Pesticide licence in Utah: 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 Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, whose Pesticide Program licenses businesses and applicators under the Utah Pesticide Control Act. The parent page, pesticide licences by country, has the national background.

At a glance

Item	What the department says
Agency	Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Pesticide Program
Business	Commercial Pesticide Business License 4000, US$125 on the fee schedule
Applicator	Commercial Pesticide Applicator License 4001, a three-year certification and license at US$100
Limited permit	Ornamental and Turf Technician Permit 4009, for certain general use herbicides only
Category for trees and turf	Category 3, Ornamental and Turf Pest Control; category 2, Forest Pest Control
Exam	Core exam plus at least one category exam, at testing centers; testing center fees of US$10 to US$25 are listed
Continuing education	Continuing education units are tracked by the applicator; the number needed is not published on the pages read

Licence types

The department's pesticide licenses and permits page lists five licenses and two permits. The Commercial Pesticide Business license is numbered 4000 and is for a business that provides pest control services and employs applicators and permit holders. The Commercial Pesticide Applicator license, 4001, is for an individual who applies pesticides for hire, meaning customers are billed or invoiced. The Non-commercial license 4002 covers restricted use applications on property the employer owns or controls, usually city, county or state staff. The Private license 4003 is for restricted use applications on the holder's own land, and 4004 is the dealer license for businesses that sell restricted use products. The two permits are the Pesticide Salesperson Permit 4008 and the Ornamental and Turf Technician Permit 4009.

Business and applicator rules

On its business license page the department says state law requires the business license of any business that commercially applies pesticides of any kind in any amount. It names spot treatment of weeds after mowing a lawn and spreading granulated weed and feed or a pre-emergent as examples, and says herbicides are pesticides. The page says the business must either hold a commercial applicator license itself or employ a licensed applicator, and every treatment must be made by a licensed commercial applicator. The page gives statutory penalties of up to US$1,000 per violation.

On its applicator license page the department says a commercial applicator must be employed by a business holding a valid business license. It also states that study and testing are not offered in Spanish. Licenses are applied for and renewed through the department's online licensing system.

The technician permit

On its technician permit page the department defines an Ornamental and Turf Technician as a person who applies, for a commercial business, an herbicide that is a general use pesticide with the signal word caution or warning on the label, for ornamental and turf weed control. Both the business and applicator pages say the permit does not give full applicator privileges and strictly limits the applications allowed.

Exam and categories

The department's educational materials page says an applicant studies for the Pesticide Core exam and at least one category exam. The categories listed are 15, from Agricultural Pest Control and Forest Pest Control (2) to Ornamental and Turf Pest Control (3), Right-of-Way (6), Structural (7) and Wood-Destroying Organisms (15). The study manuals are free to download and the department hands out no printed copies. Adding a category is US$25 per occurrence on the fee schedule.

The department's testing centers page lists community and technical college and university campuses along the Wasatch Front, in Tooele, Emery and other areas. Government photo identification must be shown. Testing centers may charge their own fees that are separate from the department's license fees. The listed fees run from a US$10 proctor fee at one technical college to US$15, US$20 and US$25 elsewhere, and several centers no longer accept cash. The Salt Lake campuses book and pay online. A pass mark is not published on the pages read.

Fees and renewal

The department's fee schedule lists the commercial applicator certification and license at US$100 for three years, the business license at US$125, the non-commercial certification at US$40 for three years and the dealer license at US$115 for three years. No technician permit fee appears on the pesticide lines. The page of continuing education links manuals, a calendar of training events and online courses, including 16 units from Utah State University. It says an applicator keeps their own unit records, and that the department does not hold attendance records. Certified applicators using paraquat must complete a required online training renewed every three years.

Reciprocity and insurance

None of the pages read states a reciprocity arrangement or an insurance or bond amount for Utah commercial applicators, so neither is reported here.