Illinois Pesticide Licensing

About 5 of every 50 questions on a Illinois General Standards practice exam come from this topic.

Sources checked November 6, 2026

What to know

Under the Illinois Pesticide Act and the Illinois Department of Agriculture's Part 250 rules, the Director of Agriculture licenses applicators. A licensed commercial applicator is a certified applicator who owns or manages a business applying pesticides for hire, and needs a commercial license to use or supervise use of any pesticide, general or restricted; no one may use or supervise use of a restricted use pesticide without a license from the Director. A commercial not-for-hire applicator applies pesticides on an employer's property as a requirement of the job, and a private applicator uses restricted use pesticides to produce an agricultural commodity on land the applicator or employer owns, rents or controls, or on other land without pay beyond trading services between two producers. Operators are licensed only after passing the general competency standards exam, cannot be licensed without naming a supervising applicator and that applicator's license number, and must tell the Director when that supervisor changes. Applicators must pass the general standards and at least one technical category, with the general standard first, on closed book exams graded at 70%, with at most two attempts in a work day and three in six months. Multi-year licenses run for the year issued plus two calendar years and expire December 31; licensees are recertified at least every 3 years; a license renewed within 60 days after expiring stays in force until the Director acts; certification is valid only if a license is obtained in the year certified; and an employer may ask that a departed licensee's unused term go to a newly certified person. Commercial applicators show financial responsibility by surety bond, payable to the Director of Agriculture, or liability insurance certificate; a policy cannot be cancelled or reduced without 30 days' written notice, a lapse brings suspension until coverage is restored, and following the label does not remove liability for damage. The Director must give written reasons when a license is not issued as applied for, may accept other states' qualification standards, and after an opportunity for hearing may suspend, revoke or modify a license with or instead of money penalties. Section 11.5, effective January 1, 2026, lets licensees renew with 15 hours of approved courses every 3 years once funding, courses and tracking software exist, and product-promoting classes cannot be approved. Dealers must register to sell agricultural general use pesticides in containers of 2.5 gallons or 10 pounds or more. Scrap-tire mosquito treatments with approved general use pesticides need no not-for-hire license, and unpaid volunteers trained by a paid Category 6 Right-of-Way licensee may apply only non-restricted CAUTION or WARNING herbicides covered in their training to invasive plants on public lands.

Where it comes from

• 415 ILCS 60/4, 60/9, 60/10, 60/11, 60/11.1, 60/11.5, 60/12, 60/13, 60/24.1
• 8 Ill. Adm. Code 250.90, 250.100, 250.220

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