Follow the Steps to Get Private Applicator License
Published: Friday, December 15, 2023
The following is from Jeff Burbrink, LaGrange County, Extension educator ag and natural resources
There has been renewed interest from people needing to obtain a private pesticide applicators license and/or the private fertilizer applicator license, both of which are issued by the Indiana State Chemist Office.
The private pesticide applicators license is for people who wish to purchase and apply restricted use pesticides on property they own or rent. It does not allow people to apply these restricted pesticides on other people's property or for hire. Restricted pesticides, by the way, are pesticides that are deemed potentially hazardous to people or the environment. The general public cannot purchase restricted products without first getting that license.
A private fertilizer applicator is a person who applies manure from a confined feeding operation (CFO) to their own property. This certification is known as Category 14. Certification requirements include manure from out-of-state CFO-sized facilities. People who annually apply less than 10 cubic yards or less than 4,000 gallons of manure from a CFO are not required to become certified, nor do farmers who apply commercial fertilizers, including anhydrous ammonia, to their own land.
Application of agricultural lime is excluded from the certification requirements. Fertilizer material is defined to mean both commercial agricultural fertilizer and manure from a confined feeding operation.
A CFO is an IDEM designation, defined as any animal feeding operation engaged in the confined feeding of at least 300 cattle or 600 swine or sheep or 30,000 fowl, such as chickens, turkeys or other poultry. Animals are fed and maintained for at least 45 days during any year. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management regulates these confined feeding operations.
To get your private pesticide or fertilizer certification license, follow these steps:
1. Order your study manual from the Purdue Education Store. The phone number is 765/494-6794. Or order online at https://shorturl.at/cdmQ3. The pesticide manual is PPP-13, and the fertilizer manual is PPP-14. They are each $40.
2. Sign up to take the exam. The exams are given at some of Indiana's Ivy Tech locations. Locally, the exams are administered by the Elkhart and Fort Wayne Ivy Tech campuses. Call 877/533-2900 to schedule an appointment with the test administrator, Metro Institute. The fee for the exam is $55.
3. Take the exam at the appointed location and time.
4. After you pass your exam, you will receive a form from the State Chemist Office, Form PA/Fert App. You must complete that form, and send a check for $20 to the State Chemist Office. If you do not return that form to them, you will not be licensed. The form is also located at https://shorturl.at/djtHQ. This is a step that is often forgotten.
These licenses are good for five years. You can have your license automatically renew by attending Private Applicator Recertification Program (PARP) training sessions. You need to receive three trainings over the course of the 5-year license, and you can only receive 2 trainings in any given year. Therefore, you need to stay on top of your certification, lest it expire and require you to take the test again.
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