Pesticide license update Most Washington applicators will need to take extra step to recertify

Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, almost everyone in Washington state holding a pesticide applicators license will be required to take at least one extra step before recertifying their license in order to meet updated Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.

A notice from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) was sent out to licensees in 2025 informing them of the changes, leaving many growers confused as to what they actually had to do. While the requirements depend on the license type and category, most wheat growers will need to take a specific certification and training (C&T) course OR pass a quiz. Both the course and quiz are available online. In addition, many agricultural organizations are offering the course as part of their regular pesticide recertification classes. Growers must complete the course OR quiz before their regular, five-year recertification cycle is up. The one-credit course also counts towards a licensee’s regular recertification credit requirement.

“Because it’s a five-year cycle, about a fifth of our licensees have to meet this new requirement by the end of this year and then the next fifth by the end of 2027 and the next fifth by the end of 2028, etc.,” explained Christina Zimmerman, program manager for WSDA’s Licensing and Recertification Program. “The people with the shortest amount of time have one year to meet this new requirement.”

While the word “quiz” left some growers thinking they’d need to retake their pesticide license exam, Zimmerman said that’s not the case. The quiz consists of 10 questions. There are no study materials because all the information growers need to answer the questions is provided in the quiz. The quiz is offered in both English and Spanish and is free online. Licensees can also sign up to take a paper version at a testing center or at WSDA’s computer-based testing centers for a fee.

“It’s a reading comprehension type of thing. The answers are going to be pretty clear in each question as long as they read the material. What we’re doing is making sure the licensee is receiving that information,” she said.

The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) will be offering the C&T course as part of its Agricultural Marketing and Management Organization’s 2026 winter schedule. An in-person session will be held on Feb. 27 at the Washington Wheat Foundation Building in Ritzville, Wash., beginning at 9 a.m. WAWG members can attend free of charge; nonmembers will be charged $25. Preregistration is required; lunch is included. Besides the in-person session, a webinar will be held on March 4 beginning at 11:30 a.m. Registration information can be found at wawg.org/ammo-workshops/. 

Some types of licenses will have to take a new exam, for example, anybody who applies fumigants in an enclosed space, such as a silo, or applies pesticides aerially. WSDA’s website includes information about the C&T rule changes and what is required of each type of license. Visit agr.wa.gov/services/licenses-permits-and-certificates/pesticide-license-and-recertification/pesticide-and-spi-licensing/pesticide-licensing-webinars/certification-training-updates or scan the QR code.

“Every licensee is going to have to take some steps to meet the new requirements, and we want them to know that they’re not on their own in figuring those out. We encourage everyone to look through our webpages — they have really useful online charts, how-to charts — and reach out to us if they have questions, because our goal is to make sure that every licensee has the information and the support to understand the changes,” Zimmerman said. “They need to stay compliant as these changes are being rolled out. It’s their livelihood, and we want to make sure that they understand.”

While the changes may feel abrupt to growers, the EPA began updating the Federal Certification of Pesticide Applicators rule in 2017. Zimmerman said EPA made extensive changes to the standards that pesticide applicators had to meet, and every state was required to submit a plan laying out how they were going to meet those new standards. Washington state’s plan was approved in November 2022, and WSDA began the process of changing their rules. The new rules that became effective on Jan. 1 include changes to categories; updated definitions, like definition of use; additional dealer record keeping requirements; and requirements for the direct supervision of noncertified applicators that use restricted-use pesticides.

“Washington state already had pretty high standards for licensees to meet in order to obtain a license, but we still needed to make some changes as well as add new categories required by EPA,” she said. “The biggest hurdle is that the federal rule does not allow states to grandfather in licensees that were licensed under the standards before the rule change.”