1.1 Indiana Pesticide Applicator Certification & License Types

1.1 Indiana Pesticide Applicator Certification & License Types

Quick Summary: In Indiana, pesticide application is governed by the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC) under IC 15-16-4, IC 15-16-5, and 355 IAC 4, with educational support from Purdue Pesticide Programs (PPP). Commercial applicators are classified into For-Hire, Not-For-Hire, Public, and Private categories. Non-certified workers qualify for the Registered Technician (RT) credential either by passing the Core exam or by completing an approved Purdue Pesticide Programs training program (355 IAC 4-2-8), which lets them apply general use pesticides for hire without the certified supervisor being physically present at the site.

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Regulatory Authorities: OISC, PPP & the Indiana Pesticide Review Board

Pesticide regulation in the State of Indiana operates through a cooperative tripartite structure consisting of regulatory enforcement, academic training, and independent policy oversight.

                    ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
                    │      Indiana Pesticide Review Board     │
                    │  (IPRB: Policy, Rulemaking & Hearings)  │
                    └────────────────────┬────────────────────┘
                                         │
                  ┌──────────────────────┴──────────────────────┐
                  │                                             │
                  ▼                                             ▼
  ┌───────────────────────────────┐             ┌───────────────────────────────┐
  │ Office of Indiana State       │             │   Purdue Pesticide Programs   │
  │ Chemist (OISC)                │             │             (PPP)             │
  │ • Licensing & Certification   │             │ • Manuals & Study Materials   │
  │ • Product Registration        │             │ • Delivers CCH and PARP       │
  │ • Inspections & Enforcement   │             │   programs (OISC approves     │
  │ • Approves CCH programs       │             │   them and records credits)   │
  └───────────────────────────────┘             └───────────────────────────────┘

Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC)

Headquartered at Purdue University in West Lafayette, the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC) is the designated state lead agency (SLA) authorized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce federal and state pesticide statutes. The OISC's primary mandates include:

• Enforcing the Indiana Pesticide Control Law (IC 15-16-4) and the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law (IC 15-16-5).
• Registering all pesticide products distributed, sold, or transported within Indiana.
• Examining, certifying, and licensing commercial applicators, private applicators, registered technicians, and commercial pesticide businesses.
• Conducting routine compliance inspections, investigating drift complaints, sampling pesticide mixtures, and issuing administrative penalties.

Purdue Pesticide Programs (PPP)

Purdue Pesticide Programs (PPP) serves as the educational arm of Indiana's pesticide framework. Operating within the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, PPP develops the foundational Core manual (PPP-C, 97 pages, revised March 1, 2026), writes category-specific training curricula, delivers Continuing Certification Hour (CCH) and Private Applicator Recertification Program (PARP) training that the State Chemist approves, and provides technical guidance to applicators across agriculture, turf, ornamentals, forestry, and structural pest control.

Indiana Pesticide Review Board (IPRB)

The Indiana Pesticide Review Board (IPRB) is an independent, multidisciplinary state board created by statute. Composed of agricultural producers, commercial applicators, scientific researchers, environmental representatives, and state agency officials, the IPRB adopts administrative rules (codified in Title 355 of the Indiana Administrative Code), establishes restricted-use pesticide classifications within Indiana, and conducts formal administrative hearings regarding contested license suspensions and revocations.

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Indiana Statutes and Administrative Codes

Indiana pesticide law is divided between legislative statutes enacted by the Indiana General Assembly and administrative rules promulgated by the IPRB and enforced by the OISC.

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Indiana Pesticide Applicator Classifications

Under IC 15-16-5 and 355 IAC 4-1, any individual who applies pesticides, supervises applications, or makes diagnostic recommendations must hold the appropriate credential. Indiana establishes four primary applicator classifications and a distinct business entity license.

                                Applicator Classifications
                                             │
         ┌────────────────────────┬──────────┴───────────┬────────────────────────┐
         ▼                        ▼                      ▼                        ▼
┌─────────────────┐      ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐      ┌─────────────────┐
│ Commercial      │      │ Commercial      │    │ Public          │      │ Private         │
│ For-Hire        │      │ Not-For-Hire    │    │ Applicator      │      │ Applicator      │
│ • $45/year      │      │ • $45/year      │    │ • Fee-Exempt    │      │ • Agricultural  │
│ • Customer      │      │ • Employer's    │    │ • Government    │      │   Commodities   │
│   Property      │      │   Property Only │    │   Employees     │      │ • Own / Rented  │
│ • Must work for │      │ • Golf courses, │    │ • Parks, DOT,   │      │   Acreage       │
│   Licensed Biz  │      │   plants, utils │    │   Municipal     │      │ • PARP Program  │
└─────────────────┘      └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘      └─────────────────┘

1. Commercial Applicator For-Hire

• Definition: An individual who applies or supervises the application of any pesticide (General Use or Restricted Use) on the property of another for compensation (contract fee, service charge, hire).
• Licensing Fee: $45 annually.
• Business Requirement: Must be employed by or operate a licensed Pesticide Business. An individual certification alone does not authorize independent commercial application without a corresponding business license.
• Typical Roles: Lawn care technicians, commercial structural pest control operators, agricultural custom applicators, aerial applicators, and vegetation management contractors.

2. Commercial Applicator Not-For-Hire

• Definition: An individual who applies or supervises the application of pesticides exclusively on property owned, leased, or managed by their employer, where applications are restricted to non-agricultural settings or institutional grounds.
• Licensing Fee: $45 annually.
• Scope: Applies pesticides across golf courses, private school campuses, manufacturing facilities, utility rights-of-way, apartment complexes, or grain elevators owned by their employer. They cannot perform contract applications for third parties.

3. Public Applicator

• Definition: An employee of a federal, state, county, municipal, township, or other governmental agency who applies or supervises pesticide applications as part of their official public duties.
• Licensing Fee: Fee-exempt ($0 statutory license fee), though examination fees still apply.
• Scope: Highway department vegetation crews, municipal mosquito control operators, public park groundskeepers, county weed board technicians, and public university maintenance personnel.

4. Private Applicator

• Definition: An agricultural producer who uses or supervises the use of Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs) for producing agricultural commodities on property owned, rented, or leased by the applicator or their employer, without charging a service fee (bartering labor or machinery with neighboring farmers is legally permissible).
• Credential: Private Applicator Certification. IC 15-16-5-54(c) sets a $20 certification fee; there is no annual license fee. Certification is renewed every five years by attending a Private Applicator Recertification Program (PARP) or by re-examination.
• Exam Requirement: A private applicator using an RUP must pass the Core exam only. A category exam is additionally required only to use fumigants (Category 7d) or to apply aerially by plane, helicopter, or drone (Category 11).
• Scope: Corn, soybean, wheat, forage, fruit, vegetable, and livestock producers.

5. Pesticide Business License

• Statutory Mandate: Every firm, partnership, association, or corporation that applies pesticides to the property of another for hire must obtain a Pesticide Business License from the OISC.
• Annual Fee: $45 per year, and a separate license is required for each unique business location or business name from which pesticide use is conducted (IC 15-16-5-48(b)). A fee paid late carries a penalty equal to 100% of the fee (IC 15-16-5-60).
• Prerequisites:
  1. Must employ at least one fully certified and licensed Commercial For-Hire applicator qualified in the specific category matching the business's scope of service.
  2. Must provide verified proof of financial responsibility (commercial general liability insurance policy meeting statutory minimums).

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|            Pesticide Business Financial Responsibility (IC 15-16-5-58)                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  What the statute says:   The State Chemist may not issue a pesticide business license  |
|                           or pest inspector license until the applicant furnishes a     |
|                           surety bond, a certificate of liability insurance in force,   |
|                           or a certificate of financial responsibility.                 |
|                           IC 15-16-5-58 itself sets NO dollar amount.                   |
|                                                                                         |
|  OISC published minimum   $300,000 general liability COMBINED SINGLE LIMIT of liability |
|  (application business):  for bodily injury AND property damage.                        |
|                                                                                         |
|  OISC published minimum   $300,000 general liability combined single limit for          |
|  (Category 12 WDPI):      PROPERTY DAMAGE.                                              |
|                                                                                         |
|  Proof format:            A certificate of insurance issued by the insurance company,   |
|                           in the name of the business printed on the license. The State |
|                           Chemist may be listed as a certificate holder.                |
|                                                                                         |
|  If coverage lapses:      The business license, the pest inspector license, and ALL     |
|                           associated commercial applicator licenses and technician      |
|                           registrations are INVALID until coverage is reinstated.       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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The Registered Technician (RT) Credential (355 IAC 4-2-8)

IC 15-16-5-33 defines a Registered Technician (RT) as a person who is not licensed as an applicator, is registered with the State Chemist, and is authorized to use pesticides under the direct supervision of a licensed, certified applicator. The RT credential exists so that a pesticide business can put trained entry-level employees on general use pesticide (GUP) work without a certified applicator standing beside them all day.

                        Two Legal Routes to RT Eligibility (355 IAC 4-2-8(a)(1))

  ROUTE A  ┌───────────────────────┐       ┌───────────────────────┐       ┌───────────────────────┐
           │ Pass the Indiana Core │  ───► │ Employer submits RT   │  ───► │ Apply GUPs under a    │
           │ Exam (75% to pass)    │       │ application + $45 fee │       │ certified supervisor  │
           └───────────────────────┘       └───────────────────────┘       └───────────────────────┘
  ROUTE B  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
           │ Complete an initial applicator training       │
           │ program developed & delivered by Purdue       │  ───► (same application step)
           │ Pesticide Programs and approved by the        │
           │ State Chemist — NO written exam required      │
           └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘

[!IMPORTANT] Passing the Core exam is not the only way in. The 2022 rulemaking (LSA #22-266(F)) added 355 IAC 4-2-8(a)(1)(B), a training-only path with no written examination. OISC lists three qualifying options: a half-day RT training, a full Core-exam prep session, or passing the Core exam itself. An exam item that says the Core exam is the sole route to RT status is wrong.

RT Registration Terms

What an RT May and May Not Do

• May: apply general use pesticides for hire, in the categories in which the supervising applicator is certified, without the supervisor being physically present at the work site.
• May not: substitute for certification. An RT is not a certified applicator and does not hold a category certification of their own.
• RUPs are a separate legal track. A non-certified individual (RT or not) may use a restricted use pesticide only under the direct supervision rules in the next subsection — the RT credential by itself does not authorize RUP use.

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Supervising Non-Certified Individuals (355 IAC 4-2-2 and 40 CFR 171.201)

Indiana's supervision rule was rewritten in the 2022 rulemaking and again by Senate Enrolled Act 216, effective July 1, 2024, which adopted the federal direct-supervision standard at 40 CFR 171.201 wholesale. Know the current text — the older "arrive within two hours" and "carry the SDS" formulations that circulate in study aids are not in the rule.

A. General Use Pesticides — 355 IAC 4-2-2(b)

A non-restricted general use pesticide or fertilizer may be used by a non-certified individual under the direct supervision of a licensed commercial applicator who:

1. Is legally affiliated with the business or organization responsible for the use of the pesticide product;
2. Has identified the means to establish direct voice or text message contact with the non-certified individual; and
3. Has provided the non-certified individual with
   • (A) a complete, legible copy of the pesticide product label being used, and
   • (B) all equipment — including personal protective equipment — and instruction required by the product label to use the product safely and effectively.

B. The Extra Rule for For-Hire Work — 355 IAC 4-2-2(c)

For applications made for hire, subsection (b) is not enough. One of the following must also be true:

• a licensed commercial applicator is continuously physically present at the work site; or
• the non-certified individual is a registered technician.

This is precisely why the RT credential exists: it is the lawful alternative to keeping a certified applicator on site all day.

C. Restricted Use Pesticides — 40 CFR 171.201 as adopted by SEA 216

Any individual who uses an RUP must be at least 18 years old and either certified and licensed, or working under the direct supervision of a certified and licensed applicator employed by the business, organization, or farm operation. The supervisor is legally responsible for everything the non-certified applicator does, and must:

[!CAUTION] Three numbers people invent for this rule. There is no two-hour arrival window, no requirement that the supervisor deliver written site-specific instructions for GUP work, and no requirement that the worker carry a Safety Data Sheet. What the rule actually requires is voice or text contact capability, the product label, and the label-required equipment and instruction.

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Examination Procedures

Indiana pesticide and fertilizer certification examinations are computer-based, closed book, and delivered by Metro Institute under contract to OISC. Candidates register and schedule at indiana.metrosignup.com (or by phone at 1-877-533-2900).

Which Exams You Actually Need

• Most commercial categories (1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7a, 7d, 8, 11): Core exam plus a category exam.
• Category 13 (Limited Certification): Core exam only — a one-step process.
• Categories 12 (Wood Destroying Pest Inspection) and 14 (Agricultural Fertilizer Application): the category exam only — the Core exam is not required.
• Private applicator using an RUP: Core exam only, plus a category exam only for fumigants (7d) or aerial application (11).

Hands-On Requirements Beyond the Exams

• Category 7b (Termite Control) and Category 12 (Wood Destroying Pest Inspection): initial for-hire certification also requires completing a practical, hands-on training program approved by the State Chemist (355 IAC 4-1-2.1(j)). Purdue Pesticide Programs runs the 7b termite workshops in March and September.
• Category 3b (Turf Management): initial for-hire certification requires one of — an approved hands-on training program; 90 days of experience as an active 3b certified applicator or RT; a two-year post-high-school turf-related program (official transcript required); or one year of experience as an active licensed applicator in any category, in Indiana or another state.

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5-Year Recertification & Continuing Certification Hours (CCH)

Once an applicator or Registered Technician qualifies by examination, certification remains in force from the date of passing the exam through December 31 of the fourth year following the year in which the exam was passed (355 IAC 4-1-2.1(g)) — commonly described as a five-year cycle. Note the separate clock: the license or RT credential itself expires annually and must be renewed before January 1 each year (IC 15-16-5-52(e)).

         Exam Year      +1 Year      +2 Years     +3 Years     +4 Years (Expires Dec 31)
           ├────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────────────────┤
           ▲                                                                            ▲
       Pass Exams                                                               Accumulate CCHs
       or Re-certify                                                            or Retake Exams

To renew certification without retaking examinations, applicators must accumulate Continuing Certification Hours (CCH) approved by the OISC and PPP during their 5-year block.

Category CCH Requirements

[!WARNING] Category 12 is Wood Destroying Pest Inspection, not "wood preservatives." It authorizes inspecting structures for evidence of termites and other wood-destroying organisms; it does not permit using or supervising the use of pesticides for hire. Wood preservation is a Category 13 limited certification (manual PPP-13WP-W), as is sewer line root control (PPP-13SLRC).

The 50% Single-Program Cap Rule

To ensure diverse, ongoing professional development, Indiana enforces the 50% single-program cap rule:

[!IMPORTANT] An applicator or Registered Technician cannot earn more than 50% of their total required category CCHs at any single training session, conference, or program.

Example: A Category 3b (Turf) applicator needing 20 CCHs may earn a maximum of 10 CCHs from a single multi-day turf conference. The remaining 10 CCHs must be obtained from at least one separate approved educational event. Example: A Registered Technician needing 8 CCHs can earn a maximum of 4 CCHs from any single training event.