Wallaces Farmer

You can now apply for a pesticide applicator license and make payments online.

Rod Swoboda

April 17, 2020

4 Min Read
Sprayer in field applying pesticide
GETTING CERTIFIED: The Iowa Department of Agriculture has new options for pesticide applicators seeking certification to legally apply pesticides. Farm Progress

Pesticide license applications and payments can now be completed online through the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s new pesticide self-service portal. The online system modernizes the way the department receives and processes applications and payments. It’s especially helpful for applicators looking to get certified for the growing season.

Available April 13, the self-service portal uses each pesticide applicator’s unique certification number to match the applicator’s application and payment to his or her training and testing history. To apply for a new license or renew an existing pesticide applicator license, individuals will use their certification number to log in to the self-service portal. The licensee can submit an application, test results after taking the training and payment all online.

How self-service system works

In-person testing to qualify to become a certified pesticide applicator is currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, once in-person testing resumes, proctored test locations and meetings where training and testing takes place will use each applicator’s unique certification number when uploading the test results to the self-service portal. The portal will link the user’s training and testing information to the application and payment records stored in the online system.

Once the application, payment, training and testing information are received, the licenses and certifications will be processed and sent directly to the applicant. By moving the process online, individual pesticide applicators can access their records anytime by logging into the self-service portal. The system also has a public search function that empowers customers and employers to verify that their pesticide applicators are licensed to work in the state of Iowa.

“This system allows our department to better serve Iowans by giving them real-time access to information that, historically, was stored in paper files,” says Gretchen Paluch, chief of the pesticide bureau at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. “We encourage companies and individuals to take advantage of the new system when applying and renewing their licenses this year.”

For information on applicator licensing and certification, call the pesticide bureau at 515-281-8591 or email [email protected].

Certification for new applicators

IDALS continues to update its pesticide applicator requirements amid ongoing issues with the COVID-19 pandemic. In early April, the agency announced that some regulatory and certification provisions would be temporarily suspended. The state now has new options for those impacted by canceled certification testing. The options differ as to whether the applicator is applying pesticides to ag commodities, and is considered “agriculture,” or whether they are “non-agriculture” (turf, ornamental, pest control, etc.).

An online private pesticide applicator exam option is available to address pesticide applications made to ag commodity crops. This option only applies to private applicators and Commercial AG (Categories 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E) applicators. This new option, administered by IDALS, will temporarily allow individuals to take the private applicator test online for the duration of the State Public Health Emergency due to COVID-19.

Private Applicator Study Manual is available from ISU Extension Store to help prepare for the exam. After passing the exam, individuals submit their test results, application and fee to IDALS, and a private pesticide applicator certification is issued.

The new relief measure allows a certified private pesticide applicator to be employed as a commercial applicator, and apply pesticides commercially to ag commodities if operating under the instructions and control of a certified commercial applicator. The supervising applicator is not required to be physically present. Once the proclamation expires, commercial applicators must complete the commercial applicator testing requirements. This option does not apply to aerial applicators.

Non-agriculture applicators

A second option applies to non-ag (turf, ornamental, pest control) applications. This option extends the time frame for uncertified applicators to work under the direct supervision of a certified applicator. Previously, the time frame was 21 days from initial employment. The extended time frame for uncertified applicators to work under the direct supervision of a certified applicator is through the duration of the state of Iowa’s proclamation. New applicators must pass the appropriate certification exams once the proclamation expires.

In this non-ag case, direct supervision means the certified supervising applicator is physically present and in sight or hearing distance.

Questions regarding testing and certification can be sent to [email protected]. More information is also at Iowa State University Extension’s Integrated Crop Management website.

About the Author(s)

Rod Swoboda

Rod Swoboda is a former editor of Wallaces Farmer and is now retired.

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