|
 |
|
|
|
|
AGRICULTURAL PEST CONTROL ADVISER LICENSE
LICENSING REQUIREMENTS
Do you need this license?
An agricultural pest control adviser (PCA) is any person who offers a recommendation on any
agricultural use, holds himself/herself as an authority on any agricultural use, or solicits services or
sales for any agricultural use. Food and Agricultural Code section 12001 states: "No person shall act,
or offer to act, as an agricultural pest control adviser without first having secured an agricultural pest
control adviser license from the director. Officials of federal, state, and county departments of agriculture
and the University of California personnel engaged in official duties relating to agricultural use are
exempt from this section if any recommendation by any of these persons as to specific application on
a specific parcel is in writing."
Basic qualifications: education
and work experience
Please complete the form on the back of the agricultural
pest control adviser (PCA) license application to
assure that you have met the minimum education requirements
to qualify for the agricultural pest control adviser
license. If you have any questions, please call our
office at (916) 445-4026.
College/university and work experience requirements
The following are educational requirements that must be met in order to qualify for the PCA license. Two
options are available for qualifying. In either option 1 or 2, the core course requirements must be met.
Also, the applicant must average a 2.0 grade point in the core courses completed to meet the requirement.
Option 1
| College Degree |
College Accredited Units Requirement |
Core Course Requirements |
Work Experience |
Bachelor’s Degree (B.A. or B.S.) in:
- Agricultural Sciences
- Biological Sciences
- Pest Management
|
45 semester units or 67.5 quarter units of college/university level curricula in the core courses
Applicants must have an average 2.0 grade point in the core courses
|
- Physical & biological sciences
- Crop Health
- Pest Management
- Production Systems
For more detail, see Core Course Requirements
|
None required
|
Option 2
| College Degree |
College Accredited Units Requirement |
Core Course Requirements |
Work Experience |
|
None required
|
45 semester units or 67.5 quarter units of college/university level
curricula in the core courses - see below
Applicants must have an average 2.0 grade point in the core courses
|
- Physical & biological sciences
- Crop Health
- Pest Management
- Production Systems
For more detail, see Core Course Requirements
|
Yes. 24 months of technical experience as described below
|
Technical experience:
24 months in areas such as being an assistant to a licensed agricultural pest control adviser
or pest management specialist, field sweeper/checker or scout; a farm operator; participant in field or lab
research activities relating to pest control;or agricultural pest control/management activities at the
federal, state, or county level; only 12 months of experience in the following two areas: as a
pesticide applicator licensee employed by a licensed pest control business or as a structural pest control
operator, respectively, can be used.
Core course requirements
The college level curriculum must include the following core course units as specified below to total
45 semester or 67.5 quarter units (the semester unit conversion to quarter unit is the number of semester units times 1.5 = quarter units, e.g., 45 semester units x 1.5 = 67.5 quarter units).
Effective January 1, 2003, the following college level courses are required to qualify for a PCA
license:
| Area of Study |
Semester Units
|
Quarter Units
|
| Physical and biological sciences such as introduction to
inorganic chemistry, organicchemistry, biochemistry, plant biology or botany, ecology, soils,
irrigation, genetics, plant physiology, entomology, and zoology. |
15 |
22.5
|
| Crop health such as vegetative management or weeds, plant
pathology, agricultural/economicentomology, plant nutrition or fertility, nematology, and vertebrate
management |
12 |
18
|
|
Pest management systems and methods, with at least one course in pest management systems
and one course in pest management methods.
- Pest management methods includes topics
such as agricultural chemical applications,
properties of pesticides, mode of action of
agricultural chemicals, toxicology, environmental
impact of pesticides and biological control.
- Pest management systems includes topics
such as integrated pest management, alternative
cropping systems, and sustainable agricultural
systems.
|
9 |
13.5 |
| Production systems such as environmental horticulture,
horticulture,ornamental horticulture, forestry, agronomy, crop science, vegetable crops, animal science,
or other production systems. |
9 |
13.5 |
| Total Units Required |
45 |
67.5 |
Institutions offering core courses
Institutions offering core courses that partially or completely meet the educational requirements for the
PCA license are listed on DPR’s website at
www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/pcacoursreq.htm. Included in each institution PDF are the core courses that meet the PCA educational requirements. Please
click on the institution of your choice for that information. Only those institutions that responded to a DPR survey are included in this list; other universities and colleges may offer comparable courses.
Required documents for new adviser license applicants only
- Submit an official college/university transcript(s)
for verification of courses completed and degrees
granted for both Option 1 and Option 2.
- Submit letter(s) from your employer(s) verifying
the technical experience and time employed if qualifying
under Option 2. The required technical experience
must be at least 24 months of employment.
- Complete and submit the attached Agricultural
Pest Control Adviser License Core Course Requirements
form for both Option 1 and Option 2 if you are a
new applicant for an adviser license.
Basic licensing requirements
Examinations
A PCA license is obtained by passing the examination
on Laws and Regulations, Basic Principles, and Integrated
Pest Management and at least one category examination
(Food and Agriculture Code [FAC] section 12022). The
pest control categories available under this license
are as follows:
| A. Insects, mites and
other invertebrates |
D. Vertebrate pests |
| B. Plant pathogens |
E. Weed control |
| C. Nematodes |
F. Defoliation |
| |
G. Plant growth regulators |
Knowledge expectations and preparing for exams
Beginning in January 2003, persons applying to be
licensed as a California pest control adviser (PCA)
will be expected to show that they have taken a specified
number of courses in the pest management area and
also demonstrate knowledge in specified areas of importance.
New exams have been implemented.
Knowledge expectations define the basic background
information PCAs need to make a pest control recommendation
in each of the licensing areas. Meeting knowledge
expectations will require recalling facts, comprehending
information, applying knowledge, and analyzing situations.
Specific knowledge expectations have been developed
for each license category as listed above and can
be found on DPR’s website at
www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/adviserke.htm.
In addition, all PCAs will be expected to meet specified
knowledge expectations for laws and regulations and
integrated pest management (IPM) found on DPR’s website
at
www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/adviserke.htm.
Knowledge of IPM will be tested in the general principles/laws
and regulations examination as well as in the individual
licensing category.
Use the knowledge expectations to study and prepare
for the licensing exams. If you can answer all the
questions listed in the knowledge expectations, you
are probably ready for the exam. Information needed
to meet the knowledge expectations for each licensing
area is contained in the study materials recommended
in this application package.
Study material
Laws and regulations that apply to this license, may be viewed at:
Once you’ve become licensed or certified
A list of valid licensees can be viewed at
www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/currlic.htm.
General requirements
Once you have obtained your license, you must:
- Register with the county agricultural commissioner
in "home" county (address on license) and in each
county where recommendations are made (FAC section
12031).
- Retain one copy of each written recommendation
for 1 year following the date of such recommendation
(FAC section 12004).
- Provide the operator of the property with a copy
of the written recommendation prior to the application
(FAC section12003).
- Where a pesticide use is recommended, provide
a copy of the written recommendation to the pesticide
dealer and the applicator prior to application (FAC
section 12003).
- Complete ground water protection training before
writing ground water protection advisories [3CCR
section 6416(b)].
Continuing education
Once you have obtained your license, you must:
- Accumulate at least 40 hours of approved continuing
education every twoyears before license renewal.
A minimum of 4 of the 40 hours must include the
topic of pesticide and pest control laws and regulations
(3CCR section 6511).
- Your renewal notice from DPR will include the
number and general topic areas of approved continuing
education hours required to renew your license or
certificate.
DPR-approved CE courses can be viewed at
www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/conted.htm.
Licensing, renewal, and other fees
Application fee
If you are applying for a PCA license for the first
time, the application fee is $80.00 (FAC section 12021;
3CCR section 6502). This fee does not include any
examinations required to obtain a PCA license.
Examination fees
An examination fee of $50.00 is required (3CCR section
6505) for each initial examination and each reexamination
(due to rescheduling or failure to pass) including:
- Laws, regulations, and basic principles examination
- Each pest control category examination
2nd year fee notice
If your examination results indicate you have passed
the required examinations to receive a valid license,
you may receive a 2nd Year Fee Notice. The notice
will inform you that you are in the first year of
a two-year license cycle; an additional 2nd-year fee
of $70 will be required in order to issue your license.
The license/certificate two-year cycles are as follows:
- The license of individuals with last names beginning
with A through L expire on December
31 of even-numbered years (i.e., 2004, 2006, 2008,
etc.)
- The license of individuals with last names beginning
with M through Z expire on December
31 of odd-numbered years (i.e., 2005, 2007, 2009,
etc.)
Annual renewal fee
The license renewal fee is $70 per calendar year, to
be paid to DPR every two years for a total cost of $140
(3CCR section 6502). The two-year license renewal fee
is not prorated if the license is renewed late.
Late renewal fee
A late fee of 50 percent (50%) of the total renewal
fee will be assessed for each license and/or certificate
postmarked after December 31 of the expiration year.
Name/address change and duplicate/replacement
fees
A fee of $20 is required for name changes. It is
also required for any requests for a duplicate or
replacement license or certificate (3CCR section 6508).
DPR will not issue a new license (card) when an address
change is received unless requested by the licensee
or certificate holder and accompanied by the $20 fee.
A maximum fee of $20 is required for all name and/or
address changes or requests for a duplicate or replacement
license when submitted on a single application
form.
Every person to whom a license or certificate is
issued must notify the Licensing and Certification
Office in writing of any name and/or address change.
- Legal documents and a fee of $20 are required
in order to make a name change. A new license will
be automatically issued for all name changes.
- The change of address form is available on DPR’s
website at www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/lcforms.htm
or by calling (916) 445-4038. A $20 fee for an address
change is only required when the licensee
requests a new license.
The $20 fee is waived when a license is printed
to add a pest control category after successfully
passing the examination.
General information
Timelines for processing applications
DPR has established time periods for processing permit
applications, in compliance with Government Code sections
15374-15378. DPR may take up to 129 days to complete
the processing of this application. Failure to comply
with these time periods may be appealed to the Agency
Secretary, California Environmental Protection Agency,
P.O. Box 2815, 1001 I Street, Sacramento, California
95814, pursuant to regulations set forth in 3CCR section
301. Under certain circumstances, the Agency Secretary
may order that the applicant receive a reimbursement
of filing fees.
Timelines for applications/examinations
DPR schedules examinations
beginning with February, in various locations throughout
the state. The examination code schedule is located
on DPR’s website at
www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/liccert.htm.
Your application must be postmarked by
the final filing date in order to process your application
for the month, location and examination(s) you
request.
License duration
A new license may be issued for less than one year,
one year, less than two years or two years. Each renewed
license is valid for two (2) years unless renewed
late.
The most common mistakes and how to avoid them
The most common application errors made are incorrect
fees, missing the final filing date, and not specifying
the month and location where you want to take the examination.
You can avoid these errors by reading the application
instructions carefully, marking filing dates on a calendar,
and mailing your application to DPR on or before the
final filing date. If you have questions regarding any
information, call for assistance.
DPR Licensing and Certification location>
Department of Pesticide Regulation
Pest Management and Licensing Branch
Licensing and Certification Program
1001 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-2828
Questions
Call: (916) 445-4026
Email: licensing-pca@cdpr.ca.gov
| |
|
|
|
