Pesticide licence in Kansas: certification, business licence and fees

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The regulator is the Kansas Department of Agriculture, which refused automated access on October 9, 2026, so the facts come from the Kansas pesticide law (K.S.A. 2-2438a onward) on the Kansas Office of the Revisor of Statutes site and from the Kansas State University Extension General Manual (publication S12, dated May 2026), which restates the programme for exam candidates. The parent page, pesticide licences by country, has the national background.

At a glance

Item	What the sources say
Agency	Kansas Department of Agriculture, Secretary of Agriculture
Credentials	Pesticide business licence for the firm; certified commercial applicator certificate for restricted use work; registered pest control technician for uncertified staff
Category for trees and turf	Category 3, ornamental and turf pest control, covering ornamental trees, shrubs, flowers, turf and interior landscape work
Business licence fee	US$140 per category, plus US$15 for each uncertified employee who applies pesticides; the statute lowers these to US$112 and US$10 from July 1, 2028
Exam fee	US$45 per exam, general exam and each category exam, per K-State; the statute sets a ceiling of US$45
Financial responsibility	Surety bond of at least US$6,000 a year, or liability insurance of at least US$25,000 bodily injury and US$5,000 property damage per occurrence
Certificate life	Expires December 31 of the second calendar year after the year of issue

The firm needs a licence, the person needs a certificate

K.S.A. 2-2440 makes it unlawful for a pesticide business without a licence to advertise, sell or perform pest control on another person's property, or to apply pesticides there. Section 2-2440 on the Revisor of Statutes site exempts state or federal staff doing pesticide research, veterinarians and physicians using pesticides in their professional services, and anyone applying pesticides on premises they or their employer own, lease or operate. A licence expires at the end of the calendar year. No licence is issued until the firm has, or employs, at least one certified commercial applicator in each category on the application.

K-State describes the same split in plain terms: the business licence belongs to the company, and the commercial applicator certification belongs to the individual. Under the Kansas definition a certified commercial applicator is anyone who uses or supervises restricted use pesticides on property other than the exempt cases. The K-State manual lists the cases where commercial certification may not be needed: work within a private applicator certification, work under a certified commercial applicator (not for aerial work or where the label forbids supervision), veterinarians and physicians in their professional services, and laboratory staff in pesticide research.

Category 3 and uncertified staff

The K-State manual lists the commercial categories. Category 3 is ornamental and turf pest control to control pests in the maintenance and production of ornamental trees, shrubs, flowers and turf, and interior landscape pest control. Others on the list include agricultural, forest, seed treatment, aquatic, sewer root control, right-of-way, and industrial, institutional, structural and health-related pest control. The federal list in 40 CFR 171.101 on the eCFR site has a matching ornamental and turf pest control category.

K.S.A. 2-2440b says a licensee doing ornamental, turf, structural, wood destroying or interior landscape pest control must use either a certified commercial applicator or a registered pest control technician. An uncertified person may apply general use pesticides when a certified applicator or registered technician is physically present. Technicians may not supervise the use of restricted use pesticides, and may apply them only under supervision by a commercial applicator certified for that category. The technician registration expires at the end of the calendar year. Section 2-2440a requires the licensee to tell the secretary within 30 days of hiring a technician or trainee, and to ensure that other uncertified applicators meet the Act within 90 days of hire.

Exam, reciprocity and renewal

K.S.A. 2-2443a requires a written exam on proper pesticide use in each category. The general core exam covers equipment, drift, weather conditions, effects on plants, animals and wildlife, pesticide identity and classification, calculating concentrations, pest identification, protective clothing, container disposal and cleaning, and state and federal pesticide law. The statute caps the per-exam fee at US$45 and at US$35 from July 1, 2028, and a failed exam can be retaken on paying another fee. K-State adds that an applicant must be at least 18, preregister for exams online, pass the general exam and at least one category exam, and that the certificate and pocket card come from the department.

The same section says a commercial applicator holding a certificate in another state may be exempted from the exam if the secretary approves and a US$75 fee per category is paid, unless rules set a lower fee. K-State says Kansas has reciprocal agreements with certain states, but the applicator files an application and pays fees, and that certification elsewhere does not replace a Kansas certification.

Under K.S.A. 2-2446, a commercial certification renews for three years by paying the fees, passing the exams and filing the renewal form. The secretary may accept an approved training course instead of exams, with a recertification-by-training fee of US$50 per category unless rules set a lower one. Training is allowed after expiry if all training was done in the period and the form and fees arrive within 30 days after expiry. K-State says that if training credits were not earned in the period, or renewal is late, the credits are forfeited and the general exam plus a category exam must be passed again.

Proof of financial responsibility

K.S.A. 2-2448 bars a business licence until the firm files a surety bond or a certificate of liability insurance. The bond must be at least US$6,000 a year, written by a corporate surety, naming the firm as principal. The insurance must give at least US$25,000 bodily injury liability and US$5,000 property damage liability for each occurrence, and the insurer must tell the secretary in writing at least 10 days before it expires, is reduced or is cancelled. The secretary suspends the licence when cover lapses. Under section 2-2449 the secretary may deny, suspend, revoke or modify a licence, registration, permit or certificate after notice and a hearing for a conviction, a breach of the Act, or a revocation elsewhere.