✦ Mail payment ($110, check or money order) and registration form to: Pesticide Applicator Certification, C/O Arlene Mascarenas, Department of Plant Sciences, Dept. 3354, 1000 E. University Ave.    Laramie, WY  82071

WYOMING'S PESTICIDE APPLICATOR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT APPLICATOR CLASSIFICATIONS?
A Private Pesticide Applicator is an individual sixteen (16) years of age or older who is licensed to apply or supervise the application of RESTRICTED USE PESTICIDES to their own properties, either owned or leased, or who may apply restricted use pesticides for other individuals on their properties, owned or leased either for no charge, or as an exchange of services, but not for pay, in the production of an agricultural commodity. Applicator classification is not related to either the amount of pesticides applied, or to the amount of acreage treated.

A Commercial Pesticide Applicator is a person sixteen (16) years of age or older who applies or supervises the application of any pesticide by other individuals, on property other than their own, for contract or hire. Commercial applicators are certified in one or more categories and may use pesticides only in the category(s) for which they are certified.

WHEN MUST I BE RECERTIFIED?
Private applicator recertification runs in five (5) year blocks of time and the license expires on April 30 of the appropriate year. You must be recertified within the appropriate five year block. At the end of your five year block another block begins and you must be recertified again during this block. This continues as long as you continue to be a pesticide applicator. Contact your County Cooperative Extension Office for information on becoming certified and training materials.

Commercial applicator recertification runs in three (3) year blocks of time and the license expires on January 31 of the appropriate year. Contact your County Cooperative Extension Office for information on becoming certified and training materials.

HOW DO I BECOME RECERTIFIED?
Private applicators have three (3) options for recertification: 1) attending an approved training session; 2) completing a home study workbook; 3) passing a written examination. Most private applicators choose to attend the training session. Contact your County Cooperative Extension Office for information on becoming recertified.

Commercial applicators also have three (3) options for recertification: 1) attending an approved training session (those individuals whose license expires will be sent a notification of the time and location of an approved training session); 2) passing the appropriate category examinations; 3) obtaining 24 hours of certification hours within their respective three year block of time.

Certification hours are obtained at training sessions and relevant meetings. The Wyoming Department of Agriculture will assign hours to each approved training course; one (1) hour will be assigned for each contact hour of relevant training. Relevance will be determined by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture.

An official form provided by the WDA will be used to record the participation of certified applicators in an approved program. It will be the responsibility of the person attending the training to seek approval from WDA for the training, acquire the necessary form(s), provide the correct information necessary to complete the forms, and submit the completed forms back to WDA. The applicator will need to contact the WDA for information on their recertification progress. (i.e. how many of the 24 hours do you have towards recertification).

WHAT TOPICS ARE INCLUDED IN THE TRAINING?

PRIVATE APPLICATOR TRAINING PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
A minimum of two (2) hours of training is required to certify Wyoming private applicators. The training session format is as follows:

(1) A verbal review of the certification requirements for Wyoming private pesticide applicators. An excellent review can be found in the Wyo. Dept. of Ag. pamphlet "Certification of Applicators who use Restricted Use Pesticides". This pamphlet is available from the Wyo. Dept. of Ag.

(2) A verbal review of pesticide laws and regulations.

(3) Training on the use of pesticides which should include safety, handling, groundwater contamination, misuse, public concerns, and disposal.

(4) Training on proper use of pesticide equipment and calibration.

The balance of the training session is comprised of presentations chosen by the instructor. Electives may include such items as weed, insect or disease control and could include presentations by specialists in the pesticide business such as Extension personnel, Weed & Pest Supervisors, or others involved with pesticides.

COMMERCIAL APPLICATOR TRAINING PROGRAM
Commercial Pesticide Applicator Training Short Course - This is a 3 day course with training in pesticide labels and terminology, pesticide and farm worker safety, pesticide laws and regulations, pesticide toxicity, groundwater quality, pesticide formulations, plant pathology, weed science, entomology, small animal control, and calibration. A ½ day extra is allowed for exams. The course uses instructors from the University of Wyoming, EPA, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, and WDA. This course is usually held the second week in January at the University of Wyoming.

Commercial Pesticide Applicator Recertification Short Course - This is a 1 ½ to 2 day course with new information in the areas of laws and regulations, pesticide toxicity, vertebrate pest control, weed control, pesticide safety, integrated pest management, plant disease control, insect control, groundwater, and calibration. This course involves instructors from the University of Wyoming, EPA, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, and WDA. This course is held each year in January, usually the third week, usually in Casper.

LICENSE FEES
The commercial license fee is $25.00 upon successful completion of examination(s). There is a $25.00 renewal fee when requirements for recertification are met. There is no license fee for government employees. There is no license fee for private applicators.

APPLICATOR (PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL) TRAINING FEES
A registration fee is charged for the initial commercial applicator training session and for the commercial applicator recertification training session. There is no fee or registration charge for private applicator training.

WHAT TYPES OF COMMERCIAL LICENSES ARE AVAILABLE?
See the following link for information on licenses and training materials.  http://www.uwyo.edu/plants/wyopest/examinfo.html
 

Contact your local cooperative extension office for information on obtaining training materials and getting a pesticide application license.

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