Pesticide licence in Indiana: 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 Office of Indiana State Chemist, located at Purdue University, which certifies and licenses pesticide applicators and licenses the businesses that apply for hire. The parent page, pesticide licences by country, has the national background.

At a glance

Item	What the office says
Agency	Office of Indiana State Chemist, Purdue University
Steps	Certification by exam, then a licence; certification lasts five years, the licence renews every year on December 31
Categories for trees and turf	3a Ornamental Pest Management; 3b Turf Management; 2 Forest Pest Management; 6 Industrial Weed Management
Exam	Core exam, then a category exam; three attempts in any twelve months; scheduled through a testing center sign-up site
Recertification	Repeat the exams or earn continuing certification hours: 15 for category 3a, 20 for category 3b
Business licence	Required for hire work; at least one certified applicator; US$45 a year for the business and US$45 for each applicator and technician on the reciprocity page
Insurance	General liability of US$300,000 combined single limit for a pesticide application business
Technician	Registered technician (RT) for general use pesticides under off-site supervision, after a training option

How certification and licensing work

The office's commercial applicator page says certification as a commercial applicator is usually a two-step process. The applicant passes a written Core exam on pesticide laws, general pest biology, formulations, personal and environmental safety and label comprehension, and then a category exam on pest identification and biology, pesticide chemistry, application techniques, equipment and calibration, and environmental concerns. The office allows three attempts at any exam within twelve months. A passed set of exams gives a certification that lasts five years and ends on December 31 of the fourth year after the year of qualification. A certified applicator must then be licensed to legally purchase, use or supervise the use of pesticides, and the wallet-size license expires and is renewable every year on December 31. Certification can be renewed for another five years by repeating the exams or by collecting continuing certification hours.

Categories for trees and turf

The office's continuing certification program page describes the categories. Category 3a, Ornamental Pest Management, covers using or supervising pesticides on ornamental plants and related areas such as driveways, sidewalks, residential parking areas, landscape beds and fence lines. Category 3b, Turf Management, covers pesticides or fertilizers on turf, with a separate golf course version. Category 2, Forest Pest Management, covers forests and forest nurseries, and category 6, Industrial Weed Management, covers roads, utility rights of way, pipelines, railways, ditch banks and similar areas. Category 13 is a limited certification for a very small number of specialized pesticides, and the page says it normally needs only the Core exam.

Exams

On its exam sign-up page the office says no paper exams follow training, and examinees schedule exams on a testing center sign-up site. No exam may be attempted more than three times in twelve months, counted from the first failure. Training programs and manuals are listed there from Purdue Extension. The pages read do not give an exam fee or a pass mark.

Recertification hours

The continuing certification program page says the hours system is designed so that certified applicators earn automatic renewal at the end of the five-year period. Hours come from approved conferences, workshops and other programs. The hours needed are 15 for category 3a, 20 for category 3b, 10 for category 2 and 15 for category 6. An applicator may earn no more than half the required hours at any single program.

Business licence, insurance and technicians

The office's reciprocity page says anyone who applies pesticides for hire on another person's property, or advertises that service, needs an Indiana pesticide business license. The firm must employ at least one certified applicator, file an application for the business and each applicator and technician, pay US$45 a year for the business and US$45 for each certified applicator and registered technician, and send a certificate of insurance. The insurance requirements page sets a minimum of US$300,000 general liability, combined single limit for bodily injury and property damage, issued in the business name. A person who is not certified but uses pesticides under off-site supervision of a certified applicator must be a registered technician. The office's registered technician training page lists the ways to meet the mandatory training, including Core exam training and e-learning.

Reciprocity

The reciprocity page says it is offered only for applicators in businesses based outside Indiana, on the certification exams of the state where the business operates. Applicators with businesses inside Indiana must take Indiana exams. The list of states is a separate PDF that was not opened.