Overview
The Department of Pesticide Regulation's Recertification program is designed as a program of continuing education for South Carolina licensed pesticide applicators. Licensed pesticide applicators are required to accrue continuing certification units/hours as long as they remain licensed in South Carolina.
Below are resources for Licensed applicators to learn their requirements for the program, check their recertification status and view available South Carolina approved recertification classes and programs.
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Requirements for Licensed Applicators
Who must be recertified?
- All certified pesticide applicators (private, commercial, non-commercial) must earn a required number of recertification (CCU's) every five years.
When must I be recertified?
- Recertification blocks run in 5 year time periods. You must be recertified within the appropriate 5 year block. Commercial and non-commercial applicators must obtain recertification CCU's between January 1st, 2024 and December 31st, 2028. Private applicators must obtain recertification CCU's between January 1st, 2025 and December 31, 2029.
How do I get recertified?
- Attend DPR approved training sessions, courses, or complete online credit courses over the 5 year period, and accumulate the required number of CCU's.
- Pass a written examination given by the DPR at specified exam sessions in the last year of the 5 year block.
- Commercial applicators can see category specific CCU requirements below.
- Non-Commercial applicators must accumulate 10 CCU's for their respective 5 year recertification block.
- Private applicators must accumulate 5 CCU's for their respective 5 year recertification block.
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Category-Specific CCU Requirements
The summary below reflects the change (to be implemented in January, 2014) in required continuing certification units (CCU).
Possible combinations of CCUs that a commercial pesticide applicator may have are followed by the number of category-specific units required, and then by the total that will be required to renew at the end of the 1/1/2024-12/31/28 Recertification Block.
Categories 1,2,4,9,10, and 11 have no requirement for category-specific CCUs.
Requirements for the 1/1/2024-12/31/28 Commercial Recertification Block Commercial Category Held Category-Specific CCUs Required Total Required 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11 (or any combination of these) 0 10 3 and any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 3 10 5 and any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 3 10 7A and any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 12 20 7B and any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 3 10 8 and any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 3 10 3, or 5, or 7B, or 8 only 3 10 7A only 12 20 Combination of any two (3, 5, 7B, 8) alone, or with any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 6 10 Combination of any three (3, 5, 7B, 8) alone, or with any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 9 10 Combination of all four (3, 5, 7B, 8) alone, or with any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 12 12 Combination of 7A and any one (3, 5, 7B, 8) alone, or with any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 15 20 Combination of 7A and any two (3, 5, 7B, 8) alone, or with any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 18 20 Combination of 7A and any three (3, 5, 7B, 8) alone, or with any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 21 21 Combination of 7A and all four (3, 5, 7B, 8) alone, or with any combination of (1,2,4,6,9,10,11) 24 24 -
Applicator Recertification Credit Status
Licensed applicators may click on the links below to check their recertification status.
For Course Organizers and Instructors
Submitting an educational program for pesticide recertification approval?
- All educational programs must be submitted 15 business days in advanced of the program training date.
- Educational programs must contain a detailed agenda, including time slots and subject content.
- All programs must be open to the public.
- Closed programs are not accepted into the Recertification program; therefore, any closed programs will NOT be approved.
- Submit the completed Request for Continuing Certification Hours Form (PDF) via email to dprRecertApprovals@clemson.edu.
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Recertification Law
27-1078. Certification and Licensing of Commercial Applicators
N. Recertification periods for commercial applicators are five (5) year periods, beginning
January 1st of 1994 and ending on December 31st of 1998, 2003, 2008, and every five (5) years thereafter. During each recertification period after the one in which the license is issued each Commercial Applicator must accumulate no less than the number of Continuing Certification Units CCUs specified below for each category in which they are licensed, up to a maximum of 24 CCUs. Alternatively the applicator may complete the initial licensing requirements and re-apply to the Director for a license.
- All courses of study for which CCUs are requested must be submitted to the Department at least fifteen business days in advance of the date of the training. On-line, correspondence, or other self-study programs must be submitted for approval at least fifteen business days before being offered to participants. Submission of a program to the Department does not guarantee that it will receive CCUs.
- CCUs will be awarded as either category-specific or core-competency CCUs. Licensed applicators in categories in which licensing is mandatory must accumulate category-specific CCUs as indicated below before renewing their licenses. Licensed applicators holding certification in more than one category in which licensing is mandatory must accumulate the required number of category-specific CCUs for each mandatory category, up to a maximum of 24, as above.
- Once the required number of category-specific CCUs has been accumulated, either core-competency CCUs or additional category-specific CCUs may be used to fulfill the remaining CCU requirements.
- The Department will award CCUs based on its evaluation of the content of the course of study.
- Applicators certified in Category 7A must accumulate 20 CCUs in each recertification period, no less than 12 of which must be specific to Category 7A.
- Applicators certified in Category 7B must accumulate 10 CCUs in each recertification period, no less than 3 of which must be specific to Category 7B.
- Applicators certified in Category 3, 5, or 8 must accumulate 10 CCUs in each recertification period, no less than 3 of which must be specific to each category.
- Applicators certified in other categories must accumulate 10 CCUs in each recertification period.
- Applicators may obtain no more than one-half of the total number of required category-specific CCUs and no more than one-half of the core-competency CCUs during the last year of any recertification block. Applicators may “carry over” to the next recertification block any CCUs they obtain in excess of the minimum required, both category-specific and core-competency, during the final year of any recertification block.
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Recertification Policy Memo
December 4, 2013
MEMORANDUM
TO: Interested Parties
CC: Dr. Joseph P. Krausz, Department Head Dr. Steve Cole, Interim Director RPSP
FROM: Tim Drake, State Programs Manager Tammy Lark Lognion, Recertification Program Manager
SUBJECT: Category-Specific Recertification Requirements
Beginning January 1, 2014, category-specific CEUs (Continuing Certification Units) will be required for all Commercial and Noncommercial pesticide applicators licensed in categories 3 (Ornamental and Turf Pest Control), 5 (Aquatic Pest Control), 7A (Structural, Institutional, and Health-Related Pest Control), 7B (Structural Fumigation), and 8 (Public Health Pest Control). Three (3) category-specific CEUs will be required in categories 3, 5, 7B, and 8. Twelve (12) will be required in category 7A. These CEUs must be earned within the 2014-2018 recertification block. To renew a license at the end of the new block (2018), all applicators must have a minimum of ten (10) CEUs, with the exception of licensees in category 7A, who will be required to accrue a minimum of twenty (20) CEUs within the specified block. The overall number of CEUs required for applicators at the end of the block will be variable (from ten to 24), depending upon which and how many of the mandatory categories of licensure are held by the applicator (see detailed attachments).
Additionally, no more than one-half of an applicator’s required CEUs may be earned within the last year of the recertification block. Any applicator not having at least one-half of his/her required CEUs by December 31, 2017, will not be allowed to renew a commercial or noncommercial license. In these cases, the Core or Recertification and appropriate Category examinations will need to be taken in order to become licensed for the new block.
All CEUs earned in the final year of the block in excess of the required number will be carried over to the next recertification block. Applicators that do not have any of the mandatory categories of licensure (3, 5, 7A, 7B, 8) will be required only to accrue CEUs in General/Core competencies up to the required minimum of ten.
