Pest Control FAQ

While there is no additional licensure required to apply disinfectants, these types of products must be used in accordance with label directions.  We are encouraging pest control applicators to review the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) list of EPA-registered disinfectant products that have qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, reference the National Pesticide Information Retrieval System to ensure that the product is also registered for use in Florida, and follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations.

(Fees are valid as of July 1, 2016 — Fee amounts subject to change. Please check the fee amounts as stated within the regulations or contact the Bureau of Licensing and Enforcement, 3125 Conner Blvd., Bldg. 8, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1650, telephone (850) 617-7997 for more information). 

Chapter 482, Florida Statutes (F.S.), defines pest control activity as "a) The use of any method or device or the application of any substance to prevent, destroy, repel, mitigate, curb, control, or eradicate any pest in, on or under a structure, lawn or ornamental; b) the identification of or inspection for infestations or infections in, on, or under a structure, lawn, or ornamental; c) The use of any pesticide, economic poison, or mechanical device for preventing, controlling, eradicating, identifying, inspecting for, mitigating, diminishing, or curtailing insects, vermin, rodents, pest birds, bats, or other pests in, on, or under a structure, lawn, or ornamental; and d) All phases of fumigation, including: 1, the treatment of products by vault fumigation; and 2, the fumigation of boxcars, trucks, ships, airplanes, docks, warehouses, and common carriers; and e) the advertisement of, the solicitation of, or the acceptance of remuneration for any work described in this subsection, but does not include the solicitation of a bid from a licensee to be incorporated in an overall bid by an unlicensed primary contractor to supply services to another."

The law provides for some exemptions. The chapter does not apply to "pest control, except for fumigation, performed by a person upon his own individual residential property." Furthermore, pest control performed in greenhouses, plant nurseries, on agricultural crops, trees, groves, orchards and other agricultural areas such as golf courses, parks, cemeteries, or where farming of any type is performed or livestock is raised is exempt from regulation under Chapter 482, F.S. These operations are covered under Chapter 487, F.S., enforced by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).

A certified operator is an individual who has passed an examination administered by FDACS in any of four certification categories.

The categories that a person can be certified in are:

• General Household and Rodent Control;
• Lawn and Ornamental Pest Control;
• Termite and Other Wood-Destroying Organisms Control; and
• Fumigation.

A person can be certified in just one or all four categories.

A company's pest control operations are the responsibility of the certified operator in charge and the business operations are limited to the category (or categories) possessed by the certified operator (or operators) in charge at the business location.

A person must first meet the qualification requirements to take any of the certification exams. Section 482.132, Florida Statutes, Qualification for Examination and Certification, states the minimum qualification requirements.

For more information, please see our Pest Control Licensing and Certification page.

FDACS presently has 57 pest-control-related field inspector positions located in different areas of the state. There are presently six field managers.

A business license must be issued to you BEFORE you begin any pest control services. You will not be able to get a local business tax license (formerly known as an occupational license) until you have been issued a business license by our agency.

The pest control activities for your company must be under the direction of a certified operator possessing the category or categories that you would like to operate within. The certified operator is required to endorse or sign your business license application.

Presently, the licensing fee is $300 and $10 per employee for the identification card.

The law requires a pest control business to maintain a minimum amount of insurance coverage. Presently those limits are set at $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and $250,000 per occurrence and $500,000 in the aggregate for property damage or a combined single limit coverage of $500,000 in the aggregate.

Regulations allow for the issuance of a Commercial Customer Contact Center License to individuals or corporations who maintain a licensed pest control business office located in the state of Florida. The "call center" may or may not be within Florida. With advancements in electronic communications, the pest control industry desired the ability to staff a central location with highly trained individuals to field questions, respond to customer concerns, and provide superior customer service.

Section 482.155, F.S., requires that individuals applying both general use and restricted use pesticides as a governmental employee or as a private property owner or employee thereof must qualify to do such pesticide application by taking and passing a limited certification exam or be trained and supervised by a Chapter 482, F.S., certified pest control operator.

Examples of pesticide applicators that come under this measure would include individuals who apply pesticides to buildings or lawn and ornamentals associated with these buildings such as: government buildings (schools, agency offices, etc.), commercial buildings (banks, groceries, apartments, condominium common areas, hotels, restaurants, etc.).

Individuals performing pest control (other than fumigation) on their own individual residential property are exempted from these requirements.

An examination fee of $150 and a recertification fee of $25 every four years thereafter is required in each category. Presently there are two categories available: Structural Pest Control and Lawn and Ornamental Pest Control.

Certification obtained under this section does not authorize a person to operate a pest control business.

Learn more about limited certification. 

Any person making commercial fertilizer applications to an urban landscape must be certified by FDACS. To obtain a certificate, an applicant must take six hours of Green Industry Best Management Practices training and submit a copy of the training certificate and fee with the application form. A certificate is valid for a four-year period. Certification under this section does not authorize:

• The application of pesticide to turf or ornamentals, including pesticide fertilizer mixtures;
• The operation of a pest control business; or
• The application of pesticides or fertilizers by unlicensed or uncertified personnel under the supervision of the certified person.

Yard workers who apply fertilizer only to individual, residential properties using fertilizer and equipment provided by the residential property owner or resident are exempt from the requirements of this section.

Learn more about Limited Urban Commercial Fertilizer Applicator Certification.

Those activities are STILL regulated by the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC). Although the FWC no longer issues a "nuisance wildlife permit," you will need written permission of the property owner as authorization to "take/trap" nuisance wildlife, (other than rats and mice). You will also need to comply with the legal methods established by the FWC for taking nuisance wildlife on private property (which prohibits ANY economic bait or poison). If you want to trap rats and mice, in, on or under a structure, you will need a Limited Wildlife Management Certificate issued by FDACS.

Chapter 482, F.S., does not prohibit or restrict the location of the pest control business. Many small companies work directly from their house.

The location from which someone can operate a business is usually regulated by a local county or municipal zoning regulation.

Hotel/motel maintenance staff (or other employees of the hotel/motel) can make pesticide applications to all areas of the company's property (including inside individual units) since there is no ownership associated with the renting of the units. An applicator should have the appropriate category of Limited Certification.

Condominiums can have maintenance staff (or other employees of the association) make pesticide applications to the common areas of the property such as a building's hallway, lobby, elevator, utility room, laundry room, etc., and to the exterior grounds. Condominium employees cannot make applications within an individual unit. An applicator should have the appropriate category of Limited Certification.

Homeowner associations can have maintenance staff (or other employees of the association) make pesticide applications to the common areas owned by the associations such as entrance berms and right-of-way areas. Homeowner association employees cannot make applications to each individual property owner's lawn or structure. An applicator should have the appropriate category of Limited Certification.

In all of the above cases, any of the groups above could contract with a licensed pest control company to provide the pest control services on behalf of the entire community.

Also, the individual property or unit owner could make pesticide applications to their own individual residential property.

Property management firms, and/or janitorial or housekeeping firms and their employee(s) would not be allowed to make any pesticide applications to any property (or properties) they manage or service unless they are licensed with this agency as a pest control business.  You can check for licensure on any company or individual by visiting the Public Database Searches website.

FDACS is required by Chapter 482, F.S., Florida Pest Control Law, to maintain a current registry of persons who require prior notification of the application of pesticides. FDACS is required to provide a list of these persons on a quarterly basis to all businesses and persons who have a current license or have a limited certificate issued by FDACS.

Learn about the requirements for becoming registered.