Pesticide licence in Florida: categories, exam and renewal

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The source is the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, called FDACS below. It runs two separate programs that touch tree and turf work: pesticide applicator licensing, and pest control licensing. The parent page, pesticide licences by country, has the national background.

At a glance

Item	What FDACS says
Agency	Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Restricted use route	Commercial Applicator License, US$250, valid up to four years
Pest control route	Certified Pest Control Operator, category Lawn and Ornamental Pest Control, with a business license
Ornamentals only	Limited Commercial Landscape Maintenance certification, exam US$150
Exam provider	Everblue, remotely or in person
Business license fee	US$300, plus US$10 for each employee identification card

The restricted use applicator license

The FDACS page on pesticide applicator certification and licensing says an applicant passes the required certification exams before applying for a license. Most exams are given by Everblue, which runs them remotely or at test sites, and a few are given by FDACS itself. The page lists license fees of US$100 for private and public applicators and US$250 for a commercial applicator, for new licenses and renewals. A restricted use license is valid for four years and expires at the end of the month four years after issue.

The page says all individuals who apply restricted-use pesticides in Florida, or any pesticide by aerial delivery, need a Florida license issued by FDACS. Applicators who are not Florida residents file a form with the Florida Department of State first.

Pest control: the lawn and ornamental category

The FDACS pest control licensing page covers pest control provided to homes and other structures, and it names Lawn and Ornamental Pest Control as one of the categories. It says each business location must hold a business license, carry the stated insurance, and employ full-time a Florida-certified operator in charge who is certified in the categories the business works in.

The page gives these amounts and limits.

Item	Amount
Business license	US$300
Employee identification card	US$10 each
Certified operator exam	US$300 for each category
Bodily injury cover	US$250,000 per person and US$500,000 per occurrence
Property damage cover	US$250,000 per occurrence and US$500,000 aggregate; or a combined single limit of US$500,000 aggregate

To sit the operator exam, the page says an applicant documents either three years as a service employee of a pest control licensee, with at least one year under a Florida licensee, or a qualifying degree plus one year with a Florida licensee. It adds that horticulture, botany or agronomy education qualifies a person for the Lawn and Ornamental Pest Control category only.

Limited certifications

FDACS also gives four limited certifications that do not allow running a pest control business. The Limited Commercial Landscape Maintenance certification lets commercial landscape maintenance personnel apply herbicides, insecticides and fungicides to ornamental plants and plant beds only. The page says it does not cover any pesticide use on turf, and it does not let the holder supervise employees under the certificate. The exam fee for each limited certification is US$150. A separate limited certification is required for commercial fertilizer applicators working on turf and ornamentals, and proof of Green Industry Best Management Practices training comes before it is issued.

Renewal and continuing education

FDACS says licensed applicators become recertified by earning continuing education units or by passing the exams again, and a mix of the two is allowed across categories. The CEU page says renewal by CEUs takes four core units per license plus the category units listed in a table. The licensing page says a renewal can be made up to one year after expiry, and that a renewal more than 60 days late carries a US$50 late fee and a notarized affidavit that no restricted-use pesticide was bought or applied.

Reciprocity

The licensing page says reciprocal agreements waive the exams for applicators certified in listed states, agencies and tribes, but the Florida license is still required. FDACS publishes a certification compatibility chart, revised May 2024, that marks each state and category yes, no or pending, including an Ornamental and Turf column. The page says a previous approval does not ensure a future one.