To maintain a pesticide license, an applicator must, pay the annual renewal along with:
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Attend an MDA approved recertification workshop within the year listed on the license card, see full list of recertification workshops at the bottom of the page, OR
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Retest for each license category during license renewal period and pay all required fees.
To know what year an applicator is required to attend a recertification workshop, verify the attend by date on the license card or visit license lookup on the MDA web site.
Private Applicators see Private Certification
Applicators that had their license through reciprocity and move to Minnesota must complete an MDA approved workshop prior to renewing the license. Failure to attend an approved workshop must take license exams for all requested categories and pay retest fee to renew the license.
Recertification workshops
An applicator must attend a workshop the following year of passing exams and obtaining a license. Then the recertification cycle (based on license category) begins. See the table below for category and recertification cycle.
Reminder: while the recertification workshop cycle maybe 2 or 3 years based on category, renewal of the license is required annually.
Currently all MDA approved recertification workshops will include credit for category A (Core).
| Code | Category | Recertification Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| A | Core | Varies |
| B | General Aerial | 1 year |
| C | Field Crop Pest Management | 3 years |
| E | Turf & Ornamental | 2 years |
| F | Aquatic | 2 years |
| H | Seed Treatment | 3 years |
| I | Anti-Microbial | 2 years |
| J | Natural Areas, Forestry & ROW | 2 years |
| K | Agricultural Pest Control | 2 years |
| L | Mosquito, Black Fly, Tick Pest Control | 2 years |
| M | Food Processing (noncommercial) | 2 years |
| N | Non-soil Fumigation | 2 years |
| O | Soil Fumigation | 2 years |
| P | Vertebrate Pest Control | 2 years |
| Q | Wood Preservative | 2 years |
| R | Sewer Root Control | 2 years |
| S | Structural (noncommercial) | 1 year |
| SPCA | Structural Pest Control | 1 year |
Retest
If an applicator is unable to attend a workshop within the required year, the applicator must retest in the categories on the license. This requirement will be indicated on the annual renewal notice with the appropriate fee. Applicators that must retest to renew their license cannot pay the renewal online, they must mail in the payment or bring it in during the testing session. The retest fees are close to the fee’s that would be charged to attend a recertification workshop.
| License Type | Fee Per Category | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial and/or Noncommercial | A, B, C, E, F, H, I, J, K, L, O, P, Q, R | $75.00 |
| Commercial and/or Noncommercial | M, N | $150.00 |
| Noncommercial | S | $250.00 |
| Structural Pest Control Applicator | Master or Journeyman | $250.00 |
| Structural Pest Control Applicator | Fumigation | $150.00 |
MDA Approved Workshops
Click on the link provided for the sponsors webpage to complete registration for the MDA approved workshops.
Workshop information will be added once the events are approved, check back for future dates.
| Date | Categories | Location | Sponsor | LINK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04/02/2025 | A, B, C, J, & L | Virtual Event | MAAA |
Annual Renewal happens each calendar year, the license period is from the day the license was issued until December 31 of that year, listed on the license card as "valid" dates. Once the annual renewal is complete MDA will generate a new license card with valid dates. If you fail to complete your annual renewal, you are no longer licensed as a pesticide applicator.
Recertification requires that you attend a MDA approved workshop before the "attend workshop by" date listed on your license card. Recertification cycles are extended after attending MDA approved workshops that correlate to categories that the applicator holds a license.
If you fail to recertify by attending a workshop before the "attend workshop by" date, to ensure that you have the required competencies for a license you will be required to take and receive a passing score in the category before a license card will be issued during the next annual renewal period.
You will be required to attend a workshop in the following year after being issued a license. At this time, you will begin the cycle based on license categories. See the recertification workshop table for license category cycle information.
If a license holder is due for a recertification for categories A & E in one year and category L in the following year, they would need to attend a workshop for A, E, and L in the same year that A & E are due for recertification. This will sync the categories to be due for recertification on the same schedule. Workshops can be attended a year prior to the required year for credit.
Yes, you can attend workshops early, the cycle will start from the year in which the workshop was attended.
No, workshops cannot be attended after the required year. Applicators that fail to attend workshops during this period will be required to retest to renew their license in the following year.
You will need to retest and receive a passing score in those categories prior to renewing your license. A retest fee comparable to the recertification fee collected by workshop sponsors will be collected by MDA at the time of renewal.
