Plant health care: pesticide licences by country

Plant health care work can include spraying or injecting a pesticide, which the agencies below cover with their own certificates and licences. This page describes what the agencies and training bodies say. It does not say which product to use, how to apply it or whether a job is covered. Rules differ by state, province and product, and they change.

United States

Pesticide certification here is a mix of federal and state rules. The Environmental Protection Agency page on federal certification standards for pesticide applicators says federal law requires anyone who applies or supervises the use of restricted use pesticides to be certified as a private or commercial applicator. The page says anyone who does not meet the private applicator description, which is applying pesticides to produce an agricultural commodity on land they or their employer own or rent, is a commercial applicator.

The same page says commercial applicators show knowledge of core pesticide use and safety plus at least one specific category. There are 10 federal categories, and states, territories and tribes may add or delete from the list. The list includes forest pest control, ornamental and turf pest control, and right-of-way pest control, which EPA describes as maintenance of public roads, electric power lines, pipelines and railways.

States, territories and tribes do the certifying, by a written test, a performance-based test or another system EPA approves. The EPA page on how to get certified as a pesticide applicator says you must be certified in each state, territory and area of Indian country where you make restricted use applications. It also notes that many states require all commercial applicators to be certified, not only those who use restricted use products. Recertification is periodic, and EPA says it generally means continuing education courses every 3 to 5 years.

Two state examples

Texas: the Texas Department of Agriculture says applicators who want to apply any pesticide, including general-use products, to ornamental plants, trees, lawns or weeds for hire must be licensed by the department. Its page on licensing to apply pesticides to ornamentals, trees, lawns or weeds names two license routes. The Agricultural Pesticide license certifies in the Landscape Maintenance category, the Vegetation Management category, or both. The Structural Pest Control Service license certifies in the Lawn and Ornamental category, the Weed Control category, or both. The page says applicators who apply only fertilizer do not need the department license.

California: the Department of Pesticide Regulation says the state requires a license or certification for many categories of professional pesticide applicators, and for businesses that sell or apply pesticides for hire. See its apply for a license page. Its exam study materials list a core exam on laws, regulations and basic principles of safe pesticide use, plus category exams.

Canada

Pesticide licensing in Canada is provincial. Two examples follow.

Ontario

The Ontario government page on pesticide licences and permits says that, unless exempt, you need a pesticide exterminator licence to apply pesticides commercially on any property that you or your employer do not own or farm. There are three types: structural, land and water. The page says exterminator licences are valid for five years. A business that operates a pesticide extermination business or employs people who apply pesticides commercially needs an operator licence unless exempt. To get an exterminator licence you must be at least 16 years old and have passed a ministry approved certification course in the 12 months before you apply, with some exceptions the page lists, such as renewing before expiry. The page names the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus, for information on exterminator training. It does not say which class covers tree work.

British Columbia

The BC government says on its pesticide certification and training page that only a trained and certified person may sell or use most pesticides. A Pesticide Applicator Certificate is required to purchase or use restricted class pesticides, and for products whose label limits use to certificate holders. People who assist a certified applicator need Assistant Applicator training.

BC's page on certificate and training categories says you must pass a certification exam for every category where you apply and dispense pesticides. It lists forestry, industrial vegetation and noxious weeds, and landscape among the categories. The landscape category is described as commercial use on gardens, ornamental plants, and lawns and turf. The page does not say where tree care sits.

United Kingdom

The Health and Safety Executive explains the rules in its guidance on the Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012. The regulations came into force on July 18, 2012. HSE says users of professional products must hold a certificate showing they have sufficient knowledge. Anyone who buys a professional product must make sure the user holds an appropriate certificate or works under the direct supervision of someone who does. Certificates can be withdrawn if the holder is found guilty of an offence under the regulations.

HSE's frequently asked questions on pesticide use say everyone who uses a professional product must have a specified certificate. It says that from November 26, 2015, this included people who had relied on the older exemption known as grandfather rights.

The list of recognised certificates is an HSE PDF, List of UK designated bodies and recognised specified certificates. It names City and Guilds and Lantra Awards. For City and Guilds it lists the Level 2 Award in Safe Use of Pesticides Replacing Grandfather Rights and a series of equipment units, PA2 to PA13, which include PA6 for hand held applicators. HSE says those equipment units first require the PA1 foundation unit or equivalent. For Lantra it lists Level 2 awards including one for hand held pesticide stem injection equipment, and says these first require the Level 2 award in the safe use of pesticides or equivalent. The list also shows older certificates marked as no longer available.

Australia

Each state and territory runs its own chemical licensing. Training is usually through nationally recognised units, and the AHCCHM units are the ones the NSW page names.

New South Wales

The NSW Environment Protection Authority says on its ground applicators page that if you provide services that use pesticides, other than fumigants, to control weeds or pests affecting plants or soil, you are required to hold a ground applicator licence. The same page has a list of exceptions to that requirement. Arboriculture appears in it, in the line on amenity horticulture, and the page points to clause 6 of the Pesticides Regulation 2017 for what counts as prescribed work.

Applicants for the licence must have completed two units of competency, AHCCHM307 on preparing and applying chemicals to control pests, weeds and diseases, and AHCCHM304 on transporting and storing chemicals. The page gives a fee of AU$425 for a five-year licence for applications made on or after July 1, 2022.

Other states

ChemCert is a training provider, not a regulator. Its page on state legislation summarises other states. It says Queensland requires an Agricultural Chemicals Distribution Control licence for ground spraying herbicides with a powered machine as part of a job on land you do not own or occupy. It says Victoria issues an Agricultural Chemical Users Permit, valid for 10 years, after a ChemCert course. It says Western Australia requires a Department of Health licence for applying pesticides for reward. These are the provider's statements.

New Zealand

Growsafe is run by the New Zealand Agrichemical Education Trust, which is a training body, not a government agency. Its frequently asked questions page says that under the Health and Safety at Work Act and its regulations all users of hazardous substances must be trained in their use. It says there is no specific certification requirement, and that the Growsafe certificates were designed to meet the requirements in the regulations.

The page says a Growsafe Basic certificate is for first-time users and people working under supervision. The Standard certificate is for people responsible for a workplace or staff. It says it is a legal requirement for products classed as acute toxicity category 1 or 2 to be under the control of a Certified Handler. It also says some herbicides trigger Environmental Protection Authority requirements because of high ecotoxicity, and that if they are used with motorised equipment a Growsafe certificate or equivalent is required. Growsafe also points to decision trees on its certificates page to help work out which certificate fits.

At a glance

Country	Who sets it	What the page names
United States	EPA and each state	Commercial applicator certification, categories
Canada	Each province	Ontario exterminator licence, BC applicator certificate
United Kingdom	HSE	Specified certificate, Level 2 Award, PA units
Australia	Each state	NSW ground applicator licence, AHCCHM units
New Zealand	Hazardous substances rules	Growsafe Basic and Standard

The wider picture of credentials is in certifications by country. How workplace rules differ is covered in safety rules by country.