Looking for an approved pesticide training course? Visit the NYSPAD portal and click on Courses.
Find an approved pesticide training course instructor to speak at your training course.
New York regulations (6 NYCRR 325.18) require that pesticide training courses be approved by DEC prior to the course being offered. No retroactive approvals are permitted.
Instructions for Sponsors of Pesticide Courses
Advance Notice
Applications for pesticide applicator training courses must be submitted at least 45 days prior to the course date to allow sufficient time for review and approval.
DEC will consider re-approval of courses that are identical to a course first approved within the past 3 years with at least 10 days prior written notification.
Application Process
Revised pesticide applicator training course procedures became effective October 1, 2018. The course sponsor must submit the course application and supporting documents to [email protected]. The request for course approval must include a completed Pesticide Training Course Application (PDF, 125 KB) with the following:
- Detailed course description with time of training in each subject. Applications without adequate subject detail will not be approved. See sample topic (PDF, 76 KB).
- Program agenda that includes start/stop times (e.g. 10:00-10:30) for each topic or speaker as well as any breaks or meals must be shown. Minimum break periods of 15 minutes for every three hours of continuous training must be included. See sample agenda (PDF, 104 KB).
- An Instructor application form (PDF 28.2 KB) for any speakers not previously approved. Search the NYSPAD database to verify if your speaker/instructor has been approved.
- Description of the methods used to ensure that only those attendees who sit for an entire course as approved by DEC receive the course certificate at the conclusion of the course.
- Copies of training materials or practice exams to be handed out at the course, if requested by DEC.
- A draft copy of the course announcement if one is to be sent to prospective attendees.
Recertification Courses
Applications for pesticide recertification courses will be evaluated on the basis of subject matter presented and time devoted to the topic. Credits may be assigned to specific categories or subcategories of certification or as core credits, depending on the topic.
Eligibility Courses
Course sponsors applying for approval of 30 hour certification eligibility courses must submit a detailed agenda that includes a minimum of 15 hours of training in Northeast Core Manual, 3rd Edition topics and Federal & New York pesticide laws and regulations, and a specified minimum number of hours of training in category/subcategory specific topics. The total length of actual training must be at least 30 hours.
Course sponsors applying for approval of 20 hour Aquatic Anti-fouling Paint Applicator (category 13) eligibility courses must submit a detailed agenda that includes a minimum of 12 hours of training in Northeast Core Manual, 3rd Edition topics and Federal & New York pesticide laws and regulations, and a minimum 8 hours of training specific to the aquatic anti-fouling paint category (category 13). The total length of actual training must be at least 20 hours for category 13 eligibility.
Approval Process
Revised pesticide applicator training course procedures became effective October 1, 2018. The following changes were enacted to improve course processing efficiency:
- Courses scheduled for major holidays will not be approved. DEC will consider requests for other holiday course approvals on a case-by-case basis. Courses scheduled for weekends will be approved provided the course sponsor has a history of full compliance.
- DEC will no longer routinely award recertification credits to 30 hour eligibility courses. Eligibility courses are designed as entry level training for individuals new to pest control and are of less value to certified applicators.
- DEC will reduce the number of out-of-state courses it will approve. DEC will only approve applications for courses from states bordering New York, states with New York reciprocity agreements and other major conferences with proven New York applicator attendance.
The course application (including outline & agenda, instructor qualifications etc.) will be reviewed by the Pesticide Reporting & Certification Section. If approved, course number(s) and appropriate credits will be assigned. A course should be offered only as approved by DEC in advance. Sponsors cannot modify the course after DEC has assigned a course number and credits.
Note: Unless DEC approves the course as distance learning, the ID number issued for the approved course is to be used only for the date, time and place specified on the course application. Changes in course content, location or date must be submitted a minimum of 10 days prior to the originally scheduled course date to allow enough time for issuing final approval documents.
Sponsors must use the course roster form and certificate provided with the course approval documents. Distance course requirements are posted on our website.
Recertification Course
Course applications must have content equal to a minimum 30 minutes of pest management related content to be considered for approval. Breakout sessions within a course or conference must also contain a minimum of 30 minutes of pest management content to be considered for approval. A maximum of 7.0 recertification credits per day will be awarded, excluding breaks. One DEC course number will be assigned for each course, or session if applicable.
Course Instructor Recertification Credits
Instructors will be allowed to earn the recertification credits issued for their own certification the first time they offer a course. They will not earn credits for recertification for each subsequent time the course is offered.
Eligibility Courses
Agendas for eligibility courses may not exceed 7.5 hours of actual training per day. One DEC course number will be assigned for the entire eligibility course. The sponsor must use a separate DEC course roster form for each day of the eligibility course. Effective October 1, 2018, DEC will no longer routinely approve recertification credits for 30 Hour Eligibility Courses. Eligibility course sponsors who wish to have the course considered for recertification credits for existing certified applicators should indicate so on the application, and submit a request explaining why recertification credits should be considered. If the request is approved, the course will also be evaluated for recertification credits and separate course numbers and credits will be assigned to each session of the course. Certified applicators in attendance for recertification training must sign the recertification course roster for each day or session attended.
Course Sponsor Responsibilities
Before the course starts, the sponsor must confirm the identity of all students. Certified applicators or technicians must present a NY pesticide ID card. Others may present a photo driver's license.
The sponsor shall require all certified pesticide applicators to record their certification ID number and print and sign their name on the DEC Recertification Course Roster provided with the course approval documents. Students attending for certification eligibility must print and sign their name on the DEC Eligibility Course Roster provided with the course approval documents. Roster forms must be collected and secured by the sponsor representative at the start of the course. Rosters must be emailed to [email protected] no later than 5 days after the course. The sponsor must keep the original rosters on file for a minimum of 5 years.
The roster is required for recertification credits. DEC will record recertification credits based on the course roster and/or course spreadsheet. Course attendees must print their name and certification ID number on the roster legibly or the credits will not be recorded.
Effective May 15, 2023
Recertification rosters for in-person courses must be transcribed to DEC's spreadsheet by the course sponsor. See https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/39227.html for the required template and instructions. Email a copy of the signed rosters and completed spreadsheet to [email protected]. Appropriate controls must be used to ensure that attendees sit for the entire course. The sponsor must have sufficient staff present to monitor the audience and supervise the roster sign-in process. Attendees who arrive after the start of the first training topic or leave before the end of the last topic shall not be issued a course certificate and their name and ID number must be stricken from the roster. The course sponsor shall issue a course certificate, provided with the course approval documents, to attendees completing the full length of training. The certificate will be a record of attendance to be kept by the attendee.
Sponsors must use the course roster form and certificate provided with the course approval documents. Distance course requirements are posted on our website.
Pesticide applicator training courses may be re-approved without submitting a complete course application if the course content and instructors are identical to a course first approved within the past 3 years; (every 3 years you need to send a complete new application at least 45 days prior to the course date). In addition to the responsibilities outlined above, the course sponsor must submit any required or requested information DEC in a timely manner and immediately notify DEC of any proposed changes to the approved course content, instructor, time, date, and/or location at least 10 days prior to the scheduled course date.
Monitoring of Pesticide Training Courses
DEC & EPA pesticide staff routinely monitor pesticide training courses for course content, time allocated to topics, etc. As a condition of course approval, sponsors must grant the DEC/EPA pesticide staff access to monitor any approved course and waive registration fees for the DEC or EPA pesticide inspectors.
Pesticides Updates Listserv
To sign up for Pesticides Updates, subscribe to DEC Delivers! This will take you to the "Quick Subscription" page where you will see all the topics that you can receive email updates on from DEC. Scroll to the "Prevent and Control Pollution" category and check the box next to "Pesticides." You will receive a welcome email from DEC confirming your subscription(s).
