Private Applicator

​​​​​​​​​​Private pesticide applicators:​​​

• ​are individuals who apply restricted-use pesticides to their own or their employer's agricultural crops. In addition to farm crops, this includes Christmas trees, forests, and nursery and greenhouse plants.
  
  
• must be certified, but do not need a license.​
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Steps to Certification​

Certification​:

There are three base categories and three sub categories to choose from for certification. You may need more than one depending on the work you do.

• Buy training materials from the University of Wisconsin PAT Program.
  
  
• Once you have received your training material and are ready to take the exam, you have three​ options:
  • ​You can take the paper-based test (free) at a participating county extension office.
    
  • You can take a computer-​based test with Pearson Vue for a convenience fee of $45. There are 54 technical colleges that you can choose from to take this exam or if you have all the requirements, this can be taken from your home/office. If you are interested with this option you can follow this link: https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/wi/agriculture.html​. Note: As private exams are open book, you cannot use your physical book for this option. Pearson Vue has a PDF that shares the screen with the exam. ​
  • You can attend a training the UW PAT puts on and take the exam after*. You can sign up for the training https://patstore.wisc.edu/secure/default.asp. To find a schedule of trainings go here: Private – Training Sessions – University of Wisconsin Pesticide Applicator Training Program. *This option is only available for certain times of the year.
  • Any testing options will grant you five years of certification.  ​

Applying pesticides in Indian country:

In addition to state certification and licensing, you need federal certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to apply restricted-use pesticides in Indian country. After receiving certification in a Wisconsin category, you must apply to the EPA for certification, which will be based on the Wisconsin category.​

EPA information and application form for Indian country certification​

Have additional questions? Check out our FAQ page.​​​​​​

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