Idaho pesticide and fertilizer record rules for lawn care companies

Last reviewed October 11, 2026 · 7 min read

The short answer

In Idaho, professional applicators keep a record of each pesticide application, general use as well as restricted use: the name and address of the person for whom it was applied, the property treated, its location and size, the trade or brand name, total amount and EPA registration number of the pesticide, the date and time of day, the approximate wind velocity and direction, and the full name and license number of the applicator (and, when a Commercial Apprentice applies, of the supervising applicator). Keep records for two years. Within 30 days of a restricted use pesticide application, give the customer a copy of the record. Idaho’s pesticide law and rule have no lawn sign or customer notice requirement for turf.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change and can depend on what you apply and where. Confirm what applies to your business with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and the product label before you rely on anything here.

Who regulates lawn care applicators

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), Division of Agricultural Resources, regulates the registration, sale, distribution, use, storage and disposal of pesticides under the Idaho Pesticides and Chemigation Act (Idaho Code Title 22, Chapter 34) and the rule IDAPA 02.03.03. The rule covers applicator and dealer licensing, record keeping, pesticide use restrictions, storage and chemigation.

A “professional applicator” is anyone who applies pesticides on the land or property of another for compensation, uses or supervises the use of restricted-use pesticides and is not a private applicator, or offers technical advice or recommendations on agricultural pesticides. Spray adjuvants (wetting agents, spreaders, stickers and similar agents sold in a separate container) count as pesticides under the Act.

ISDA may enter public or private premises at reasonable times to observe pesticide use and to inspect the records the Act requires. Making false, misleading or fraudulent records, or refusing or neglecting to keep required records, is unlawful. A violation of the Act is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $100 to $1,000, three to twelve months in county jail, or both, and ISDA may also assess a civil penalty of up to $3,000 for each offense plus reasonable attorney fees. Operating as a professional applicator without a license carries a civil penalty of $100 for each day of operation.

Cities, counties, taxing districts and other political subdivisions may not adopt or keep any ordinance or rule on pesticide sale, use or application, including notification of use, application methods or applicator training and certification.

Sources: ISDA: Pesticide Compliance, Idaho Code Title 22, Chapter 34, Pesticides and Chemigation (sections 22-3401 to 22-3426), IDAPA 02.03.03, Rules Governing Pesticide and Chemigation Use and Application (current)

Licenses you need

Professional applicator’s license: no one may act as a professional applicator without one from ISDA. Applicants must be at least 18, pass ISDA’s examination and show proof of financial responsibility. The license fee is $300.
Exams: every professional applicator passes the Applicator Core Competency (CO) exam (or competency training) plus at least one category exam, each exam with a score of at least 70%, and may only make applications or recommendations for purposes in which they have demonstrated competence. Scores are valid for 12 months, a failed exam may be retaken after a waiting period of one day, and the exam fee is $10 per category (plus $5 when an exam is requested outside a regularly scheduled date).
Ornamental Pest (OP): lawn and landscape work falls in this category, for applicators who use or supervise the use of pesticides to control pests in the maintenance and production of ornamental plants and turf. The earlier Ornamental Herbicide (OH) and Ornamental Insecticide/Fungicide (OI) categories were merged into it in 2024.
Term and renewal: the professional license runs for five years, from the January 1 after it is first obtained to December 31 of the fifth year. To renew without retesting, earn 40 recertification credits during the five-year period at ISDA-accredited seminars (one credit for each 50 minutes of instruction, no carry-over); otherwise retake the applicable exams. A license may be renewed up to 12 months after it expires, and no sooner than 45 days from the expiration date.
Financial responsibility: file proof (liability insurance on an ISDA-approved form, a bond, a cash certificate of deposit, an annuity or an irrevocable letter of credit) with minimum coverage of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per occurrence for bodily injury, $50,000 per occurrence for property damage, and a deductible of no more than $5,000. The property being treated does not have to be covered; notify ISDA in writing immediately after a cancellation or reduction in coverage. A license is automatically suspended while the required financial responsibility lapses.
Professional Commercial Apprentice ($120): the CO exam only, 70% or better. It allows general use pesticide applications only, under limited supervision of a properly certified professional applicator; it lasts two years from issue, cannot be renewed, and the apprentice cannot supervise others or apply restricted use pesticides.
Limited supervision: the supervising applicator is licensed in the needed categories, supervises no more than two apprentices at a time and keeps immediate communication (voice, radio, cell phone or similar) with them throughout every application. Companies employing apprentices keep a current roster of all licensed applicators showing that no professional applicator supervises more than two apprentices, and make it available to ISDA on request.
Noncertified applicators and restricted use pesticides: a noncertified applicator may apply them only under on-site supervision by a professional applicator who is physically at the site, has visual contact and can direct them, supervising no more than two at a time, and only after WPS handler (or equivalent) training and training on the equipment within the previous 12 months. No noncertified person may make professional applications while under 18.
Mixer-loaders: a mixer-loader working for a professional applicator must be trained every year by that applicator, with the same training and records as noncertified restricted use applicators. ISDA’s form says to keep it on file with the company and not send it to ISDA.
Changes: notify ISDA in writing immediately of a change of address or place of business, business name or other information on the license application. Licenses are not transferable.

Tip: A person who uses only hand-powered equipment to apply non-restricted-use pesticides to lawns or ornamental trees and shrubs, employs two or fewer people who apply pesticides and does not hold himself out as a professional applicator is exempt from the license requirement.

Before a noncertified applicator uses a restricted use pesticide, the certified applicator makes sure the labeling is at hand, label-required protective equipment is provided, site- and pesticide-specific instructions are given, the equipment is checked before each day of use and a means of immediate communication is available. Noncertified applicator training records are kept for three years with the person’s printed name and signature, the training date, the trainer’s full name and qualification, and the title or description of the training.

Sources: Idaho Code Title 22, Chapter 34, Pesticides and Chemigation (sections 22-3401 to 22-3426), IDAPA 02.03.03, Rules Governing Pesticide and Chemigation Use and Application (current), ISDA Licensing Application (all types), 2026–27, ISDA: Changes to IDAPA 02.03.03 in 2024 (license categories), ISDA Professional Applicator Certificate of Insurance (revised January 23, 2019), ISDA Mixer/Loader Certification of Training

What to record for each application

Professional applicators keep a record of each pesticide application, general use and restricted use alike (IDAPA 02.03.03.101.01). Each record holds:

The name and address of the person for whom the pesticide was applied
The specific crop, animal or property treated
The location of what was treated, by address, general legal description (township, range and section) or latitude/longitude
The size or amount of the crop, animal or property treated
The trade name or brand name of the pesticide applied
The total amount of pesticide applied
The EPA registration number of the pesticide applied
The date of application and the time of day the pesticide is applied
The approximate wind velocity and the approximate wind direction
The full name and license number of the professional applicator applying the pesticide
When a Commercial Apprentice applies: the full name and license number of the professional applicator supervising the apprentice
When required: the Worker Protection Standard information exchange made before the application, with the name of the grower or operator contacted and the date and time of contact (agricultural work)

The rule sets no deadline for completing a record after the application. The 2024 amendment struck two former record items, “the dilution applied or rate of application” and “the full name of the person recommending the pesticide application”, and replaced “the owner or operator of each property treated” with “the person for whom the pesticide was applied”.

Sources: IDAPA 02.03.03, Rules Governing Pesticide and Chemigation Use and Application (current), Idaho Code Title 22, Chapter 34, Pesticides and Chemigation (sections 22-3401 to 22-3426), ISDA: Changes to IDAPA 02.03.03 in 2024 (license categories)

How long to keep records and who can ask for them

Keep application records for two years, ready to be inspected, copied or submitted when ISDA asks.
Within 30 days of a restricted use pesticide application, give the person for whom it was applied a copy of the application record.
The rule gives customers no right to a copy of records of general use applications.
ISDA’s Pesticide Applicator Forms page lists only licensing forms and offers no application record form, so any record holding the rule’s items will do.
Anyone suffering loss or damage from someone else’s pesticide application files a written report with ISDA, naming the applicator and the property owner or lessee for whom the application was made, within 60 days of the damage (or before more than 25% of a damaged crop is harvested); failing to file is not itself a violation.

Sources: IDAPA 02.03.03, Rules Governing Pesticide and Chemigation Use and Application (current), ISDA: Pesticide Applicator Forms, Idaho Code Title 22, Chapter 34, Pesticides and Chemigation (sections 22-3401 to 22-3426), ISDA: Pesticide Compliance

Customer notice, posting and lawn signs

Idaho’s pesticide statute and rule contain no lawn sign, posting, prior-notification, neighbor-notice or pesticide-sensitive registry requirement for turf or ornamental applications. The only posted sign in the rule is the warning at pesticide storage areas: they must be locked when unattended and posted on all approachable sides, readable at 25 feet, with a notice substantially reading “DANGER / POISON STORAGE AREA / ALL UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS KEEP OUT” and the name and phone number of an emergency contact.

The rule does limit how and where you apply:

Do not apply in sustained winds above the label’s limit, or above 10 miles per hour when the label states none (injection and impregnated granules follow the label).
Low volatile liquid ester herbicide formulations may not be applied around any home or garden on a day when the air temperature exceeds, or is forecast to exceed, 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Any application that results in drift outside the target area is prohibited.
Professional applicators may not apply Bidrin (foliar), strychnine at 1% and above or zinc phosphide at 2.1% and above around any home or garden.

Sources: Idaho Code Title 22, Chapter 34, Pesticides and Chemigation (sections 22-3401 to 22-3426), IDAPA 02.03.03, Rules Governing Pesticide and Chemigation Use and Application (current)

Fertilizer rules

ISDA administers the Idaho Fertilizer Act of 2000, which regulates the registration, labeling and distribution of fertilizer. Each fertilizer product must be registered by its manufacturer or distributor before sale, at $75 per product, with registrations expiring December 31 each year.

The Fertilizer Act sets no fertilizer applicator license, no application record, no phosphorus or nitrogen limit for lawns, no blackout dates and no setbacks; its record duties fall on registrants and distributors (for example, customer-formula invoices kept 36 months). Local governments may not regulate the registration, packaging, labeling, sale, storage, distribution, use or application of fertilizers; county or city zoning ordinances on where fertilizer facilities are sited, or protecting ground or surface water quality, are not preempted.

A dry pesticide may not be distributed or sold incorporated in a dry blended bulk fertilizer mix. Fertilizer applied through an irrigation system is chemigation, which needs a chemigation license ($50) and approved antipollution equipment.

Sources: Idaho Code Title 22, Chapter 6, Idaho Fertilizer Act of 2000 (sections 22-601 to 22-626), IDAPA 02.06.02, Rules Governing Registrations and Licenses (current), IDAPA 02.03.03, Rules Governing Pesticide and Chemigation Use and Application (current), Idaho Code Title 22, Chapter 34, Pesticides and Chemigation (sections 22-3401 to 22-3426)

How GroundsQuote’s chemical records line up

GroundsQuote keeps an application record for each chemical a crew puts down on a job. On a job at a property in Idaho, Finish job asks the crew for the details Idaho lists, and the records export with the columns in Idaho’s order. Here is each item Idaho lists, set against what the record actually holds. Keeping the record complete and correct is still your responsibility.

Idaho record items and GroundsQuote’s chemical application record
Idaho asks for	In GroundsQuote	Status
Name and address of the person for whom the pesticide was applied	Customer name and mailing address	Recorded
Specific crop, animal or property treated	Where on the property (front lawn, beds, fence line… or a description), required on Idaho jobs at Finish job, and the service	Recorded
Location by address, legal description or latitude/longitude	Street address, unit, city, state, ZIP and county (no latitude/longitude or township-range-section column)	Recorded
Size or amount of property treated	Area treated (sq ft)	Recorded
Trade or brand name of the pesticide	Product name, from the chemical’s setup	Recorded
Total amount of pesticide applied	Total used	Recorded
EPA registration number	EPA Reg. No., from the chemical’s setup	Recorded
Date of application	Date and time applied	Recorded
Time of day applied	Date and time applied (the job’s finish), the job’s start and finish, and each chemical’s own start and finish when entered	Recorded
Approximate wind velocity and direction	The nearest weather station’s wind speed and direction at the job’s start and finish; on Idaho jobs the crew is offered to confirm it on site or enter the wind they measured	Recorded
Full name and license number of the professional applicator applying	Applied by: everyone who applied it, with each one’s license number when license-keeping is switched on	Recorded
Supervising applicator’s full name and license number (apprentice applications)	Supervised by, offered on Idaho jobs at Finish job, with the supervisor’s license number when license-keeping is switched on	Recorded
Worker Protection Standard information exchange with the grower or operator (agricultural work)	Not kept: agricultural work only	Not recorded
Copy of the record to the customer within 30 days of a restricted use application	The application statement carries the record items and can be printed, left or emailed, and Finish job on Idaho jobs reminds you of the 30-day copy; GroundsQuote does not track the deadline or that a copy was given	Partly
Noncertified applicator and mixer-loader training records (name and signature, date, trainer and qualification, description)	Training and ID records for each person, with a copy of the paper; GroundsQuote captures no signature and does not track the three-year retention or the 12-month training window	Partly
Roster showing no professional applicator supervises more than two apprentices	Each person’s standing and license, and the supervisor on each record; Finish job on Idaho jobs reminds you of the two-apprentice limit, but GroundsQuote produces no roster and does not check the limit	Partly

The records export lays out Idaho’s items for the state, and Finish job on Idaho jobs asks for where on the property, offers the supervisor and the on-site wind, reminds you of the 30-day restricted use copy and the two-apprentice limit, and warns the crew when a pesticide is on the job and the wind they measured, else the nearest weather station’s, is over 10 mph (the label’s own limit applies when it sets one). Giving the customer the copy, keeping the apprentice roster, supervision and training, the 80°F ester limit, licensing, insurance notices, recertification credits, damage claims, storage-area signs and chemigation stay with the business.

Everything a GroundsQuote application record holds

When:: Date and time applied (when the job was finished), job start and finish times (the office can correct them), each chemical’s own start and finish when several go down on one job, and when people may go back onto the lawn (from the label’s re-entry interval)
Where:: Customer name, phone and mailing address, street address, unit number, city, state, ZIP and county of the property, and where on the property it went (front lawn, beds, fence line…)
Who:: Everyone who applied it (the crew riding that day starts checked) and the person supervising, trainees and people who planned it, with each one’s standing (certified, registered technician, trained, not certified or registered), license number, certification or ID number, category and expiry, and the business license when license-keeping is switched on
Product:: Name, type, manufacturer, EPA registration number, state registration number, EUP / Section 18 / 24(c) number, active ingredients, scientific name, concentration, N-P-K and slow-release %, formulation, restricted-use flag, signal word, re-entry interval, the label’s precautions, and copies of the label, safety data sheet and fact sheets on file
Amounts:: Rate applied (per area), area treated in sq ft, total product used, mix ratio, use dilution (%), water or carrier (gallons, and the carrier when it is not water), gallons of mix applied, devices placed, lb of N and P per 1,000 sq ft
Job:: Target pest and the equipment used (both set on the job), the vehicle or sprayer’s license plate, where it was mixed and loaded, permit number, other records the label requires, the supervisor’s instructions, whether the drift plan was used, a review sign-off with the reviewer’s license number and corrective action, a map of the treated area attached to the job, service and crew; your business name, address and phone
Weather:: From the nearest weather station at the start and finish (temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, gusts, rain in the last hour, conditions), and the conditions on site: the crew confirms the station reading or enters the wind, direction and temperature they measured
Your state:: Each job follows the rules of the state its property is in: Finish job asks for the details that state lists and waits until they are filled in, and the records export in that state’s column order
Paperwork:: An application statement for each job to print, leave or email (each product with its EPA number, active ingredients, type, purpose, rate, amount and mix, where on the property, the date and time, who applied it, the re-entry time and your notes for the customer, with the state’s own lines), and lawn signs laid out from the state’s rule
Kept beside the records:: Each person’s training, ID copies and certificates and what they are responsible for; neighbor requests and notices, registry notices and attempts, notices given to customers, signed waivers and contracts, each with a copy of the paper; soil tests per property; incidents, disposal and purchases in the chemical logs; totals for a year or a month by county, supervisor or product; whether a customer agreed in writing to get application information by email
Changes:: Corrections are saved as history; the earlier record is kept
Reminders:: Finish job reminds the crew of the state’s own steps (a record deadline, trainee paperwork) and warns when a restricted-use chemical has nobody certified applying or supervising it; the schedule lists chemical jobs left without a record in states with a deadline

See how it works on the job in chemical records and field tools, or read about GroundsQuote for lawn treatment companies.

Official sources

Everything on this page comes from these Idaho sources, checked on October 11, 2026. Read them for the full text and any changes since.

Keep application records as the crew finishes the job

Set the chemicals each service uses once. The crew sees the planned amounts for each lawn, and finishing the job saves the record with the product, rate, area, applicator and weather.

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Questions

Do I need records for general use products, or only restricted use?

Both. Professional applicators keep a record of each pesticide application, general use and restricted use alike. Only the copy to the customer within 30 days is limited to restricted use pesticide applications.

How long do I keep records, and who can see them?

Two years, ready to be inspected, copied or submitted when ISDA asks. Within 30 days of a restricted use pesticide application, give the person for whom it was applied a copy of the record; the rule gives customers no right to a copy of records of general use applications.

Do I still record the rate or dilution?

Not under the current rule. The 2024 amendment struck “the dilution applied or rate of application” and “the full name of the person recommending the pesticide application” from the record items. The total amount of pesticide applied is still required.

Does Idaho require lawn signs or notice to neighbors?

No. Idaho’s pesticide statute and rule contain no lawn sign, posting, prior-notification, neighbor-notice or pesticide-sensitive registry requirement for turf or ornamental applications, and local governments may not adopt rules on notification of use.

How many apprentices can one applicator supervise?

No more than two at a time, with immediate communication throughout every application. Companies employing Commercial Apprentices keep a current roster of all licensed applicators showing that no professional applicator supervises more than two, and make it available to ISDA on request.

Does Idaho limit lawn fertilizer?

The Fertilizer Act sets no fertilizer applicator license, no application record, no phosphorus or nitrogen limit for lawns, no blackout dates and no setbacks. Each fertilizer product must be registered before sale, and fertilizer applied through an irrigation system is chemigation, which needs a chemigation license.