Louisiana pesticide and fertilizer record rules for lawn care companies

Last reviewed October 11, 2026 · 8 min read

The short answer

In Louisiana, anyone applying pesticides for a fee keeps a record of every application, general use and restricted use alike: the owner-operator’s name, address and license number, the certified applicator’s name, address and certification number, the customer’s name and address, the product name, the EPA registration number, whether it is restricted or general use, the date and time of application, the crop or type of application, the location, the size of the area treated, the rate, the total amount of product applied per location, per application, and the applicator. The record must be in place within three days of the application and kept three years. Many common turf herbicides, including 2,4-D, dicamba, MCPA and MCPP, are state restricted use pesticides with parish date limits and a 10 mph wind limit. Louisiana has no lawn sign or customer notice rule 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 Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the product label before you rely on anything here.

Who regulates lawn care applicators

Pesticide use in Louisiana is governed by the Louisiana Pesticide Law (R.S. 3:3201 et seq.), and the commissioner of agriculture and forestry adopts the rules under it in LAC Title 7, Part XXIII. The rules are administered by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Division of Pesticide and Environmental Programs in the Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

LDAF describes commercial pesticide certification as covering pesticide application anywhere that is not in or on a building or other structure, while structural pest control licenses (general pest control, termite control, fumigation) cover pests within and around structures. Structural pest control is governed separately by the Structural Pest Control Law and the Structural Pest Control Commission.

All pesticides must be applied according to their label, and no one may apply a pesticide so that avoidable drift reaches a non-target site. LDAF may assess a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation, each day counting as a separate violation, and may suspend or revoke a license or certificate. Refusing or neglecting to keep the required records, and knowingly making false or fraudulent records or invoices, are violations of the Pesticide Law.

The Pesticide Law preempts local regulation: parishes and municipalities may not adopt ordinances affecting the registration, sale or application of pesticides unless the commissioner approves the ordinance after a hearing by the Advisory Commission on Pesticides.

Sources: R.S. 3:3201 Short title, LAC Title 7, Part XXIII "Pesticides" (Louisiana Administrative Code, November 2025, as linked from LDAF), LDAF "Pesticide licensing" (Commercial pesticide licensing), LDAF "Structural pest control licensing and registration", R.S. 3:3361, 3:3362, 3:3368, 3:3369 (Structural Pest Control Law), R.S. 3:3252 Violations, enforcement; R.S. 3:3254 Special exemptions, R.S. 3:3224 Local regulations

Licenses you need

Owner-operator license: no one may own or operate a business that applies pesticides for a fee without one. LDAF calls the license for companies that apply by ground the Ground Owner Operator License; the fee is $200 for Louisiana residents (based in Louisiana for at least 90 days) and $500 for nonresidents, plus a $50 equipment registration fee. It is issued only to a person who holds a current commercial applicator certification or employs someone who does.
Financial responsibility: before the license is issued, a ground owner-operator files proof of $25,000 by surety bond, certificate of insurance, certificate of deposit, irrevocable letter of credit or cash, kept in force throughout the license period. A bond may not be cancelled without 90 days’ written notice to LDAF, and insurance must provide 30 days’ written notice.
Renewal: owner-operator licenses run until December 31 and must be renewed before December 31 each year; a renewal filed after December 31 carries a $50 late fee.
Applicators on the license: all ground applicators employed by an owner-operator must be certified commercial applicators or work under the direct supervision of one. A person may apply under the license only if named on the license application or if the owner-operator notified LDAF before the first day of employment (by telephone, confirmed in writing within three days).
Equipment decals: all mechanically powered pesticide application equipment of a licensed business must be registered, inspected and carry an LDAF decal each year ($50 per item), and licensed persons may not apply pesticides with powered equipment that lacks a current decal.
Category 3, Ornamental and Turf Pest Control, covers commercial applicators using or supervising restricted use pesticides to control pests in the maintenance and production of ornamental trees, shrubs, flowers and turf. No one may apply or supervise the application of a restricted use pesticide as a commercial applicator without certification.
Certification: a commercial applicator must be at least 18 years of age, able to read and write English well enough to understand label and labeling content and instructions, and pass the general standards exam and an exam in each category sought, with a minimum passing score of 70 percent. The exam fee is $50 per category, and LDAF states the General Standards exam is free.
Certification term: certification is valid for three years under the statute. Acts 2026, No. 74 (effective August 1, 2026) changed the certification cards from annual cards to cards issued every three years and raised the card fee from $20 to $60. The rules (November 2025) and LDAF’s page still describe an annual card, with recertification through an approved meeting, course or retest every 3 years.
Direct supervision: a certified commercial applicator may supervise ground applications of restricted use pesticides by competent uncertified individuals, is fully responsible for their actions, must give instruction and direction and be available when needed, and need not be physically present unless a rule requires it. Each noncertified applicator must first meet 40 CFR 171.201, including training within the last 12 months in the safe operation of the equipment they will use.
Drift training: an applicator found to have violated a drift rule, or who received a drift warning letter from LDAF in the past calendar year, must complete a department-approved off-target training course before making any application the following year.

Tip: The “grass-cutter exemption”: a person applying a general use pesticide to the lawn or ornamental plants of an individual residential property owner, using the owner’s pesticides and equipment and nothing but a hand-held container, is exempt from licensing, provided they do not advertise for or solicit herbicide work or hold themselves out as doing it.

State restricted herbicides: in addition to EPA’s restricted use pesticides, Louisiana classifies picloram, arsenic trioxide, 3-CPA, 4-CPA, 2,4-D (all salts, all formulations), 2,4-DB, dicamba (all salts, all formulations), MCPA, MCPB, MCPP and arsenic acid as state restricted use pesticides, except when formulated in concentration of 2 percent or less, formulated with fertilizer for use by homeowners, or formulated in containers of one quart or less or two pounds dry weight or less.

Commercial applicators may not apply those pesticides between April 1 and September 15 in 21 listed parishes (including Bossier, Caddo, Ouachita, Rapides and St. Landry; in Evangeline only Wards 1, 3 and 5), between March 1 and June 15 in the area between the Mississippi River and Highway 61 in St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes, or at any time in Plaquemines Parish. Hand injections are exempt from the April–September restriction.
The commissioner may grant a written waiver of the time restrictions. It must be requested on LDAF’s form at least 24 hours before the scheduled application and signed and dated by both the commercial applicator and the person for whom the application will be made.
No commercial applicator may apply the listed herbicides, propanil, paraquat, glyphosate (and its salts) or glufosinate-ammonium when the wind speed is 10 miles per hour or above.
Phenoxy herbicide esters with an alcohol radical of fewer than six carbon atoms may not be applied anywhere in Louisiana.
No herbicide may be used for vegetation control in parish rights-of-way, ditches, roadsides, medians and similar areas in unincorporated St. Tammany Parish, except with hand-held manual pump sprayers of up to three gallons.

Sources: R.S. 3:3243 Licensing of owner-operators, LAC Title 7, Part XXIII "Pesticides" (Louisiana Administrative Code, November 2025, as linked from LDAF), LDAF "Pesticide licensing" (Commercial pesticide licensing), R.S. 3:3251 Fees (as amended by Acts 2026, No. 74), R.S. 3:3202 Definitions, R.S. 3:3242 Certification of commercial applicators (as amended by Acts 2026, No. 74), R.S. 3:3248 Direct supervision

What to record for each application

Any person applying pesticides for a fee, and every certified commercial applicator except those in Category 7, must keep accurate records of pesticide applications, general use and restricted use alike, on a record keeping form or format approved by LDAF’s director (LAC 7:XXIII.2101.A). The record must be in place within three days of the application. Each record holds:

The owner-operator’s name, address and license number
The certified applicator’s name, address and certification number
The customer’s name and address
The product (brand) name
The EPA registration number
Whether the pesticide is restricted use or general use
The application date
The time of application (added by the June 2025 amendment)
The crop or type of application
The location of the application
The size of the area treated (acres, square feet, or minutes of spraying)
The rate of application
The total amount of product (concentrate) applied per location, per application
The applicator, and the applicator’s certification number if applicable

The statute separately requires owner-operators to keep records accurately reflecting each application, including the name of the pesticide, the rate, the date, the place and other information LDAF requires. LDAF’s record keeping form AES-41-06 has a column for each rule item, the time of application included, and a check box for restricted use pesticides.

Sources: LAC Title 7, Part XXIII "Pesticides" (Louisiana Administrative Code, November 2025, as linked from LDAF), R.S. 3:3243 Licensing of owner-operators, LDAF form AES-41-06 (R04/26) "Certified Pesticide Applicator Record Keeping"

How long to keep records and who can ask for them

Keep application records for three years (the June 2025 amendment raised the rule from two years); the statute likewise requires owner-operators to keep them three years.
Keep them at the physical address of the employer or the physical address on the owner-operator license.
Give a copy to any LDAF employee on request at a reasonable time during normal working hours; the statute requires owner-operators to furnish them to the commissioner on request.
LDAF may inspect pesticide applicator operations semiannually, with or without prior notice, including the required records, and may take samples at application sites, storage and equipment.

Sources: LAC Title 7, Part XXIII "Pesticides" (Louisiana Administrative Code, November 2025, as linked from LDAF), R.S. 3:3243 Licensing of owner-operators

Customer notice, posting and lawn signs

The Louisiana Pesticide Law and LAC 7:XXIII contain no customer notice, neighbor notification, sensitive-person registry or lawn sign / posting requirement for ground applications to turf. Label-required posting still applies.

Schools carry their own duties: each school keeps a written record of restricted use pesticides applied for at least three years, open to public inspection during school hours; restricted use pesticides may be applied to school buildings or grounds only when students are not expected to be present for at least eight hours after the application; and each school’s annual integrated pest management plan, due to LDAF by August 1, must name any contracted company with its owner-operator license or place of business permit number and the commercial applicator’s certification number.

Sources: LAC Title 7, Part XXIII "Pesticides" (Louisiana Administrative Code, November 2025, as linked from LDAF), R.S. 3:3201 Short title, R.S. 3:3382, 3:3383, 3:3384, 3:3386, 3:3388, 3:3389 (pesticides at schools)

Fertilizer rules

Under the Louisiana Fertilizer Law, each person who manufactures, sells or offers fertilizer for sale under their own name or brand must register and renew each January 1. Registrants pay an inspection fee of $1 per ton on fertilizer sold in the state (or a $100 fee instead for small-package sellers of less than 100 tons a year) with quarterly tonnage reports, the minimum fee being $10 a quarter. A violation can bring a fine of up to $500 per violation.

The Fertilizer Law sets no applicator license, application record, phosphorus or nitrogen limit, blackout dates or setbacks for turf, and no municipality, parish, other local authority or private association governing an area may regulate the registration, sale or application of fertilizer unless the commissioner approves it. LDAF states that fertilizer-pesticide combinations must be registered under both the fertilizer and pesticide laws.

Sources: R.S. 3:1411, 3:1413, 3:1419, 3:1422, 3:1423 (Louisiana Fertilizer Law), LDAF "Fertilizer"

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 Louisiana, Finish job asks the crew for the details Louisiana lists, and the records export with the columns in Louisiana’s order. Here is each item Louisiana lists, set against what the record actually holds. Keeping the record complete and correct is still your responsibility.

Louisiana record items and GroundsQuote’s chemical application record
Louisiana asks for	In GroundsQuote	Status
Owner-operator name, address and license number	Your business name, address and phone, and the business license number when license-keeping is switched on	Recorded
Certified applicator name, address and certification number	Applied by and Supervised by (offered on Louisiana jobs), with license and certification numbers when license-keeping is switched on; no home or business address is kept per person	Partly
Customer name and address	Customer name and mailing address	Recorded
Product (brand) name	Product name, as entered in the chemical’s setup	Recorded
EPA registration number	EPA Reg. No., from the chemical’s setup	Recorded
Restricted use or general use	Restricted-use flag, set by you for each chemical; GroundsQuote does not know Louisiana’s state restricted use list	Recorded
Application date and time of application	Date and time applied, recorded when the crew finishes the job; each chemical’s own start and finish times are offered on Louisiana jobs	Recorded
Crop or type of application	Where on the property (front lawn, beds, fence line… or a description), required on Louisiana jobs, plus the service and target pest	Partly
Location of the application	Address, unit number, city, state, ZIP and county	Recorded
Size of the area treated	Area treated in sq ft	Recorded
Rate of application	Rate applied (per area)	Recorded
Total amount of product (concentrate) applied per location, per application	Total used, for each chemical line on the job	Recorded
Applicator and certification number	Applied by, with each person’s license and certification numbers when license-keeping is switched on, and others working under supervision (offered on Louisiana jobs)	Recorded
Record in place within three days of the application	Finish job saves the record and shows the 3-day deadline; the Schedule lists Louisiana chemical jobs finished without a record	Recorded
Record on a form or format approved by LDAF’s director	The Louisiana export layout carries the record items, but it is not LDAF’s form AES-41-06 and has not been submitted for approval	Partly
State restricted herbicides: parish date limits, waivers and the 10 mph wind limit	Finish job reminds about them on Louisiana jobs and the weather at start and finish is recorded, but GroundsQuote does not check parishes or dates, run waivers or block an application at 10 mph or above	Not recorded
Equipment decals, applicator notices, bond or insurance, license renewal and recertification	Not handled by GroundsQuote: Finish job reminds about the sprayer decal; license numbers, expiry dates and the insurance amount and insurer can be kept, but filings, renewals and recertification are yours	Not recorded

On Louisiana jobs Finish job asks where on the property, offers the supervisor, others working under supervision and each chemical’s times, and reminds about the sprayer decal and the state restricted herbicides’ parish date limits and 10 mph wind limit. Keep each certified applicator’s address, the waiver forms, LDAF notices, equipment registration, the bond or insurance proof, renewals, recertification and noncertified applicators’ 40 CFR 171.201 training checks outside GroundsQuote, and whether LDAF accepts your record format is for you to confirm.

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 Louisiana 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.

Start your 30-day free trial

Chemical records are on the Pro and Business plans.

Questions

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

Both. Louisiana’s rule covers every pesticide application made for a fee, general use and restricted use alike. The record must be in place within three days of the application and kept for three years.

Is 2,4-D restricted in Louisiana?

Yes, as a state restricted use pesticide, along with dicamba, MCPA, MCPP and the other listed herbicides, except when formulated in concentration of 2 percent or less, formulated with fertilizer for use by homeowners, or in containers of one quart or less or two pounds dry weight or less. Commercial applicators may not apply them during the listed parish date windows without a written waiver, or when the wind speed is 10 miles per hour or above.

Does my sprayer need to be registered?

Yes. All mechanically powered pesticide application equipment of a licensed business must be registered, inspected and carry an LDAF decal each year ($50 per item), and licensed persons may not apply pesticides with powered equipment that lacks a current decal.

Do I need lawn signs or to notify customers in Louisiana?

No. The Pesticide Law and its rules contain no customer notice, neighbor notification or lawn sign requirement for ground applications to turf, and parishes and municipalities may not adopt their own pesticide ordinances unless the commissioner approves them. Label-required posting still applies.

Does Louisiana have a turf fertilizer law for lawn care companies?

We found none. The Fertilizer Law requires those who sell fertilizer under their own name or brand to register and report tonnage; it sets no applicator license, application record, phosphorus or nitrogen limit, blackout dates or setbacks for turf.