9.5 Missouri's Complete Certification Category Map

Missouri's Complete Certification Category Map

CORE proves general competence. A category proves competence for a specific kind of work, and Missouri will not issue a commercial, noncommercial, or public operator license on CORE alone — 2 CSR 70-25.090(1) requires CORE plus at least one category.

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1. The Seventeen Commercial Category Codes — 2 CSR 70-25.100

Category rules that generate exam items

• Category 3 excludes fumigants. Ornamental and turf work involving a fumigant needs the fumigation category.
• Category 7C covers mole control by fumigant, while Category 12 soil fumigation expressly excludes moles. This mole carve-out is precisely the kind of detail Missouri tests.
• Category 13 is a rider, not a standalone. The rule states that an aerial applicant "shall not only demonstrate competence in the category of Aerial Pest Control, but must also be certified in the proper category(ies) of use." Aerial plus the use category — both.
• Category 13 explicitly includes unmanned aircraft. Drone application requires Category 13 in Missouri.
• Category 10 also requires the underlying categories. Demonstration and research applicators must additionally be certified in the categories relating to their area of expertise.

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2. The Private Applicator Categories — 20 through 23

Effective January 1, 2025, private applicators certify by category as well:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                    PRIVATE APPLICATOR CATEGORY STRUCTURE                    |
|                                                                             |
|   [CATEGORY 20]  General Agricultural Pest Control - the private "CORE".    |
|                  MUST be held FIRST. Manual M87.                            |
|                  Category 20P is the variant exam for CERTIFIED             |
|                  PROVISIONAL private applicators (age 16-17).               |
|                          |                                                  |
|                          v  only after Category 20                          |
|   [CATEGORY 21]  Soil Fumigation Pest Control      (manual MX327)           |
|   [CATEGORY 22]  Non-soil Fumigation Pest Control  (manual EB0229)          |
|   [CATEGORY 23]  Aerial Pest Control               (manual MX326)           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The sequencing rule is explicit: applicators must become certified in Category 20 before they can become certified in Categories 21, 22, and/or 23.

Two routes for private applicators. A certified private applicator may either attend approved University of Missouri Extension training in each required category — in person or online — or pass the private applicator exam for each required category. Unlike commercial applicators, private applicators are not required to test at all. Certification runs five years, and there is no license fee.

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3. The Exam Inventory

The Pearson VUE candidate handbook lists the exam series precisely:

• MOAG-Core — MO CORE, General Standards of Competence (certified applicators)
• MOAG-CoreNRUP — MO CORE, General Standards of Competence for NRUP
• Twenty-one topic-specific category examinations — 1A, 1B, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5B, 6, 7A, 7B, 7C, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 20, 21, 22, 23 (with 20P as the provisional variant of Category 20)
• MOAG-Dealer — Pesticide Dealer exam, no CORE required

All are multiple-choice and true/false, all require 70% under 2 CSR 70-25.090, and each costs $45. The Department does not publish a per-exam item count or time limit; treat any specific figure you see in third-party study material as unverified.

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4. Prerequisites Beyond the Exam

Structural experience — Categories 7A, 7B, 7C. An applicant for a commercial applicator or public operator license in General Structural, Termite, or Fumigation pest control must also submit either:

• Evidence of valid experience using pesticides in those categories under the direct supervision of a certified commercial applicator, documented on the Verification of Structural Pesticide Application Experience Form; or
• Evidence of an Associate of Arts degree or its equivalent in Biology, Chemistry, Agriculture, or Entomology, by submitting the degree or a college transcript.

Wood-destroying insect inspections (RSMo 281.116). Performing a WDO inspection for a buyer, seller, or lending institution in a real estate transaction requires a license in subcategory 7B.

Financial responsibility. Only the certified commercial applicator license requires the $50,000 surety bond or liability insurance under RSMo 281.065.

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5. The Transition Rule — 2 CSR 70-25.005

Six categories were new on January 1, 2025 (12, 13, 20, 21, 22, 23), and the Department did not force existing applicators to re-test immediately:

• An applicator holding valid certification as of December 31, 2024 may continue to renew their license and operate under their existing certification allowances until that certification expires.
• Upon expiration, the applicator must meet the new requirements in full — including certifying in the new categories for any aerial or fumigation work they perform.
• One exception applied immediately with no delay: beginning January 1, 2025, no individual may use RUPs unless certified in the appropriate category or licensed as an NRUP working under direct supervision.

[!IMPORTANT] Worked example. A commercial applicator certified in 1A whose certification expires in March 2026 and who applies aerially may keep flying under the pre-2025 allowances until March 2026. At recertification, they must certify in CORE plus 1A plus Category 13 — and under 2 CSR 70-25.050(2)(A), recertification now covers every category on the license, not just the most-used one.