Prior to initial licensure, all persons must pass one or more examinations administered by the Department. You first need to determine the pesticide applicator license that is appropriate for your needs. The Department issues three types of pesticide applicator licenses: a Qualified Supervisor license, a Certified Operator license, and a Private Pesticide Applicator license, which are defined as:
Qualified Supervisor: An individual employed by or acting on behalf of a commercial, limited commercial, or public applicator who without supervision evaluates pest problems, recommends pest controls using pesticides or devices, mixes, loads, or applies any pesticide, sells any application services, operates devices, or supervises others in any of these functions must be licensed as a qualified supervisor. A Qualified Supervisor must meet specific on-the-job experience requirements in each category of licensure to obtain this license.
Certified Operator: An individual employed by or acting on behalf of a commercial, limited commercial, or public applicator, who uses restricted-use pesticides without the on-site supervision of a qualified supervisor must be licensed as a certified operator. There are no experience requirements to obtain this license.
Private Applicator: A person who uses or supervises the use of a restricted-use pesticide for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity on property owned or leased by the applicator or the applicator's employer or, if the pesticide is applied without compensation other than trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities, on the property of another person must be a licensed private applicator.