Bureau of Compliance Monitoring
CEU Program
- Recertification Requirements
- Earning CEUs
- CEU Requirements
- Using a Combination of CEUs and Exams to Renew
- CEU Classes
- Keeping Records of CEUs Earned
- Getting Approval to Grant CEUs
- Contact Us
Recertification Requirements
Licensed applicators must become recertified to renew their pesticide applicator licenses. To become recertified, individuals must either retake the certification exams or earn the required number of Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
In rare situations, reexamination may be required for recertification, with no option of using CEUs. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will notify all applicators affected by this requirement.
For information about renewing by exam, go to License Renewal or Using a Combination of CEUs and Exams to Renew
Earning CEUs
CEUs are earned by attending approved CEU classes or completing approved online or correspondence courses which award CEUs.
If an individual has more than one license, the same CEUs can be used to renew both licenses, provided the CEUs were earned during the license period for each license (from the day the license was issued until it expires) or within one year after expiration.
CEU Requirements
Licensees who renew their licenses with CEUs must earn 4 Core CEUs plus the number of category CEUs as shown in the table below. Only 4 Core CEUs are required per license - not 4 Core CEUs per category. All category CEUs must be approved for the specific category.
No substitutions of core/category CEUs are allowed.
|
CEU Requirements |
|
| Core (required of all licensees) | 4 |
| Aerial Application - Agricultural | 16 |
| Agricultural Animal Pest Control | 4 |
| Agricultural Row Crop Pest Control | 8 |
| Agricultural Tree Crop Pest Control | 8 |
| Antifouling Paint | 4 |
| Aquatic Pest Control | 16 |
| Forest Pest Control | 8 |
| Chlorine Gas Infusion | 4 |
| Demonstration and Research | 4 |
| Natural Areas Weed Management | 16 |
| Ornamental and Turf Pest Control | 12 |
| Private Applicator Agricultural Pest Control | 4 |
| Raw Agricultural Commodity Fumigation | 4 |
| Regulatory Inspection and Sampling | 4 |
| Regulatory Pest Control | 12 |
| Right-of-Way Pest Control | 8 |
| Seed Treatment | 4 |
| Sewer Root Control | 4 |
| Soil and Greenhouse Fumigation | 4 |
| Wood Treatment | 4 |
Using a Combination of CEUs and Exams to Renew
Licensees have the option of taking the certification exams again if they do not have enough CEUs for renewal. If a licensee has earned the required category CEUs but not enough core CEUs, the core exam may be taken instead of using core CEUs for renewal. Licensees may also choose to take the category exam(s) and earn 4 Core CEUs.
Licensees who have more than one category may choose to renew some categories with CEUs and other categories by exam. The licensee must also earn 4 Core CEUs or retake the core exam, in addition to either earning the number of category CEUs shown in the table above or retaking the category exam for each category renewed.
Example 1: A private applicator who has 4 private applicator CEUs and only 2 core CEUs may either take the core exam or earn 2 additional core CEUs to renew.
Example 2: A commercial applicator who has the agricultural row crop and agricultural tree crop categories will need to earn 4 core CEUs, 8 agricultural row crop CEUs, plus 8 agricultural tree crop CEUs or take the three corresponding exams.
CEU Classes
Training programs that provide CEU credits are offered by the County Agricultural Extension Offices as well as many other education providers. Most of the programs are offered within Florida; however, many out-of-state programs are also approved. To locate training programs offering CEUs, licensees may use the CEU Class Search. After locating classes of interest, licensees may want to call the contact person listed for more information or to register for a class. Or, they may want to contact local County Extension Offices in their area to find out training schedules. Licensees may also call the FDACS Pesticide Certification Section at (850) 488-3314 for information about upcoming CEU classes.
Keeping Records of CEUs Earned
Each licensed applicator is responsible for keeping track of CEUs earned and submitting documentation of CEUs earned at license renewal time. Acceptable methods of documenting CEUs earned for licenses issued by the Pesticide Certification Section, Bureau of Compliance Monitoring, are described below.
Earned CEU Database - FDACS has available to CEU providers (training sponsors) an online database where CEUs earned by individual license holders may be posted for tracking purposes. This is an optional procedure for CEU providers. If earned CEUs are entered into this database by the CEU provider, the FDACS Pesticide Certification Section (Bureau of Compliance Monitoring) will accept this as an official record of CEUs earned, and it is not necessary for the licensee to submit CEU Record of Attendance forms for those CEUs. Licensees may check to see how many earned CEUs have been entered into this system by using the Earned CEU Search. Licensees should not be alarmed if not all earned CEUs have been posted in this database since this is an optional procedure.
CEU Record of Attendance Forms - For each CEU class attended, licensed applicators should obtain an official CEU Record of Attendance form that has been signed by both the CEU provider or contact person for the class and the licensee. The CEU Record of Attendance form must be filled out completely, with name, address, and license number; the name, date, and location of the class; the CEU program number; sign-in and sign-out times; the number of CEUs awarded; signature of licensed applicator and date signed; and the signature of the CEU provider or contact person for the program and date signed. If any of this information is missing, illegible, or questionable, the form will be returned to the applicator for completion before the license can be renewed.
Licensed applicators need to keep the CEU Record of Attendance forms until time to renew the license, then mail them in with the completed renewal notice and license renewal fee to the Pesticide Certification Section. If CEU Record of Attendance forms are submitted more than 60 days before license expiration date, the records will be returned to the applicator to be resubmitted with the renewal notice and license fee.
Other Documentation - The Pesticide Certification Section (Bureau of Compliance Monitoring) will accept a signed statement from the CEU provider who sponsored the CEU program as verification that a particular applicator attended a CEU class instead of the official CEU Record of Attendance form, provided all the same information is provided.
Getting Approval to Grant CEUs
Any private company, public entity, professional association, or other organization or training provider may apply to have a program approved by the Pesticide Certification Section to award CEUs to program attendees. It is a simple and free process that can be completed electronically or with paper forms. To submit program requests electronically, the person sponsoring or coordinating the program first needs to register with the Pesticide Certification Section as a CEU provider. This is done by completing a Request for Username and Password to Submit Electronic CEU Program Requests (pdf) and submitting it to the Pesticide Certification Section as directed on the form. All parts of the form should be completed and it must be signed. On receipt of the completed form, the Pesticide Certification Section will email a username and password to the requester with instructions for submitting programs electronically. A program agenda and a brief resume of each speaker will need to accompany each program request submitted electronically.
To submit programs using paper forms, the person sponsoring or coordinating the program (the "CEU Provider") should complete a Request for Granting Continuing Education Units (pdf) form and mail or fax it to the Pesticide Certification Section along with the program agenda and a brief resume for each speaker.
One CEU is awarded for each 50 minutes of applicable classroom lecture time. Program segments consisting of field trips, demonstrations, and other non-lecture instruction are generally awarded 0.5 CEUs for each 50 minutes.
Requests for CEU program approvals plus the program agenda and speaker resumes must be received in the Pesticide Certification Section at least two weeks before the program is held to be approved for CEU credit. Also, the program material must relate directly to the competency standards (pdf) for the categories of license or general standards (core) for which CEUs are requested. These are rule requirements and must be adhered to.
Questions about approval to grant CEUs should be directed to the Pesticide Certification Section at (850) 488-3314.
Contact Us
Pesticide
Certification Section3125 Conner Blvd., Bldg. 8 (L-29)
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1650
(850) 488-3314 (telephone)
(850) 922-6961 (fax)
Email: osgoodk@doacs.state.fl.us
