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Pesticide Training & Testing

Category 3, 5, and 6 Training and Testing

To prepare workers to take the certification exam, we provide six hours* of instruction, and at the completion of the training, the Department of Agriculture administers the exam. With the instruction fresh in their minds, 90 percent of the workers pass the exam the first time. 

 

Category 3: Ornamental and Lawn Care

Category 3 licensing and certification is required for persons handling, using or supervising the use of pesticides or fertilizers for insect, weed, and/or disease control in residential and commercial landscapes and lawns.

Category 5: Aquatic Pest Control

Category 5 licensing and certification is required for persons applying or supervising the application of any pesticide purposefully applied to standing or running water, excluding applicators engaged in public health-related activities.

Category 6: Right-of-Way Pest Control

Category 6 licensing and certification is required for persons handling, using or supervising the use of pesticides in the maintenance of public roads, electric power lines, pipelines, railway right-of-ways, or similar areas.  This is the certification most often required of state and local government highway workers. 

 

Dates & Locations

Fees

To prepare participants to take the certification exam, we provide six hours of instruction. Immediately following the completion of the training, the Department of Agriculture administers the exam. 

  • 135 for one Category (This fee pays for certification and license)
  • $145 for two Categories (This fee pays for certification and license)
  • $155 for three Categories (This fee pays for certification and license)

*Note: due to the recent regulatory changes regarding Pesticide licensure, our training format may change. More information will be provided in the near future.

Study Guides

The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Departments of Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Weed Science prepare study guides on various Pesticide categories to help prepare for new applicators taking their test. The website covers a variety of pests including insects, diseases, and weeds affecting field crops, greenhouse, fruits and vegetables, lawn and turf, shade trees and ornamentals, structural & household, forests, rights-of-ways, and other situations. Browse the website for study guides on Categories 3, 5, and 6 along with interactive quiz practice questions. 

UK Pesticide Safety Education Program

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