Texas pesticide applicator license: the two TDA routes for lawn care

A Texas lawn care company that sprays weed killer or insecticide can land under either of two licensing schemes in the same rulebook, and the choice changes the exam, the experience you need and the insurance on file. Everything here comes from the Texas Administrative Code and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) pages, all read on 2026-10-01. Where TDA's page and the rule text word something differently, we say so.

Two routes, side by side

TDA's ornamentals, trees, lawns and weeds page says anyone applying any pesticide to lawns or ornamentals for hire, general-use products included, needs a TDA license, either an Agricultural Pesticide (Ag Pest) license or a Structural Pest Control Service license. The Ag route sits in 4 TAC 7.21, which lists "lawn and ornamental plant pest control" with a landscape maintenance subcategory (3A) covering athletic fields, residential properties, industrial sites, golf courses, parks and cemeteries. The license is built around restricted-use pesticides, state-limited-use pesticides and regulated herbicides. The Agriculture Code, as reproduced by Texas Public Law, bars buying or using those without a license or direct supervision by a licensee.

The structural route sits in 4 TAC 7.124, which has a Lawn and Ornamental category (pests or diseases of trees, shrubs and other plantings around structures and in parks) and a separate Weed Control category. The Occupations Code defines the business of structural pest control to include identifying infestations (weeds are on its list) and bidding or contracting for pay to control them with pesticides. Section 1951.301 requires a business license for that.

	Ag route, category 3A	Structural route, Lawn and Ornamental or Weed Control
What you hold	Commercial applicator license; the business attests to its insurance on the license application	A business license per location, plus a certified commercial applicator designated as the responsible applicator
Exams	General Standards plus the category exam, $64 each, taken through Metro Institute	General standards plus the category exam, $64 per category exam, 70% to pass
Experience first	None stated in the licensing rule	Work history, a degree or a prior license
License fees	$200 for one year	$300 business, $125 certified applicator
Continuing education	5 CEUs before the license expires	2 general units plus 1 per category every calendar year
Insurance	$100,000 per occurrence each for property damage and bodily injury, or $200,000 aggregate, for businesses applying restricted-use, state-limited-use or regulated-herbicide products	$500,000 with a $1,000,000 annual aggregate

The Ag route, step by step

Apply to TDA first, on the online portal or paper form PA-401, and pay the license fee. TDA then issues an eligibility letter, and only after that can you register with Metro Institute for the General Standards exam and the landscape maintenance exam, per TDA's Ag applicator license page. Exam scores are valid for 12 months, so schedule the pair close together. Once you pass and meet the other licensing requirements, the department issues the license. TDA's lawn page names 3A Landscape Maintenance and 5 Vegetation Management as the Ag categories for this work, and says each vehicle used in 3A work needs a TDA decal. If you run a company, the business has to attest on a state form that it carries liability insurance, and employees can't apply restricted-use products until it has.

Under section 7.25, a license is invalid once the renewal date passes, until a complete application and late fee arrive, and applying a restricted-use product in that gap can draw administrative penalties. After a full year the license is treated as voluntarily terminated and you start over as a new applicant.

The structural route, step by step

Texas wants proof you have already worked this job. The certified commercial applicator license needs the General Standards exam, the category exam and one of five things under section 7.126: 12 of the last 24 months working under a licensed applicator (including six months holding a technician license), a letter from the licensing entity showing 12 months of pest control experience, out of state included, a biological science degree or certificate from a two or four-year college, a previous Texas applicator license, or the hardship clause in section 7.129. TDA's exam eligibility page words the list a little differently: it adds 12 of 24 months of experience from a previous occupation and 24 months as a noncommercial certified applicator, and does not mention a hardship clause. SPCS can say which list applies to you.

If you have none of those, the way in is as an employee. The same rule describes an apprentice registration and a technician license: register with the department, finish the apprentice training the rule points to in section 7.132, attend a technician training course and pass the category exam. A technician works under the direct supervision of a certified applicator and needs a licensed business behind them. If you add crew for spraying season, the workers' comp guide shows when helpers trigger coverage.

The business license can list only categories where at least one certified applicator is actively licensed, and the business may not operate without a designated responsible applicator and current general pest control liability insurance. Licenses expire 12 months from issue. A renewal filed up to 90 days late costs one and a half times the usual fee and one filed later costs double, per the fee rule. After 365 days you are re-examined.

What the insurance rules say about the lawn itself

The Ag statute says the required proof of financial responsibility need not cover damage to crops, plants or land being worked on by the applicator business. A policy can meet that minimum and still not pay for the lawn your crew just damaged. The same section allows a deductible up to $1,000, and the department's rule accepts only a liability policy in the business's name, not a bond. The statute's insurance duty attaches to businesses applying the restricted-use, state-limited-use or regulated-herbicide products it covers, and TDA's Ag applicator license page describes the business registration the same way. The pages we read do not say whether a business that sprays only general-use products must file the $100,000 proof, so ask TDA.

The structural rule goes the other way. The policy must insure damage to premises or other property under your care, custody or control. It must carry a 30-day cancellation notice to the department and come from an insurer authorized or registered with the Texas Department of Insurance. If claims pull the aggregate under $1,000,000, the carrier has 10 business days to tell the department and you.

Whichever route you take, send your insurer the license category and the rule that applies to it. Chemical damage is where the endorsement comes in, and the pesticide applicator insurance guide explains it. The certificate of insurance guide shows how to get the state's form filled out. For other states, see the pesticide applicator license by state page.

Renewal and CEUs, route by route

On the Ag route, section 7.24 sets five CEUs before expiration, with at least one hour in each of two topics from integrated pest management, laws and regulations, or drift minimization. One CEU is 50 minutes of instruction, and correspondence courses can't be used two years running. Keep the completion certificates for 12 months after renewal, because the department can audit them.

On the structural route the requirement is annual and per category, and the rule exempts your first calendar year. Certificates have to be kept for two years, and the business license holder is responsible for its employees' records.

Fertilizer, and which route TDA expects

Before you pay for either exam, ask TDA which route it expects for a residential weed-control route. TDA's lawn page says applicators who apply only fertilizer do not need a TDA license, and TDA's pesticide FAQ says fertilizer rules sit with the Texas Feed and Fertilizer Control Service at Texas A&M, not TDA. We did not read that service's rules.