2.1 Applicator Classes, Certification Categories & Credentials

2.1 Applicator Classes, Certification Categories & Credentials

New Hampshire does not issue one "pesticide license." It issues a certificate of registration to commercial applicators, a permit to private applicators, a license to dealers, and a separate business registration to the firm. Exam questions test whether you can match the person to the right credential, and the credential to the right category code.

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Commercial versus private

RSA 430:29, VI defines a commercial applicator as any individual, corporation, partnership, municipality, governmental entity, or other legal entity that uses or supervises the use of any pesticide other than a private applicator. A commercial applicator for hire is a commercial applicator who applies pesticides on the property of another for consideration.

A private applicator uses or supervises the use of pesticides for producing an agricultural commodity on property owned or rented by the applicator or the employer.

The practical New Hampshire rule, as summarized by the Division and UNH Extension, is that licensing applies to:

1. anyone using restricted use pesticides;
2. anyone applying any pesticide - restricted or general use - in the course of employment; and
3. not to a person using a general use pesticide on their own property.

That second item is the one that surprises candidates. A landscape crew applying an over-the-counter general use herbicide on a client's lawn needs commercial certification. So does a municipal parks employee, a school grounds crew, and a golf course maintenance worker.

Pes 303.03 carves out a narrow exemption: janitors using general use pesticides in non-food areas of buildings and the immediately adjacent property, and people using prepackaged general use aerosols or aerosol dispensing devices for flying insect control in food handling areas, are exempt from certification under Pes 300.

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The two commercial levels

+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  SUPERVISORY LEVEL (Pes 303.01, Pes 403.01)                      |
|  - Plans and directs; legally responsible for the operation      |
|  - Eligibility: 3 yrs operational, OR 3 yrs working in the field |
|    under a supervisory registrant, OR 3 yrs holding a supervisory |
|    certificate-general use, OR qualifying college degree +        |
|    1 growing season, OR 2-yr ag/technical degree + 1 year        |
|  - Must pass general + supervisory regulations + category exams   |
|    at 70%, then an ORAL exam before a Division panel              |
|  - Every commercial firm must employ at least one; each           |
|    supervisory office or district needs its own                   |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
                            ^  supervises
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  OPERATIONAL LEVEL (Pes 303.02)                                  |
|  - Applies pesticides under a supervisory registrant             |
|  - Only prerequisite: age 18                                     |
|  - Passes general + operational regulations + category exams      |
|    at 60%. No oral exam.                                          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+

Supervisory eligibility in detail (Pes 303.01(a))

An applicant must satisfy one of these:

1. Three years registered at the operational level; or three years actively working in the field under a supervisory registrant; or three years holding a supervisory registration certificate-general use (an F2 general-use certificate does not count for this route).
2. Graduation from a recognized college or university with a major in entomology, plant pathology, forestry, fruit/berry/vegetable growing, or another field requiring biological training including pesticide use - plus at least one growing season registered at the operational level, working under a supervisory registrant or an equivalently qualified professional, or holding a supervisory certificate-general use.
3. Graduation from a two-year school of agriculture or technical institute in those fields - plus at least one year at the operational level or one growing season working under supervision.
4. At least one year of qualifying practical experience plus the equivalent of two additional growing seasons of experience.

Note the third New Hampshire credential hiding inside that list: the supervisory registration certificate-general use. Under Pes 503.03(b)(6), a holder of that certificate may not supervise the application of anything other than general use pesticides, and may not serve as the designated supervisor of a person applying anything other than general use pesticides.

Supervisory duties (Pes 403.01, Pes 503.03)

• At least one employee at the supervisory or managerial level of each business entity applying pesticides commercially must hold a supervisory certificate. If the firm operates more than one supervisory office or district in the state, each district needs its own supervisory registrant.
• The supervisor must be an employee of the registered firm or branch, must be designated in a managerial or supervisory capacity, and may not supervise any other business, firm, or branch office.
• The supervisor must have daily contact with operational registrants and be available for contact throughout the period they are applying pesticides.
• Pes 403.02 requires that at least one member of each crew hold a certificate.

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Commercial categories (Pes 302.01)

The Division uses the EPA categories of 40 CFR 171.3, with letters used as codes on the certificate. Memorize the letters; questions that swap them are common.

Common confusions worth drilling: turf is G2, not B; right-of-way and brush is B, not G; aquatic is D, not F; structural is F1, not C; forest is C, not F.

Two categories carry membership limits: E (public health) is limited to state, federal, or other governmental employees, and I (regulatory) likewise. F6 (food handlers) is confined to commercial applicators not for hire who are direct employees of the food handling establishment.

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Private applicator permits (Pes 305.01)

Private applicators divide into two groups:

Both applications require the grower's name and address, a New Hampshire agent for service if the applicant is a non-resident, the names, addresses, and acreage of the properties and crop types, the responsible persons, and a signature attesting that the information is true, that all pesticides used will be reported annually, and that label instructions will be followed implicitly.

Private applicators are organized by commodity group rather than category (Pes 402.02(s)): Christmas Tree (CT), Nursery (NS), Greenhouse (GH), Small Fruit (SF), Tree Fruit (TF), Beekeeper (BK), Poultry (PO), Dairy (DY), Vegetable (VG), and Sod (SO).

Pes 305.07 and 305.08 provide for oral examination where an applicant has difficulty with written questions, and a restricted certification path for applicants who cannot read - limited to specific pesticides and sites, and conditioned on a signed letter documenting that someone who can read labels will be present.

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Business registration (Pes 307) and insurance (Pes 302.03)

Individual certification is only half of commercial compliance.

• Pes 307.01-307.02: every commercial business applying pesticides must register with the Division, each branch separately, and a business registration number is issued (Pes 307.04).
• Pes 307.06 and Pes 504.02: on-highway vehicles used for the commercial application of pesticides must display the business name together with the firm registration number, in a contrasting color, unobstructed, in lettering at least 2 inches high. Commercial applicators not for hire are exempt from vehicle identification.
• Pes 302.03 requires proof of insurance or financial responsibility, attested by a supervisory registrant on the application form.
• Pes 307.05 requires reporting changes in firm, branch, or ownership status.

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Worked example

A technician has sprayed lawns for three seasons as an operational registrant in category G2 and now wants to start an independent lawn care company treating turf and shrub beds.

1. Three years at the operational level satisfies Pes 303.01(a)(1), so the technician is eligible to apply for supervisory certification.
2. The categories needed are G2 (turf) and G1 (shade and ornamental) - not B, which is right-of-way and brush.
3. The technician must pass the general exam, the supervisory-level regulations exam, and a category exam for each of G1 and G2, then pass the oral examination before a Division panel.
4. The new company must file a Pes 307 business registration, carry the required insurance, and letter every on-highway service vehicle with the business name and registration number in 2-inch lettering.
5. Because the company is for hire, the vehicle identification exemption for "commercial applicators not for hire" does not apply.