Pesticide licence in New Hampshire: categories, exam and renewal

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The sources are the New Hampshire statutes, RSA 430:28 to 430:57, on the General Court site, and two chapters of the Division of Pesticide Control rules on the same site, Pes 300 and Pes 400. The statute puts the Division of Pesticide Control inside the Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food. The parent page, pesticide licences by country, has the national background.

At a glance

Item	What the statute and rules say
Agency	Division of Pesticide Control, Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food (RSA 430:32)
Certificate	A certificate of registration for commercial application of pesticides, with an annual application fee of US$60 for each commercial application registration (RSA 430:33)
Category for trees	Shade and ornamental pest control, coded G1, inside the ornamental and turf category G (Pes 302.01)
Exam fee	US$15 for each category or commodity group, and US$15 again for each re-examination (RSA 430:34, III)
Levels	Operational and supervisory; supervisory adds an oral exam (Pes 304)
Insurance	For ground application, bodily injury liability of US$1,000,000 each occurrence and US$2,000,000 aggregate, and property damage of US$1,000,000 each occurrence (Pes 302.03)
Recertification	Every fifth year of renewal; at least 12 credits per category over five years, capped at 48 for five or more categories, or retake the exams (Pes 402.01)

Who needs the certificate

RSA 430:33 says no person shall engage in the commercial application of pesticides, or the private application of restricted pesticides, without a valid certificate of registration from the division. A commercial applicator for hire is defined in RSA 430:29 as a commercial applicator who applies any pesticide on another's property for consideration. RSA 430:34, IV says each crew running a piece of equipment as commercial applicators needs one registered member, and any application must be by or under the direct supervision of someone who has met the exam requirement. A person who is not a commercial applicator needs a written permit from the division, at US$20 a year, except as RSA 430:46 provides. That section exempts, among others, an occupant applying pesticides in or around their own living unit when crops raised there are not offered for sale. Fees are not collected from nonprofit or governmental entities.

Categories for trees

Pes 302.01 says the state uses the categories of the federal rule at 40 CFR 171.101. Ornamental and turf pest control is split into shade and ornamental (G1), turf (G2) and indoor foliar (G3). Rule Pes 301.04 defines ornamental as trees, shrubs and other plantings in and around habitations, including residences, parks, streets, retail outlets and industrial and institutional buildings. The G1 exam is described as testing knowledge of pesticide use for a wide variety of ornamental trees, shrubs, plantings and flowers, the potential for plant injury, drift, persistence beyond the time needed, and control practices that limit hazards to people and pets. Right-of-way and commercial weed and brush control is a separate category, B, covering public roads, power lines, pipelines and railways. Aquatic work has its own category.

Exams, levels and fees

Pes 304 says there are written and oral exams. Each applicant takes a general exam, a regulations exam on federal and New Hampshire law, and a category exam at the operational or supervisory level. Supervisory applicants, unless exempt under Pes 304.05, take an oral exam after passing the written ones. To be eligible at the operational level an applicant must be at least 18 (Pes 303.02). For the supervisory level, Pes 303.01 requires age 18 and one of a list of routes, including three years registered at the operational level or working under a supervisor, or a degree in a field such as entomology, plant pathology or forestry plus at least one growing season of experience. The applicant must meet all registration requirements within 30 days of the last exam passed (Pes 302.04).

Insurance and business registration

Pes 302.03 requires proof of financial responsibility, shown by a signed declaration plus a certificate of insurance naming the division as certificate holder with notice of cancellation. Coverage is to include chemical liability for pollution where available. Applicants who are commercial applicators not for hire are not required to show it. Pes 307.01 separately requires every business that applies pesticides for hire to hold a non-transferable certificate of registration naming its categories.

Renewal and recertification

Pes 401.01 says a holder may renew for a further year without another exam by sending the renewal form, proof of financial responsibility, the report of pesticides used the year before, and the fee. A licence not renewed by June 1 means taking an exam again. Every fifth year of renewal, commercial applicators must show recertification compliance. Pes 402.01 says that means at least 12 credits per category from division-approved seminars during the five years ending December 31 of the fifth year, with renewal made each year, or retaking the exams in the fifth year. Seminars approved by the lead pesticide agency of another state are treated as approved.

Penalties and reciprocity

RSA 430:45 makes a violation a misdemeanor for a natural person and a felony for any other person, adds a civil forfeiture of up to US$5,000 for each violation or each day, and allows an administrative fine of up to US$1,000 per violation. No licence reciprocity rule appears in the statute chapter or in Pes 300 and Pes 400 as read on October 9, 2026.