The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) regulates all companies and operators providing agricultural pest control services within the State of Georgia. We make sure that consumers get safe, standardized, and quality pest control services.
This Agricultural Pest Control page describes pesticide applicator and contractor requirements and provides resources. To learn more about registering pesticides and selling restricted pesticides, see our Pesticide Products page.
You need a Private Applicator License in order to purchase, use, or supervise the use of any restricted use pesticide on your property or the property of your employer, while engaged in the production of an agricultural commodity. Application and Exam Registration for Private Applicators
When not engaged in the production of an agricultural commodity, a Commercial Applicator License in the appropriate category is required to purchase, use, or supervise the use of restricted use pesticides on your property or the property of your employer. Application and Exam Registration for Commercial Applicators If you are licensed in another state with substantially the same standards as Georgia, all or part of the examination requirements may be waived. The Reciprocal License Application is a downloadable form that you will need to fill out and send to us. The fee for this application is $90.
In order to provide pesticide applications of any type of pesticide, whether general use or restricted use, to the property of another person, and collect a fee for these services, both a Commercial Applicator License and a Pesticide Contractor License are required.
Commercial and Private Applicator CEU Credits for Re-Certification Once certified applicators obtain the required CEU credit for each current license category, additional CEU credit will not be recorded once the CEU credit hour requirement has been satisfied. See our Pest Control FAQ for more information. Important! We take the integrity of our course results very seriously. There are strong consequences for anyone found to be cheating on an exam. Please see our Cheating Policy for full details.
You must submit all course approvals 30 days before the course date. Submissions must include an attached course agenda or training outline. If you have questions concerning course approvals, please contact us. Go to the Pesticide Applicator Recertification Courses page to submit new courses or renew existing courses. You may also submit course approvals by emailing us the Applicator Recertification Training Course Approval form. If you choose to email the Applicator Recertification Training Course Approval form to us, you must also attach a course agenda. We cannot approve your course without an agenda.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture works diligently to ensure that pesticide applications are made in a manner that is responsible and in accordance with state and federal guidelines. Please notify us using the Pesticide Incident Form if you believe an adverse incident has occurred.