4.4 Restricted-Use Pesticides in Michigan

4.4 Restricted-Use Pesticides in Michigan

Quick Answer: Restricted-use pesticides (RUPs) may be purchased and applied only by certified applicators, or by noncertified applicators working under a certified applicator's supervision. EPA classifies RUPs at the federal level; Michigan adopts those classifications and adds its own enumerated list in Regulation 633, R 285.633.2, plus administrative orders such as the February 14, 2022 order making every methomyl product restricted use in Michigan. Where the state and federal classifications conflict, the more restrictive controls. General-use pesticides may be bought and used by the public without certification; RUPs may not.

The Federal RUP Classification

Under FIFRA Section 3(d)(1), EPA may classify a pesticide for restricted use if, without additional restrictions, it would generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment or on humans. The federal RUP classification means the product can only be applied by a certified applicator or by a person under that applicator's direct supervision. A certified applicator, in this context, is one who has been certified by EPA under a federal certification plan or by a state under an EPA-approved state plan.

EPA's most common reasons for federal RUP classification include:

• Acute toxicity — the product is in Toxicity Category I or II by a route that creates significant handler risk.
• Chronic toxicity — the product has known oncogenic, neurotoxic, reproductive, or developmental effects.
• Environmental concerns — groundwater mobility, toxicity to non-target organisms (bees, fish, birds), or persistence.
• Use-site restrictions — products whose safe use requires specialized training or site-specific conditions.

Michigan's Administration of RUPs

Michigan's pesticide program is administered by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) under Part 83 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), Public Act 451 of 1994. Michigan operates under an EPA-approved state certification plan, so applicators certified by Michigan may legally purchase and apply federal RUPs in Michigan.

Michigan recognizes three applicator types, and only two of them may touch an RUP:

1. Certified commercial applicator — may purchase and apply RUPs within the categories held, for hire or during employment.
2. Registered applicator — a Michigan-specific status limited to general-use pesticides only. A registered applicator may not apply a restricted-use pesticide under any circumstance, including under the direct supervision of a certified applicator. This is the single most tested Michigan RUP fact.
3. Certified private applicator — may purchase and apply RUPs to produce an agricultural commodity on land they or their employer own or rent.

RUPs may be sold only to a certified applicator, or to a person who will apply them under a certified applicator's supervision. Selling an RUP in Michigan also requires a restricted-use pesticide dealer's license for each sales location, obtained after passing a written examination with a score of 70 or above. Dealers must verify certification before every sale and must report RUP sales to MDARD by the fifteenth day of the month following the sale. MDARD's Registered Pesticide List, updated daily, shows RUP status for every product registered for sale in Michigan.

Michigan's Own Restricted-Use List

Michigan does not simply mirror the federal list, but the state rule is much shorter than most study materials imply. As amended effective December 20, 2016, R 285.633.2(1) contains exactly two provisions:

Then R 285.633.2(2) adds the enforcement clause: notwithstanding any statement to the contrary — including statements on the label or made by the manufacturer — a pesticide restricted under these rules is restricted in relation to its purchase, distribution, sale, and use in Michigan.

That is the whole rule. Older study lists print a long pre-2016 table of aldicarb, paraquat, picloram, carbofuran, azinphos-methyl, diquat, chloropicrin and the fumigants, keyed to specific concentrations and package types. Those products remain restricted use in Michigan, but they reach that status today through the federal adoption in (a). If a question asks what Michigan restricts in addition to the federal list by rule, the answer is diuron over 1%.

Two dealer-side rules complete Regulation 633. R 285.633.3(1) allows a licensed dealer to sell the enumerated RUPs only to users who exhibit full compliance with the applicator rules in R 285.636.1 et seq. — the dealer, not just the buyer, is on the hook for verifying certification. R 285.633.6 requires the dealer to give every RUP purchaser, in addition to the registered label, any other safe-use information the director requires. Note what R 285.633.6 does not do: it does not restrict particular products to particular certification categories. Category limits come from your credential and the product label, not from Regulation 633.

Methomyl: How an Administrative Order Changes the Answer

Methomyl is the example to know. It is not named anywhere in the current R 285.633.2. Instead, on February 14, 2022, the MDARD director issued an administrative order classifying all pesticides containing the active ingredient methomyl as restricted use in the state of Michigan. The order is a blanket restriction — it does not turn on formulation, concentration, or packaging the way a rule table would.

The lesson generalizes: MDARD extends restricted-use status by administrative order between rule revisions, so the regulation text alone is never the whole answer. Orders can also be seasonal and geographic — under Act 6 of 1959, MDARD has issued an order restricting 2,4-D and MCPA use in grape-growing areas every year since 1963, with the 2025 order running May 1 through October 1. Check MDARD's pesticide laws, regulations, and orders page, then check the label in your hand.

Exam trap. Candidates who memorize only "Michigan adopts the federal list" miss the diuron entry, and candidates who memorize only an old rule table miss the methomyl order. Both are testable. The reliable method is to verify any state-RUP claim against three places: R 285.633.2, MDARD's orders page, and the Registered Pesticide List.

General-Use vs. Restricted-Use

Record-Keeping for RUP Applications

Under R 285.636.15, every commercial applicator must keep verifiable records of restricted-use pesticide applications for not less than 3 years after the application (general-use records: 1 year). The rule lists seven required elements, and two of them are the ones candidates forget:

1. Name and EPA registration number of the pesticide applied
2. Concentration of the pesticide applied
3. Amount of end use dilution applied
4. Target pest, purpose, or crop site
5. Date the pesticide was applied
6. Address or location of the application
7. Method and rate of application

Under R 285.636.15(3), it is the employer of the commercial applicator — not the individual applicator — who is responsible for maintaining the record at the place of business, and the records must be made available to an authorized representative of the director during normal business hours. Certified private applicators keeping federal RUP records follow 7 CFR 110: record within 14 days, retain 2 years. Missing or incomplete records are themselves a violation.

Direct Supervision

A noncertified person may apply an RUP only under the supervision of a certified applicator, and R 285.636.16 sets out exactly what that supervision means in Michigan:

• The supervising certified applicator is responsible for the actions of the noncertified applicator.
• When the certified applicator is not required to be physically present, they must provide verifiable instructions — oral or written — that include how to contact the certified applicator during the application.
• The certified applicator must be physically present whenever the label, the act, or the director requires it.

Note what this does not do: it does not extend to registered applicators. A registered applicator's general-use-only limit is a property of the credential, not a supervision question, so no amount of supervision authorizes a registered applicator to apply an RUP.

Reading the RUP Designation on a Label

A Restricted-Use Pesticide label displays a distinctive Restricted-Use Pesticide statement at the top of the front panel, along with the reason for the restriction (e.g., "Due to acute toxicity and oncogenicity"). General-use labels do not carry this statement. When you handle a container:

1. Read the top of the front panel — if it says "Restricted Use Pesticide," treat it as an RUP regardless of what you remember about the active ingredient.
2. Verify your certification category — some RUPs require a specific category (e.g., agricultural, aquatic, fumigation).
3. Confirm the use site — the label's use-site list narrows the crops or situations where the RUP may be used.
4. Record the application — RUP records are mandatory.

Why RUP Classification Matters for Michigan Applicators

The Michigan pesticide applicator exam tests the RUP concept in two ways:

1. Knowledge questions — "Which of the following may purchase a Restricted-Use Pesticide?" (Answer: a certified commercial or private applicator, or a person under their direct supervision.)
2. Michigan-specific questions — the diuron entry in R 285.633.2(1)(b), the February 2022 methomyl order, the dealer's duty under R 285.633.3 to sell only to applicators in full compliance, the dealer licensing and monthly reporting duty, and the registered applicator's absolute RUP bar.

In the field, the RUP classification is what separates legal from illegal use for the most hazardous products. The classification tells you (a) whether you are even allowed to touch the product without supervision, (b) which records you must keep, and (c) which categories of your certification permit the use. Treat the top of the front panel as the first read on every container.

Official References

• FIFRA Section 3(d) — restricted-use classification.
• 40 CFR Part 152, Subpart I — pesticide classification procedures.
• Regulation 633 (R 285.633.1 to R 285.633.7) — Michigan's restricted-use provisions, dealer licensing and examination, safe-use information at sale, and monthly sales reporting.
• Part 83 of NREPA (Public Act 451 of 1994) — Michigan's pesticide control law.
• MDARD Pesticide Section — current Michigan RUP list and record-keeping requirements.
• MSU PSEP — Michigan applicator certification training, including RUP-specific modules.