1.2 Applicator & Dealer Classifications, Financial Responsibility & Recertification

1.2 Applicator & Dealer Classifications, Financial Responsibility & Recertification

Quick Answer: North Dakota recognizes four credentials under NDCC Chapter 4.1-33: private applicator (restricted use pesticides on property the applicator or the applicator's employer owns or rents, with no compensation beyond traded personal services), commercial applicator (applies pesticides by contract or for hire for compensation), public applicator (an employee of a governmental agency, municipal corporation, or public utility, or of a hospital, privately owned golf course, nursery, or greenhouse, applying anything other than ready-to-use products), and pesticide dealer (distributes restricted use pesticides). Applicants must be 18 or older, demonstrate competency under the federal core standards, and pay the fees. A commercial applicator must also carry $100,000 in financial responsibility — subject to specific statutory exceptions. Certification costs $75 per training season plus $25 per class and expires April 1 following the third anniversary of certification.

The Four Credentials (NDCC 4.1-33-01, 4.1-33-07, 4.1-33-11, 4.1-33-12)

1. Private applicator

A private applicator is an individual who must be certified to buy or use a restricted use pesticide (RUP) on property owned or rented by the applicator or the applicator's employer, or — if applied without compensation other than the trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities — on another person's property.

Exam rule: a producer who accepts cash, an application fee, or a chemical markup to spray a neighbor's crop is operating for hire and needs a commercial certificate.

Private applicators demonstrate competency under 40 CFR 171.105 as it existed on January 4, 2017 (NDAC 60-03-01-05.2). They certify by attending a board-approved seminar and passing a written exam, by completing self-instruction and passing a written exam, or by passing the dealer, public, or commercial applicator exam.

2. Commercial applicator

NDCC 4.1-33-01(5) defines a commercial applicator as a person who, by contract or for hire, engages in the business of applying pesticides for compensation. This covers custom ground rigs, aerial operators, retail agronomy applicators, lawn care companies, exterminators, and right-of-way contractors.

Commercial applicators may not purchase, use, or supervise the use of a pesticide without meeting the certification standards. Since August 1, 2001, North Dakota has required commercial and public applicators to be certified even to apply general use pesticides — certification is not limited to RUPs for these classes.

3. Public applicator

NDCC 4.1-33-01(24) defines a public applicator as an applicator who applies pesticides other than ready-to-use pesticides as an employee of:

• a governmental agency, municipal corporation, or public utility; or
• a hospital, privately owned golf course, nursery, or greenhouse.

Note how far this reaches beyond government: a golf course superintendent, a commercial greenhouse grower, and a hospital grounds employee are public applicators even though their employers are private. Persons using only ready-to-use pesticides — aerosol cans, ready-to-use spray bottles, bait packs, and other containers that need no mixing or loading — are exempt from this requirement. NDCC 4.1-33-05 confirms that all governmental agencies and public utilities are subject to the chapter.

4. Pesticide dealer

A pesticide dealer is a person, other than a pesticide wholesaler, distributing pesticides. Dealer certification is required of anyone who distributes restricted use pesticides. Under NDCC 4.1-33-11:

• A certified person must be present at each outlet during business hours while RUPs are distributed.
• A manufacturer or distributor with no in-state outlet that ships RUPs directly into North Dakota must obtain a dealer certificate for its principal out-of-state location.
• The application must list the address of each outlet and the name of a person domiciled in North Dakota authorized to accept service of legal notices.
• Dealers must positively identify RUP purchasers and record the purchaser's certification number, class, and expiration date (NDAC 60-03-01-07(1)).
• Certification requirements for dealers are the same as for applicators: core exam plus the class exam(s) that match the products distributed. If a pesticide is labeled for more than one target pest, a dealer only needs certification in one of the applicable classes.

Baseline Certification Requirements (NDAC 60-03-01-05.1 and 60-03-01-05.2)

A commercial, public, or dealer certificate may be issued only to a person who:

1. Is eighteen years of age or older;
2. Completes the application on the forms the board or its designee requires;
3. Demonstrates competence as described in the core competencies of 40 CFR 171.103 as it existed on January 4, 2017; and
4. Pays the costs of training and education and any other fees.

Private applicators meet the same age, application, and fee requirements, with competency measured against 40 CFR 171.105.

The $100,000 Financial Responsibility Mandate (NDCC 4.1-33-10)

A commercial applicator certificate may not be issued unless the applicant furnishes proof of financial responsibility, and that responsibility must be maintained in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars. The statute recognizes three ways to demonstrate it:

1. A notarized letter from an officer of a financial institution or from a certified public accountant attesting to the existence of net assets equal to at least $100,000;
2. A performance bond; or
3. A general liability insurance policy.

The performance bond or insurance policy must contain a provision requiring the issuing company to notify the Agriculture Commissioner at least ten days before the effective date of cancellation, termination, or other modification.

Consequences of a lapse. When the Commissioner requests it, a commercial applicator must immediately furnish proof of compliance. If the applicator cannot, the Commissioner may stop a pesticide application and bar resumption until proof is furnished, and shall immediately suspend the certification of a commercial applicator who fails to maintain the standard. If there is any recovery against the applicator, the applicator must demonstrate continued compliance, and an application to reinstate a suspended certificate must be accompanied by proof that any judgment previously rendered has been satisfied.

Statutory exceptions (NDCC 4.1-33-10(2)). Financial responsibility does not apply to:

• a rancher who must obtain a commercial applicator certificate to control noxious weeds on leased federal acreage as a condition of a federal grasslands lease;
• a grazing association and its members in the same situation;
• a person who must be certified in the right-of-way class;
• a commercial applicator who controls noxious weeds on grassland, land producing tame hay, or other land not devoted to an annual crop; and
• an employee of a commercial applicator, where the commercial applicator complies.

NDSU Extension collects a signed Applicant Acknowledgment of Proof of Financial Responsibility, on which the applicant may check "I ONLY hold Ground Core and Right of Way" or "I work for a city/state/government agency," and agrees to furnish further proof immediately on the Commissioner's request.

Certification Fees (NDSU Extension Pesticide Program)

Fees are set by the board and collected by NDSU Extension. For the current commercial/public/dealer season:

So an applicator certifying in two classes pays $75 + (2 × $25) = $125. Private applicator fees are set separately by NDSU Extension and collected through the county Extension office, and added private endorsements (fumigation, vertebrate, soil fumigation, aerial) carry additional fees. All money received by the board under the chapter is deposited to the certification and training fund (NDCC 4.1-33-25).

Certification Term and Recertification

• Term. Commercial, public, and dealer certificates expire on April first following the third anniversary of the year of certification or recertification (NDAC 60-03-01-05.1(2)). NDCC 4.1-33-08 states the same cycle from the other direction: a certificate expires the first day of April following two years from the date of issuance, and is renewable every three years on April 1. Every class on the card shows its own expiration year, and all categories expire on April 1 of the year printed on the card.
• Recertification pathways. A holder may be recertified by attending a board-approved training, by passing a board-approved examination, or both if the board requires it, at least every third year. Trainings and exams must comply with 40 CFR 171.107 as it existed on January 4, 2017.
• Minor-class home study. NDSU Extension allows the minor classes — home, industrial and institutional; public health; wood preservatives; vertebrate; and sewer root — to recertify by home-study correspondence course.
• Aerial applicators. A holder of an aerial pest control certificate must attend a Professional Aerial Applicators' Support System (PAASS) program or another board-approved program at least once every three years, and proof must reach NDSU Extension before recertification is issued.
• Military extension. A certificate holder who cannot complete recertification because of active duty military service may apply in writing, with certified copies of the orders, for an extension not beyond April 1 of the year following return from active duty. The board has discretion whether to grant it.
• Lapse. Failing to recertify before April 1 ends the privilege to apply or distribute under that class. Applying pesticides without a required certification is a violation of NDCC 4.1-33-13(1)(p).

Independent Preparation Notice

This study guide is an independent educational publication developed by OpenExamPrep. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or produced in partnership with the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, North Dakota State University Extension, or the EPA.