1.2 Exams, Fees, Retests, Oral Board & Renewal
Key Takeaways
The Connecticut junior operator exam has 60 English-only multiple-choice questions and requires 80% (48 correct) to pass.
Supervisory written exams have combined core, safety, and category questions since April 2021 and require 75% within up to 3 hours.
Most supervisory categories add a 20–30 minute in-person oral exam before 2–4 board members at 79 Elm Street, Hartford.
Certification fees fixed by CGS § 22a-54(f) are $285 supervisory, $80 operational, and $100 private, each for five years.
A minimum of 30 days must pass between exam attempts, and a certification lapsed one year or more requires re-examination.
1.2 Exams, Fees, Retests, Oral Board & Renewal
Candidates lose points, and sometimes months, by misunderstanding Connecticut's testing logistics. DEEP runs three written exam tracks — junior operator, commercial supervisor, and private applicator — all delivered online through the proctoring vendor Everblue after you apply in E-License. Supervisory candidates in most categories then face an in-person oral board. This section collects the current numbers from DEEP's certification pages (junior operator and private applicator pages updated May 8, 2026; supervisor page updated July 20, 2026) and from CGS § 22a-54.
The Application-to-Score Sequence
All three tracks follow the same basic steps:
- Create an E-License account (or request login information if you already hold a Connecticut certificate) and apply for the exam, paying DEEP's $200 exam fee.
- Allow 3 to 10 days for an e-mail from Everblue, the proctoring service.
- Pay Everblue's fee. From that payment you have 60 days to take the exam, and Everblue immediately sends the exam link.
- After the exam, allow 4 to 10 days for DEEP to enter your score.
- Pass: you are e-mailed your certification or the next step (oral exam or certification fee). Fail: you receive a fail notice by e-mail with a retest fee assigned.
For supervisory and private applicator exams, DEEP adds a second clock: the exam must be taken within 90 days of paying the DEEP $200 exam fee, and each new $200 payment restarts the 90 days.
Exam Formats and Passing Scores
| Track | Format | Passing score | DEEP fee | Everblue fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior operator | 60 single-answer multiple-choice questions, English only | 80% (48 of 60) | $200 per attempt | $29 |
| Commercial supervisor | Written exam combining core, safety, and category questions; up to 3 hours | 75% | $200 for up to 3 categories | $21 (DEEP says it is expected to rise to $29) |
| Private applicator | Written exam on the core manual, WPS, honey bees, and private applicator statutes | 75% | $200 | $29 |
Junior operator details
- Must be at least 18 years old (RCSA § 22a-66-5(b) bars certification of anyone under 18).
- Required study material: the Junior Operator Study Manual and Pertinent Pesticide General Statutes and Regulations for Junior Operators. The manual covers what pesticides are, when they are most dangerous (as concentrates, during mixing), spills, poisoning routes and symptoms, protecting yourself and others, IPM, and reading a sample label.
- A re-examination requires another application and another $200 fee.
Supervisor details
- Since April 2021, core and safety questions have been combined with category-specific questions into one written exam per category. There is no longer a separate core exam.
- Each registration allows attempts at up to 3 categories; more attempts or categories need more fees.
- Required study material: the Cornell manual for each category, a core manual (National or Cornell), the supervisor statutes and regulations booklet, Protecting Honey Bees From Pesticide Poisoning, Protecting Pollinators From Pesticides (added May 2022), Laundering Pesticide Contaminated Clothing, and Protecting Groundwater from Pesticide Contamination.
Private applicator details
- Study material: a core manual (Cornell or National), EPA's How to Comply manual for the Worker Protection Standard, the honey bee manual, and Pertinent Pesticide Statutes and Regulations for Certified Private Applicators.
- Because federal rules changed, there are no longer private applicator commodity categories or commodity booklets.
- After passing, the candidate pays a certification fee and is then e-mailed the certificate.
The Supervisory Oral Examination
If you pass the written exam, most supervisory categories also require an oral examination:
- You are scheduled by e-mail 1 to 4 weeks after passing the written exam.
- It is held in person at 79 Elm Street, Hartford, and normally takes 20 to 30 minutes.
- Two to four board members ask questions pertinent to the category: pest identification, regulatory questions, pesticide choice, or anything in the study material.
If a category has no oral portion, DEEP tells you so by e-mail.
Retests
- A minimum of 30 days must pass between exam attempts. For supervisors the rule is stated per category ("same category retakes").
- Each retest carries a new fee: $200 for junior operators; $200 for up to 3 supervisory categories.
Certification Fees and the Five-Year Term
CGS § 22a-54(c)(3) makes every certification valid for five years, renewable with or without further examination. The statute fixes the certification and renewal fees (§ 22a-54(f)(1)):
| Certificate | Certification / renewal fee | Renewal requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial supervisory | $285 per 5 years (paid after passing written and oral exams) | 12 continuing education credits per category, plus any annual use summaries not yet filed |
| Commercial operational | $80 per 5 years | Renew before the expiration date on the certificate; DEEP e-mails renewal information |
| Private applicator | $100 per 5 years | 12 continuing education credits per renewal period (PA or ALL/Core credits count), plus all annual RUP use summaries for the past 5 years |
The $200 exam fee comes from RCSA § 22a-54-2, whose footnote records that the older examination fees in that regulation were changed to $200 by statute as of October 1, 2009.
Expiration, notices, and lapse
- Supervisory certifications expire on January 31 of the renewal year. DEEP e-mails renewal notices about 90 days before expiration; the statute requires notice at least 60 days before (§ 22a-54(f)(2)).
- If the signed renewal application and fee are not received by midnight of the expiration date (or the next business day if it falls on a weekend or legal holiday), the certification lapses automatically. Not receiving a notice does not prevent a lapse.
- A certification lapsed less than one year may be renewed with the renewal fee plus a late fee of 10% of the renewal fee plus 1.25% per month or part of a month (§ 22a-54(f)(3)).
- A certification lapsed one year or more requires re-examination.
- DEEP may refuse to renew a commercial or private applicator who has not submitted the required annual use summary reports.
Staggered renewal and administrative rules
- RCSA § 22a-66-5(j) lets DEEP stagger certificates so that one-fifth expire each year by last name: A–C, D–H, I–M, N–S, T–Z. To do this, DEEP may issue a shorter first term and prorate the fee.
- A certified applicator must notify DEEP of any change of address within 30 days (RCSA § 22a-66-5(e)).
- Duplicate certificates must be requested in writing (DEEP may charge $2 each).
- DEEP may issue a wallet-size card with photo and signature. It must be carried by anyone applying pesticides for hire while acting as a supervisory commercial applicator (RCSA § 22a-66-5(d)(2)).
Denial and reciprocity
- If DEEP finds an applicant not competent, it must refuse the certificate in writing with reasons. The applicant may request a hearing within 30 days (§ 22a-54(c)(4)).
- DEEP may certify a nonresident without examination if the other state has substantially similar qualifications and grants the same privilege to Connecticut applicators (§ 22a-54(c)(5)).
Tip
Exam-day arithmetic: 80% of 60 questions is 48 correct, so a junior operator can miss no more than 12 questions.
A junior operator candidate answers 47 of the 60 exam questions correctly. What is the result?
Fail, because 80% of 60 requires at least 48 correct answers
The candidate is scheduled for an oral exam to make up the difference
Pass, because the passing score is 75%
Pass, because 47 correct rounds up to the 80% standard
Which statement about the Connecticut commercial supervisory exam process is accurate?
Core and category exams are taken separately, each requiring 80%
Supervisors may retest in the same category the next day by paying a rush fee
One $200 exam fee covers up to three categories; the written exam requires 75%; most categories add an in-person oral exam in Hartford
The oral exam is taken online through Everblue before the written exam
A supervisor's certification expired on January 31 and was not renewed. In October of the same year, what does CGS § 22a-54(f)(3) allow?
Renewal by paying the renewal fee plus a late fee of 10% of the renewal fee and 1.25% per month or part of a month
Nothing; certifications cannot be renewed after the expiration date
Renewal only after passing the written and oral exams again
Renewal at no extra cost because DEEP's notice was not received
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.