The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now requiring all testing for pesticide applicators to be closed book and proctored following the 2017 revision to the Code of Federal Regulations part 171.
Those who apply or supervise the use of restricted use pesticides, including agricultural producers, are required by federal law to be certified, but those who apply general use pesticides do not need a license. Private applicators are those who uses or supervises the use RUPs to produce an agricultural commodity on land you or your employer owns or rents.
The new procedure will require the exam to be taken at a one of the seven PSI Services testing locations in Oklahoma, which is administered on a computer. To register and schedule an exam, visit www.psiexams.com, or call (855) 579-4643. Those who currently have a paper copy of the exam must submit the exam by June 1, 2021.
The current certification cycle for private applicators is Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2023. Those already certified do not have to re-take the exam but have to receive continuing education units.
Private applicators can receive credit for courses approved for ag plant (1A), which the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry tracks. People cannot receive any CEUs during their first year of certification but also cannot receive more than 10 CEUs per year.
For more information, read ODAFF’s update, or visit their website.
For additional questions, contact Megan Parker, ODAFF Pesticide Certification & Training Administrator, at (405) 522-5972.
