Pesticide licence in Rhode Island: 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 Chapter 25 of Title 23 of the Rhode Island General Laws, Pesticide Control, on the General Assembly site, and the Rules and Regulations Relating to Pesticides, 250-RICR-40-15-2, on the Secretary of State's rules site. The rules define the director, who holds the enforcing role, as the Director of the Department of Environmental Management. The parent page, pesticide licences by country, has the national background. The department's own licensing pages returned a block when this page was written, so nothing here comes from them.

At a glance

Item	What the statute and rules say
Two instruments	A commercial applicator licence for pesticides other than restricted use or state limited use; a commercial applicator certificate for those (250-RICR-40-15-2, 2.17 and 2.8)
Fees	Licence US$30 initially and at each annual renewal (rule 2.17); certification US$45 initially and at each annual renewal (rule 2.8). The statute caps them at US$30 and US$45 (sections 23-25-12 and 23-25-13).
Validity	Licence document to February 28; certification document to January 31 (rules 2.17 and 2.8)
Category for trees	Category 3 Ornamental and Turf; 3A Shade Tree (Arborist) for ornamental trees, 3B Custom Grounds, 3C Interior Scape (rule 2.7.3)
Recertification	Every five years: eight credit hours for a commercial licence, eight per category for a commercial certification; one credit hour is 50 consecutive minutes (rule 2.16)
Financial responsibility	For a licence, either a US$20,000 performance bond per job or insurance of US$20,000 and US$40,000 bodily injury and US$25,000 property damage. For certification, US$50,000 per job or US$50,000 and US$100,000 and US$50,000 (rule 2.21).
Minimum age	18 for licensing, certification, or applying under direct supervision (rules 2.17 and 2.8)

Licence or certificate

Section 23-25-12 says no commercial applicator may apply a pesticide classified for general use unless the application is by or under the direct supervision of a person licensed or certified, with an exception for land the applicator or the employer owns or rents. Section 23-25-13 sets the same rule for pesticides classified for use only by certified applicators. Rule 2.17 says anyone who applies a pesticide that is not restricted use or state limited use, as a commercial applicator, shall hold a valid commercial applicator licence. Rule 2.8 says anyone applying a restricted use or state limited use pesticide commercially shall hold a valid commercial certificate, unless working directly under a certified commercial applicator. An employee who applies pesticides as a condition of employment, away from a licensed or certified person, needs a licence or certificate too, though not separate financial responsibility.

Categories for trees

Rule 2.7.3 sets category 3, Ornamental and Turf Pest Control, for applicators using or supervising restricted use or state limited use pesticides. Category 3A, Shade Tree (Arborist), covers using or supervising pesticides in the maintenance and production of ornamental trees. Rule 2.10.3 says shade tree applicators must show practical knowledge of pesticide problems with ornamental and shade trees, including phytotoxicity across many kinds of plant material, drift, and persistence past the intended period of pest control, and of application methods that limit hazards to people, pets, other domestic animals, wells and water bodies. Right-of-way, aquatic, forest and other categories are listed beside it in rule 2.7.

Exams, fees and lapses

Under rules 2.8 and 2.17, competence is set by written exams and, as appropriate, performance testing against the standards in rule 2.10, and a person is not certifiable in a category until passing the required exams. Rule 2.8 says a person who fails to renew a commercial certification within a year of its expiry regains it solely by re-examination, with the core exam plus every category held before. Beyond one year, the person must attend the training course and take the core and category exams again. Section 23-25-10 says no one pays an extra fee to be certified in more than one category.

Recertification

Rule 2.16 says licensed and certified applicators must show competency every five years from the date of the licence or certification, by re-examination or by credit hours from a Department-approved training program. The requirement is eight credit hours for a commercial licence and eight credit hours per category for a commercial certification. An applicator who does not meet the continuing education requirement must attend the core or category training and retake an exam before the licence or certification can be renewed.

Penalties and reciprocity

Section 23-25-28 allows a civil penalty of up to US$10,000 for each offence, a ban of up to five years on providing pest control services to the state, and, for knowing violations, a misdemeanor with a fine of up to US$25,000, imprisonment of up to 60 days, or both. Section 23-25-31 lets the director waive all or part of the exam requirements on a reciprocal basis with another state that has substantially the same exam requirements and standards. Rule 2.20 says reciprocal applicants must complete every certification requirement except the written exam, and the reciprocal certification lasts only as long as certification is kept in the home state.