Virginia Pesticide Certification and Business Licensing

About 5 of every 50 questions on a Virginia Core practice exam come from this topic.

Sources checked November 6, 2026

What to know

Under the Virginia Pesticide Control Act and VDACS rules, the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services grants certification. Private applicators use restricted use pesticides to produce agricultural commodities on land they or their employer own or rent. Registered technicians, all certified in Category 60, apply general use pesticides and may apply restricted use pesticides only under a certified commercial applicator's direct supervision. A technician needs 20 hours of directly supervised on-site training and 20 hours of board-approved training, must test within 90 days of hire, and needs added training from a certified applicator, documented to VDACS within 10 calendar days, before working a new category. Commercial applicants need a year as a technician or a year of pesticide-related education, training or experience, a Board-approved course and a written exam taken within 90 days of applying; exams expire after two years if certification is not completed, and each category needs its own exam. Not-for-hire applicators must be certified in public areas of schools, day-care and health facilities, open-food areas and recreational land over five acres; government employees must be certified but pay no certification fees. Exemptions cover cleaning crews using only nonrestricted sanitizers, up to eight supervised antifoulant painters per applicator, and supervised, instructed volunteers using nonrestricted herbicides on invasive plants on state or local agency land. Certificates renew every two years by courses (up to four years of credit) or reexamination, and reexamination is needed after 60 days lapsed or after suspension or revocation. Each business location needs an annual license expiring March 31, backed by liability insurance with 10 days' notice of cancellation; a business license does not authorize restricted use applications, certified applicants skip its exam, consultants need one, and restricted use outlets report applicator changes within three business days. VDACS may summarily suspend a certificate with a hearing within five working days; unpaid civil penalties bring automatic suspension; a revocation within the prior two years makes an applicant ineligible, though the applicant may appear before the Board to show cause; penalties weigh history, seriousness and good faith; knowing violations are Class 1 misdemeanors; and reciprocity cannot rest on another state's reciprocal certificate.

Where it comes from

• Va. Code §§ 3.2-3900, 3.2-3930, 3.2-3931, 3.2-3933
• Va. Code §§ 3.2-3924, 3.2-3927
• Va. Code §§ 3.2-3943, 3.2-3947
• 2VAC5-685-10, 2VAC5-685-20, 2VAC5-685-30, 2VAC5-685-50, 2VAC5-685-65
• 2VAC5-685-90, 2VAC5-685-130, 2VAC5-685-140
• 2VAC5-685-150, 2VAC5-685-160, 2VAC5-685-180
• 2VAC5-680-20, 2VAC5-680-30, 2VAC5-680-40

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