Maryland Department of Agriculture

In order to become certified as a pest control applicator, an individual must have at least one year of practical pesticide application experience as a registered employee working for a licensed pest control firm or public agency in the category, or categories, in which he/she wants to become certified. A degree in a biological field such as biology, botany, horticulture, entomology, agronomy, etc. may qualify in lieu of experience. The individual must pass examinations administered by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA). In order to qualify for the examinations, an applicant must submit to MDA an application for certification at least one month prior to the exam. Experience or education documentation, such as the Verification of Experience Forms or college transcripts, must be attached to the application. Upon approval of the application, MDA will supply the study material and provide notification of exam dates.

Individuals that have submitted an application and have been approved to take the examinations can attend the session of their choice.

Individuals must report to the examination site between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. in order to be admitted to take the examinations. On the day of the examination, the examination notification letter must be presented along with proper identification at the registration table. (NOTE: Individuals will not be admitted to the examination session after 11:00 a.m.) Individuals have until 3:00 p.m. to complete the examinations.

Exams are multiple-choice and closed book. Each applicant must pass the Core exam which covers basic pesticide information and laws and at least one specific category exam with a 70% or higher score.

An individual may retake the exams as many times as is necessary. However, there is a $10 retake fee for each exam paid at the time of reexamination. (NOTE: Public Agency Applicators are exempt from the retake fee.) Within two to three weeks of the examinations, a letter with the test results will be mailed to the individuals home address.

Upon passing the exams, a $75 annual certification fee must be paid for the initial pest control category, and a $25 fee for each additional pest control category. Fees are not to be submitted until passing the exam. The fees are only assessed for a main pest control category. There are no additional fees for certification in multiple subcategories under listed under a main category. Regulations prohibit an individual from maintaining certification for more than one place of business at any given time.