basic principles of safe and effective pesticide use.

Distinguish the product from the person

For a container-status question, use “Registered Products in California.” For credentials, use “Apply for a License,” “Renew a License,” continuing education or the current-licensee search. Save a product’s registration result separately from a person’s credential result.

Find product status and labeling information

Product and label data contain product name, active or cancelled registration status, formulation, approval or inactivation dates, registration type, registered use sites and restricted-use information. These are the identifiers to note when you investigate a product. The technical download is supplied as fixed-width data tables, with format documentation and a data dictionary.

Reach pesticide-use reporting and local work questions

Open “Pesticide Use in California” under data and reports for published use information. Contact the relevant County Agricultural Commissioner about a local application or submission. Published data and a question about one specific local application are different requests, so do not mix them in one message.

Route an incident through the incident service

Use “Report a Pesticide Incident” for an actual incident. Describe the exposure or misuse and name the worksite, instead of sending it as a general product question.

Use the public-information branches for their stated purposes

Open the relevant DPR service for environmental monitoring, residue monitoring, tracking pesticide illness or sustainable pest management. Use the meetings and public-comments links for public participation. Before you write to the department, name the dataset, consultation or resource you want.

Choose the service by the object of the question

Use pesticide-safety resources for worker safety, Healthy Schools Act training, enforcement, species protection and community-health questions. State who may be exposed, the setting and the activity when requesting help.

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Distinguish bulk product data from a specific product answer

For bulk analysis, use the ZIP archive for the complete set of 38 tables. For one container, use the product-query route. Treat each field as separate: a formulation description does not replace the status field, and a use-site entry is not blanket permission for every method on that crop.

Use public-participation pages without confusing them with adopted rules

For regulatory changes, read the proposed text, public-comment instructions and adopted rule separately. Use laws and regulations to identify an operative requirement and meetings or events to find participation opportunities. Record the effective date of an adopted change before applying it to a certification or use question.

Keep a data-format date separate from product status

A product-table format change took effect July 21, 2020. Use that date to read the technical layout, and keep the download date, product approval date and inactivation date apart when you trace a registration record.

California pesticide regulation and Sacramento inquiries

For a California pesticide inquiry, including a request for a Sacramento DPR contact, choose the official service for the subject. Distinguish state licensing or registration from county field-use administration.

Pesticide license by state agency: NCDA, WSDA, VDACS and other abbreviations

A pesticide license, a pesticide applicator's license, a herbicide license and a licence for pesticides are issued by the state agency of the state where you apply, so the search starts with the state's agriculture department, usually written by its abbreviation (NCDA, WSDA, VDACS, MDARD, UDAF, IDALS, KDA, ODA, MDA, DEP). Find your state in the NPIC state agency directory and open its licensing page.

NCDA pesticide license (North Carolina)

In North Carolina the private and commercial applicator pesticide exams are administered by the NCDA&CS Structural Pest Control and Pesticides Division, Pesticide Section. Attendance at a Pesticide Safety School is not required for certification.

WSDA pesticide license types (Washington)

For WSDA licenses the exams depend on the license type: certain license types need only one stand-alone exam, while other types require Washington Laws and Safety plus all categories in which the applicator operates. The WSDA license types and categories pages show which type fits your work.

VDACS pesticide license, DMV pesticide test and Everblue pesticide exam (Virginia)

A Virginia private applicator can take a written exam at a local Virginia Cooperative Extension office, or apply to the Office of Pesticide Services to take the exam after an authorization letter. With the letter the exam can be taken on a touch-screen computer at a local Virginia DMV Customer Service Center, by appointment at a VDACS testing center, or remotely through an online portal. Remote testing is hosted by Everblue and carries an extra fee paid directly to Everblue. That is the Everblue pesticide exam, and the DMV pesticide test, that people search for.

Chemical applicator license, herbicide licence and weed killer licence

A chemical applicator license, a herbicide licence, a weed killer licence, a commercial weed killer licence, a weed killer spraying certificate, a fertilizer and pesticide licence and a spray tech license (and a fertilizer and pesticides licence, where a state issues both) are names for the same thing: pesticide applicator certification, which state, territorial and tribal authorities issue. The credential you need depends on the state where you spray, so the first step is your state's pesticide agency.

MI pesticide applicator's license (Michigan, MDARD)

In Michigan the state pesticide program is run by MDARD, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and its pesticide pages are the place to start for a MI pesticide applicator's license.

MDARD pesticide testing in Michigan covers two certificates. Private certification is required for anyone who applies restricted-use pesticides to agricultural commodities on their own or their employer's property, and that applicator passes the private core exam. Commercial certification is for anyone who applies pesticides for commercial purposes: the applicator passes the commercial core exam and at least one category exam for the type of application. MDARD proctors the core exams after a Michigan State University core review; other exams are proctored by Metro Institute on behalf of MDARD, at a testing center or online with remote proctoring. After the exams, send the application and fee to MDARD: $50 for private and $75 for commercial, with registration fees of MSU or Metro Institute charged separately. The credential is valid for three years and expires on December 31 of the third year. MDARD has reciprocal agreements with Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Where to find pesticide training and certification near you

The certification that goes with spraying work is the applicator certificate, and it comes from the state, territorial or tribal authority where you apply. For pesticide training near you, including safe use of pesticides training, contact the Pesticide Safety Education Program of your state or territory; it gives information on training and study materials, and most states have one. Federal law requires anyone who applies or supervises restricted use pesticides to be certified, and applicators must know how to apply them properly and effectively, so the exam for your category comes before the first spray. Many states also require every commercial applicator to be certified, not only those who use restricted use products.

Purdue core exam for Indiana private applicators

Indiana private applicators must pass the Pesticide CORE exam. There are three ways to prepare: self-study with the Pesticide CORE training manual, an in-person classroom session, or an e-learning course. Certification exams are taken through Metro Institute, with a government-issued photo ID, and a person gets 3 attempts in 12 months to pass an exam. After passing, submit a Private Applicator Application form to the Office of the Indiana State Chemist.

ODA pesticide license and credits (Ohio)

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) licenses applicators. To keep a commercial pesticide applicator license current, an applicator must take 5 hours of recertification credit every 3 years, made up of 1 hour of core, 1/2 hour in each category on the license and additional time in any category.

UDAF pesticide license (Utah)

To use restricted-use pesticides in Utah you need a pesticide applicator's license from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF). There are three types: commercial, non-commercial for government agencies such as city and county employees, and private for agricultural producers planning to use restricted-use pesticides. Study the educational materials provided by UDAF, schedule the exam at a testing center, then submit the application and pay the UDAF licensing fee. Renew every three years; renewal needs continuing education units, 24 total CEU hours for commercial and non-commercial licenses and 6 for private licenses.

IDALS pesticide license (Iowa)

IDALS, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, handles pesticide questions through its Pesticide Bureau at 515-281-8591.

KDA and kyagr pesticide license (Kentucky)

For a Kentucky pesticide license (KDA, kyagr), find the state agency under KY in the NPIC state agency directory.

Dept of agriculture pesticides: which department answers

The pesticide regulator is not always the department of agriculture: in New York it is the DEC.

Check whether a pesticide product is registered in your state

A product with an EPA registration number can still need its own state registration, so check it with your state before you buy or apply. NPIC lists "inquire if a pesticide is registered for use in your state" among the reasons to contact the state pesticide regulatory agency. Take the EPA registration number from the container, find your state in the NPIC agency directory, and look for the agency's product search or product-registration contact.

Each state keeps its own record. New York's DEC publishes the NYSPAD portal, where "pesticide products registered in NYS" is one of the searches. In Texas the Department of Agriculture registers pesticides for sale in the state.

California publishes its product data openly. The product tables carry the status, dates and use-site fields described above. DPR warns that registration search results are not fully up to date while it moves to CalPEST, and says the most recent information can be requested under the Public Records Act.

The EPA lookup guide shows how to find the label and registration number first.

Next step

The state agency directory lists the responsible authority for each state.