Pesticide licence in Tennessee: categories, exam and renewal
What the Tennessee Department of Agriculture says about commercial certification C03 Ornamental and Turf, the Horticulture Lawn and Turf and Forest Pest Control licenses, US$25 and US$150 exams, three-year continuing education and the bond and insurance a charter needs.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The source is the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Section, which certifies and licenses applicators and charters pest control firms. Tennessee has two tiers, a commercial certification and a license, and a firm charter. The parent page, pesticide licences by country, has the national background.
At a glance
| Item | What the department says |
|---|---|
| Agency | Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Section |
| Commercial certification | C03 Ornamental and Turf; C02 Forest Pest Control; C06 Right-of-Way |
| Licenses | HLT Horticulture, Lawn and Turf (shrubs, trees, lawns); FPC Forest Pest Control (tree pests and diseases in institutional and non-agricultural locations) |
| Certification exam | US$25 per attempt, online or in person |
| License exam | US$150, 70% to pass; plus US$20 per category per year, pro-rated |
| Charter (the firm) | US$200 per year pro-rated, a US$10,000 surety bond, liability insurance of US$250,000 per incident and US$500,000 aggregate |
| Recertification | Three-year cycle; the department lists 18 points for C03 over a full cycle |
How the tiers work
The department's certification page says commercial certification is the lower level of testing. It meets the federal and state rules for buying and using restricted-use pesticides and is the route for technicians and solicitors working under a licensed applicator. The license is the higher level and is held by the person accountable for pesticide applications and records at a chartered firm. A licensee is expected to work full time at the firm, though not on site at each application, and at least one commercially certified person must be on site at each application. A licensee can be listed on only one charter, and the charter needs at least one licensee in each category of service offered.
Categories for trees and turf
The same page lists commercial certification categories C01 Agricultural through C16 Sewer Line Treatment, including C03 Ornamental and Turf. For licenses, Horticulture, Lawn and Turf (HLT) is the control of pests and diseases of shrubs, trees, lawns and other turfgrasses in non-agricultural places such as residential and commercial landscapes, parks and athletic fields, and requires C03 certification. The page names bagworms, grubs, scale insects, weeds and diseases of turf, ornamental trees and shrubs among the pests. Forest Pest Control (FPC) is the control of tree pests and diseases in institutional and non-agricultural locations and requires C02. Weed Control Right of Way and Industrial (WEC) covers woody or herbaceous plants along highways and transmission lines and requires C06.
Exams
The department says certification exams are US$25 for each attempt and given through an online testing vendor, with in-person exams on selected dates through the University of Tennessee Pesticide Safety and Education Program. Recommended study is the category manual plus the core manual. To sit a license exam, an applicant must already be commercially certified, and must show two years of verifiable experience under a licensee in the category, or a four-year college degree in a related field, or a similar license from another state. The license exam is US$150, online, with questions and specimen identification, and 70% passes. After passing, a pro-rated fee of US$20 per license category per year applies. The department's pesticides page says results are provisional pending review of the recorded exam session.
Charter, bond and insurance
The certification page says an application for a charter carries a pro-rated fee of US$200 per year, a US$10,000 surety bond and proof of liability insurance with minimum coverage of US$250,000 per incident and US$500,000 aggregate. New companies holding certain structural or fumigation licensees need a US$50,000 bond, and firms with a wood destroying organisms licensee carry errors and omissions coverage.
Recertification
The department's commercial applicator page says all certifications follow one three-year cycle running from July 1 to June 30 of the third year. Points can be earned any time in the cycle. The table on that page lists C03 at 18 points for a full cycle, 12 for someone certified in the second year and 6 in the third, and C02 at 12. Points earned before passing the exam do not count, and failure to complete them means retesting. The table on the page was labeled with a cycle ending June 30, 2026, so the figures for later cycles are not confirmed here.
Reciprocity
The department's reciprocity page says Tennessee reciprocates on certifications only, never on license categories, and shows a chart by state. The chart lists Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, with different categories for each, plus holders of Department of Defense certificates. Missouri applies only to aerial applicators.
Sources
- Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Pesticides, read October 8, 2026
- Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Pesticide certification and licensing, read October 8, 2026
- Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Commercial pesticide applicators and continuing education units, read October 8, 2026
- Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Pesticide reciprocity, read October 8, 2026