Anyone using or supervising the use of restricted use pesticides on agricultural or related sites in Florida needs a restricted use pesticide license. Also, a license is required of anyone who aerially applies any pesticide in Florida to agricultural or related sites. Agricultural and related sites include but are not limited to the following areas: farms, plant nurseries, livestock, forests, ornamentals and turf not associated with structures (such as golf courses, parks and cemeteries), right-of-way areas (along highways, railroads, pipelines, etc.), soil and greenhouse fumigation, raw agricultural commodity fumigation, aquatic weed control, wood treatment, seed treatment, sewer root control, use of antifouling boat paints, treatment of swimming pools with chlorine gas, demonstration and research using agricultural or related restricted use pesticides, and regulatory use of agricultural or related restricted use pesticides.

An individual must apply for a voucher and then must pass the certification exams to be eligible for a license. Application for licensure can be completed at our Licensing Portal. Exams are provided by Everblue via remote or in-person testing. Manuals are available at nominal cost from the University of Florida/IFAS Publications Office at (352) 392-1764 or the UF/IFAS Bookstore. For more information on how to obtain a license, go to Applicator Certification & Licensing.

The license type and categories needed depend on how and where pesticides will be used. In general, a private license is valid for using restricted use pesticides to produce agricultural commodities on the pesticide applicator's own land or place of agricultural employment, such as application to a citrus grove or in a plant nursery. A public license is valid 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. A commercial license is required for all other applications of restricted use pesticides not covered by the private or public license. This includes all contract (for hire) applications made to property not owned or rented by the applicator or their employer, and for all non-government applications not for the purpose of agricultural production. For examples, see Question #6.

A "private applicator" is an individual who has reached the age of majority (generally 18 years old) and is licensed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to use or supervise the use of any restricted use pesticide for purposes of producing any agricultural commodity on property owned or rented by the licensed person or that person's employer. A private license may also be used to apply restricted use pesticides without compensation, other than the trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities, on the property of another individual for the purpose of agricultural production. This license is for farm, ranch, grove, nursery, sod farm applications, etc. Application of restricted use pesticides for production of ornamentals and turf at a nursery or sod farm or in a greenhouse may also be performed with a private license. However, application of restricted use pesticides solely to maintain turf and ornamentals at places such as golf courses requires a commercial license.

A "public applicator" is an individual who has reached the age of majority (generally 18 years of age) and is licensed by FDACS to use or supervise the use of any restricted use pesticide as an employee of a state agency, municipal corporation or other government agency.

A "commercial applicator" is an individual who has reached the age of majority (generally 18 years of age) and is licensed by FDACS to use or supervise the use of any restricted use pesticide for any purpose on any property other than as provided by the definitions of "private applicator" and "public applicator." A commercial license is required for all contract (for-hire) applications made to property not owned or rented by the applicator or their employer, and for all applications not for the purpose of agricultural production. Examples: maintenance of turf and ornamentals on golf courses, parks and cemeteries (no agricultural production involved); highway right-of-way applications; aquatic applications to keep recreational waters free of aquatic weeds; wood treatment not associated with agricultural production; etc.

A commercial license with the appropriate agricultural categories may substitute for a private license if desired. A commercial license with the appropriate work-related categories may substitute for a public license if acceptable to the government agency with which the applicator is employed, but liability issues should be considered before making any license substitutions.

Two exams are required to obtain a private applicator license: the general standards (core) exam and the private applicator agricultural pest control exam.

Public applicators must pass the general standards (core) exam plus all category exams needed to cover the work in which restricted use pesticides will be used in employment with a government agency. At least one primary category exam is required, and there is no limit to the number of category exams that may be taken. The primary category exams available to public applicators are: aerial application, agricultural animal pest control, agricultural row crop pest control, agricultural tree crop pest control, aquatic pest control, chlorine gas infusion, forestry pest control, natural areas weed management, organotin antifouling paint pest control, ornamental and turf pest control, raw agricultural commodity fumigation, regulatory inspection and sampling, regulatory pest control, right-of-way pest control, seed treatment, sewer root control, soil and greenhouse fumigation, and wood treatment. Public applicators must also become licensed in demonstration and research (secondary category), in addition to one or more primary categories, if their work for a government agency involves demonstration or research using restricted use pesticides.

Commercial applicators must pass the general standards (core) exam plus all category exams needed to cover the type of work in which restricted use pesticides will be used. At least one primary category exam is required, and there is no limit to the number of category exams that may be taken. The primary category exams available to commercial applicators are: aerial application, agricultural animal pest control, agricultural row crop pest control, agricultural tree crop pest control, aquatic pest control, chlorine gas infusion, forestry pest control, natural areas weed management, organotin antifouling paint pest control, ornamental and turf pest control, raw agricultural commodity fumigation, right-of-way pest control, seed treatment, sewer root control, soil and greenhouse fumigation, and wood treatment. Commercial applicators must also become licensed in demonstration and research (secondary category), in addition to one or more primary categories, if their work involves demonstration or research using restricted use pesticides.

Certification exams are administered by Everblue both via remote and in-person testing. For a map of in-person testing locations, go to Everblue Testing Locations.

The following certification exams are not offered by Everblue: regulatory pest control, regulatory inspection and sampling, chlorine gas infusion, and sewer root control. The exams for these categories are administered by FDACS on an as-needed basis. To schedule these exams, call the Pesticide Certification Section at (850) 617-7870.

To prepare for the certification exams, training manuals for most categories are available from
the University of Florida/IFAS Publications Office (1-800-226-1764 or the UF/IFAS Bookstore). Training classes in general standards (core) and most categories are also provided by the Cooperative Extension Service at local county offices throughout the state. Each county extension office sets its own training schedule. To find out the training schedule for a specific county office, you may contact that office directly. See a list of county extension offices. Also, a list of training classes approved for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) is available using the CEU Class Search. Most of the classes are available to individuals who need training for initial certification as well as recertification. For more information, check with the contact person listed for each class.

Training manuals and training classes for the following categories are provided by FDACS: regulatory pest control, regulatory inspection and sampling, chlorine gas infusion, sewer root control. To obtain training manuals or to schedule training classes for these categories, contact the Pesticide Certification Section at (850) 617-7870. Training classes for these categories are included in the CEU Class Search. 

After the certification exams are taken, an email with exam scores is sent by FDACS to each individual who tested. Additionally, an examinee can log into their portal and see exam results under the Licenses tab and then select Exams & Vouchers.

When you have passed the required certification exams, FDACS will send you a "requirements met" email and invoice. The license application fee should be paid at this time. You can pay the fee online using our Licensing Portal.

All three license types are valid for four years. The license fees for the four-year licenses are:

• Private: $100
• Public: $100
• Commercial: $250

There are two options for recertification: Either take the certification exams again at renewal time, or earn continuing education units (CEUs) during the four-year license period and accumulate the required number of CEUs for recertification. For a table showing the number of CEUs required for each license category, go to CEU Requirements.

Pesticide applicators are responsible for keeping CEU Record of Attendance forms obtained at CEU training sessions for submission to our Licensing Portal. Some CEU training providers enter CEU information for their class attendees into the FDACS online Earned CEUs database for easy tracking and verification, but this is an optional procedure and not all CEUs earned are contained in this database. Pesticide applicators can conduct an Earned CEU Search by license number to find out how many of their CEUs have been entered into this system. The FDACS Pesticide Certification Section will accept this online record of earned CEUs by RUP (restricted use pesticide) license holders in lieu of official CEU Record of Attendance forms for those CEUs included.

Yes, a renewal notice is emailed to all licensees approximately 60 days before the license expires. It is important that you inform FDACS of any email address change.

You may go into your Licensing Portal and select your name to display your license profile. Updates can be made in this location.

A searchable database of CEU classes is available using the CEU Class Search. The database can be searched by date range, location (Florida county, Alabama, Georgia or other location), license category, and/or sponsoring organization to produce a list of CEU classes of interest. Training classes approved for CEUs are held throughout the year at both in-state and out-of-state locations. The majority of the classes are sponsored by the Cooperative Extension Service and held at local county extension office locations. Additional classes are sponsored by industry organizations, commercial training firms, pesticide manufacturing representatives, and other organizations, and some online, computer-based and correspondence courses are available. All classes approved for CEUs are listed in the searchable database.