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United States · Certification exam

Virginia pesticide applicator license

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) Office of Pesticide Services sends you an authorization letter, and you then have 90 days to test. For a pesticide applicator license in Virginia, commercial applicators also need a year as a registered technician, or education, training or experience to qualify.

  • 76%Score to pass each exam
  • $25Application fee for an exam
  • 2 yearsLength of a certificate
Start in the VDACS portal

Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

Which Virginia pesticide applicator license do you need?

  • Private applicator: restricted use pesticides to produce an agricultural commodity.
  • Commercial applicator, for hire: any pesticide on others’ property for pay, working for a company with a pesticide business license.
  • Commercial applicator, not for hire: pesticides as part of your job, including government employees and sites such as schools, health care and day-care settings and recreational land over five acres.
  • Registered technician: applies restricted use pesticides under a commercial applicator, after at least 40 hours of training and a 50-question exam.

How do you take the Virginia exams?

  1. Apply to VDACS and pay the $25 application fee (government employees don’t pay it). VDACS sends an authorization letter.
  2. Order the manuals from the Virginia Cooperative Extension Distribution Center, through Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs. They’re printed only.
  3. Test one of three ways: on a touch-screen computer at a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) customer service center, on paper by appointment at a VDACS testing center or with a pesticide investigator, or remotely through Everblue, any time during your 90-day authorization, for an extra fee paid to Everblue.
  4. Pass the core exam, then each category exam, with at least 76%.

Private applicators can also take a written exam at a local Virginia Cooperative Extension office, with no application or authorization letter. If you fail an exam more than once, you wait 30 days. VDACS now offers the registered technician exam in Spanish for remote and investigator-proctored testing.

Keeping a Virginia certificate

Commercial and registered technician certificates expire June 30 of an even or odd year, with a grace period to August 29; private certificates expire December 31, and you must retest if you haven’t recertified by March 1 (February 29 in leap years) of the next year. To recertify, attend an approved course for each category before your certificate expires. Since March 17, 2022, commercial applicators and registered technicians pay no renewal fee.

A pesticide business license is $75 a year and expires March 31.

Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs: Applicators ↗
Sources: VDACS · Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs and 6 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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