Pesticide Applicator Training 2026: PSEPs, Online and In Person

When is pesticide applicator training required?

Texas: private applicators attend a training session with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, or its online course, before testing.
Georgia: private applicators certify through the University of Georgia’s online course.
New York: technicians qualify with a 30-hour course approved by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), a relevant degree or experience, and apprentices need 8 hours of instruction.
Virginia: registered technicians need at least 40 hours of training before their exam.
Ohio: the wood-destroying insect inspection category needs a mandatory class.
Indiana: for-hire Category 7b or 12 certification needs a hands-on training program.

Other courses help you prepare without being a condition of the exam: North Carolina says its pesticide schools aren’t required, and Oregon calls its pre-license courses optional.

Online pesticide applicator training

University of Illinois PSEP: online courses for general standards, private applicators and most categories, $45 each, open for 30 days.
University of Nebraska: an online self-study program that certifies or recertifies private applicators, open all year.
University of Georgia PSEP: the private applicator course, $25.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: an online private applicator training course.
Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs: online certification preparation courses, which it says don’t replace studying the printed manual.
Iowa State University: live-streamed ($50) or self-paced ($85) private applicator renewal courses.

Renewal courses

Federal rules in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) let you recertify through continuing education only if your state approves the course and has a way to verify you finished it, online courses included. Iowa’s renewal courses show how the fees work: Iowa State University charges $30 for an in-person private course, and $45 for a commercial course, or $70 for pest control operators.

How many hours you need is set by your state.

How long a certificate lasts and how to renew →

Training for the people who work under you

Anyone using restricted use pesticides under your supervision needs training within the last 12 months. The trainer must be a certified applicator, a designated trainer or someone who has finished an EPA-approved train-the-trainer program.

Certified pesticide applicator rules →

Training for pest control work

Pest control around homes and buildings is a separate license in some states. Texas licenses it through the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Structural Pest Control Service, California through the Structural Pest Control Board, and Illinois through the Department of Public Health. In other states it’s a commercial category, such as Minnesota’s structural pest control applicator license or Oklahoma’s 7a General Pest and 7b Structural categories, which also need a practical at Oklahoma State University.

Commercial pesticide applicator license →

Sources: EPA · eCFR · TDA and 14 more. Checked October 2026.