Missouri pesticide and fertilizer record rules for lawn care companies

Last reviewed October 11, 2026 · 8 min read

The short answer

In Missouri, a certified commercial applicator or their employer must record every pesticide used for hire, general use as well as restricted use, including those used by technicians and others under their supervision, within 3 business days: the certified applicator’s name and license number, who applied it, the date with start and end times, the name and address of the person requesting it, the site address, the area treated, the site, the target pest, the trade name, the EPA number (and any 24(c) number), the mixture rate, total mix used and rate of application, and for outdoor work the air temperature and measured wind speed and direction at the site. Keep records 3 years and send the Department a copy within 10 days of a written request. Missouri’s rules 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 Missouri Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Pesticide Control and the product label before you rely on anything here.

Who regulates lawn care applicators

The Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Pesticide Control licenses pesticide applicators and enforces the Missouri Pesticide Use Act (RSMo 281.010 to 281.115) and the Missouri Pesticide Registration Act. Its rules for applicator licensing, certification and records are 2 CSR 70-25 “Pesticides”, most of whose sections, the record rule included, were amended effective January 1, 2025.

The Act defines “use” broadly: mixing, loading or applying any pesticide, cleaning pesticide equipment, and storing or disposing of pesticide containers, pesticides, spray mix and wash water. “In the business of using pesticides” means using, supervising, or determining the need for any pesticide on the lands of another as a service to the public for a fee. The Pesticide Use Act and the Pesticide Registration Act preempt all ordinances, rules and regulations of cities, counties and other political subdivisions on the subjects they cover.

A violation of the Act or its rules can bring license denial, suspension or revocation and a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, plus restitution. A person convicted of violating the Act or its rules is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $100 to $5,000, 30 days to one year in county jail, or both.

Sources: MDA Bureau of Pesticide Control: Pesticide Control, RSMo 281.010 Short title, 2 CSR 70-25 Pesticides (Code of State Regulations, PDF), RSMo 281.020 Definitions, RSMo 281.005 Preemption of ordinances of political subdivisions, RSMo 281.060 Sanctioning of license, civil penalty, RSMo 281.105 Penalty for violations

Licenses you need

Certified commercial applicator: no individual may use, supervise the use of, or determine the need for any pesticide on the lands of another for a fee without a certified commercial applicator’s license, and only in the categories in which they are certified. It covers general use as well as restricted use pesticides when the work is done for hire. Licenses are issued to individuals, not to businesses, are valid anywhere in Missouri, and are not transferable.
Category 3, Ornamental and Turf Pest Control, covers pesticide use (excluding fumigants) to control pests in the care and maintenance of ornamental trees, shrubs, flowers and turf. Pesticide use in, on or around any structure falls under Category 7, Structural Pest Control (7A general structural, 7B termites), not Category 3.
Exams: pass the general standards (CORE) exam and at least one category exam; the passing score is 70%, and exam results are valid for 18 months.
Fees and renewal: $65 a year; the license expires one year from issue (or earlier if the bond or insurance expires). A renewal filed after expiration carries a 25% late penalty, and a license not renewed within 60 days after expiration is cancelled.
Recertification: every three years, by an approved recertification training program or by re-examination, in CORE and every category on the license. A category not recertified within 60 days of its expiration is cancelled, and the license is cancelled if CORE is not recertified within 60 days.
Bond or insurance: before a commercial license is issued, the applicant or employer must furnish a surety bond or liability insurance of at least $50,000 per occurrence, kept in force throughout the licensed period. Keep renewals at the business location the applicator is licensed from, show them on inspection, or send a copy within 10 days of a written request. If no valid proof is shown before an inspection is completed, all commercial pesticide work from that location must stop at once on a Notice of Warning.
Display the license in a prominent place at the office address printed on it, and tell the Department immediately of a change of that address.
Pesticide technician: anyone who uses or determines the need for general use pesticides in Category 3 under the direct supervision of a certified commercial applicator needs a technician license ($35, expires one year after issue; the application must reach the Department within 45 days of employment). A technician works under a certified applicator licensed from the same physical location and certified in the same categories.
Technician training for Category 3 is at least 8 hours of classroom and 16 hours of on-the-job training, with one category completed within 45 calendar days of employment. A person may not accrue more than 45 days of experience as a technician trainee with the same employer in any category within 12 months. Technicians retrain every three years.
Restricted use: since January 1, 2025, technicians may use only general use and minimum risk pesticides; anyone using a restricted use pesticide must at least hold a noncertified RUP applicator (NRUP) license ($35 a year, earned by passing CORE or an approved NRUP training).
A business that loses its only certified commercial applicator may continue up to 60 days without one (no restricted use pesticides) and must notify the Department immediately.
Missouri has reciprocity covering ornamental and turf certification with Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois (all categories) and Louisiana (all but the structural categories), but not with Arkansas for ornamental and turf.

Under direct supervision the certified applicator is responsible for the noncertified applicator even when not present, must work from the same location and employer, must be reachable by phone, and must be on site when the label requires it. While applying, a noncertified applicator must carry a work order, job ticket or invoice listing the certified applicator’s name and license number, their own name and, if they hold one, their license number, the name of the person requesting the application, the address or a description of the location, and the date. They must also have a complete copy of the label for each pesticide with them.

Notices to the Department: employers notify it within 10 days of hiring or losing a technician or technician trainee, and within 10 working days when a certified commercial applicator leaves or their bond or insurance coverage ends. Licensed applicators and technicians notify it within 10 days of a conviction of or plea to an offense listed in the Act. Employers keep each technician’s Notice of Training form for 3 years from the training, the approved training course for 3 years from its last use, and the NRUP Notice of Training and application for 2 years.

Sources: RSMo 281.035 Certified commercial applicator’s license, RSMo 281.020 Definitions, 2 CSR 70-25 Pesticides (Code of State Regulations, PDF), MDA Bureau of Pesticide Control: Pesticide Control, RSMo 281.055 Late renewal of license, RSMo 281.065 Bond or insurance required, RSMo 281.038 Pesticide technician’s license, MDA: Changes to the Missouri Pesticide Use Act effective Jan. 1, 2025, commercial applicator Q&A (PDF), MDA: Question and answer document on the 2025 changes (PDF), RSMo 281.048 Noncertified RUP applicator license, MDA: Missouri Guidelines for Pesticide Technician Training Programs (PDF)

What to record for each application

Under 2 CSR 70-25.120, certified commercial applicators or their employers keep records of the use of all pesticides, general use and restricted use, including pesticides used by technicians, trainees and NRUP applicators under their supervision. Records must be completed within 3 business days of the application. Each record holds:

The name and license number of the certified applicator using or supervising the use of the pesticide
The name of the noncertified applicator or technician trainee, or the name and license number of the NRUP applicator or pesticide technician who used it
The application date, start time and end time
The name and address of the person requesting the pesticide use
The address or a brief description of the application site
The size of the area treated (square feet, linear feet, acres and so on)
The site, crop and variety, commodity or stored product to which the pesticide was applied, if applicable
The target pest or pests
The complete trade (brand) name from the label of each pesticide used
The EPA registration number and, if applicable, the special local need (24(c)) number, or documentation that ties each use to the EPA number beyond doubt
The mixture rate, the total amount of mixture used, and the rate of application in understandable terms
For pre-mixed ready-to-use products: a reasonable estimate of the amount used and the actual rate of application
For outdoor applications: the air temperature, measured wind speed and wind direction at the site
For agricultural producers only: a signed, dated request to use a lesser concentration than the label gives

The Department says the 2025 rule added the start and end time, area size, site, mixture rate, amount of mixture used and rate of application to the records. It is unlawful to use a pesticide inconsistently with its label, to use a cancelled or suspended pesticide, or to buy a restricted use pesticide without a proper license.

Sources: 2 CSR 70-25 Pesticides (Code of State Regulations, PDF), RSMo 281.035 Certified commercial applicator’s license, MDA: Changes to the Missouri Pesticide Use Act effective Jan. 1, 2025, commercial applicator Q&A (PDF), RSMo 281.101 Unlawful acts

How long to keep records and who can ask for them

Keep application records for 3 years from the date of application, in neat and legible condition.
Keep them available for the Department’s inspection during regular business hours at the physical location from which the certified applicators work.
On a written request, furnish the Department a copy of the records within 10 days.
The Department routinely inspects applicator business locations to confirm records, licenses and container storage, and checks applications in progress and people under direct supervision.
A person who claims damage from a pesticide use and wants the Department to investigate must file a statement within 30 days, and the Department may examine records of the use during an investigation.

Sources: RSMo 281.035 Certified commercial applicator’s license, 2 CSR 70-25 Pesticides (Code of State Regulations, PDF), MDA: Changes to the Missouri Pesticide Use Act effective Jan. 1, 2025, commercial applicator Q&A (PDF), MDA Bureau of Pesticide Control: Pesticide Control, RSMo 281.070 Damage claims

Customer notice, posting and lawn signs

The Act lets the Department require, by regulation, notice to adjoining landowners before an application, but the current rules contain no such notice, no customer notice and no lawn-sign or posting requirement for turf applications; posting appears only as an exam topic for the fumigation categories. Label-required posting still applies.

The Department runs Missouri DriftWatch, a voluntary online map of pesticide-sensitive specialty crops and beehives that applicators can check; it is not a notice requirement.

Sources: RSMo 281.025 Director may issue regulations, 2 CSR 70-25 Pesticides (Code of State Regulations, PDF), MDA Bureau of Pesticide Control: Pesticide Control

Fertilizer rules

Missouri’s fertilizer law requires a distributor to get a permit from the Fertilizer Control Board, renewed each June 30, before selling fertilizer for use in the state. Distributors file a sworn tonnage report every six months and pay a fee of 60 cents a ton (minimum $50 per reporting period) and a $100 annual permit fee. A person who buys fertilizer from a registered distributor, once it has been sold in compliance, is not a “distributor” under the law.

The fertilizer rules deal with labeling, guarantees, fees, tonnage reports and deficiency penalties, and set no applicator license, application record, nitrogen or phosphorus limit, blackout dates or setbacks for turf. We could not confirm whether a lawn care company that only applies fertilizer bought from a permitted distributor needs a permit.

Sources: RSMo 266.291–266.336 Missouri Fertilizer Law, 6 CSR 255-10 Administration of Missouri Fertilizer Law (PDF), 6 CSR 250-11 Administration of Missouri Fertilizer Law (PDF), Missouri Fertilizer Control Board: About Us

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

Missouri record items and GroundsQuote’s chemical application record
Missouri asks for	In GroundsQuote	Status
Name and license number of the certified applicator using or supervising	Applied by and Supervised by (offered on Missouri jobs), with license numbers when license-keeping is switched on	Recorded
Name of the noncertified applicator or trainee; name and license number of the NRUP applicator or technician	Applied by, with each person’s standing (certified, technician, trained…) and license number when license-keeping is switched on, and trainees on the job’s record (offered on Missouri jobs)	Recorded
Application date, start time and end time	Date applied and “Start and finish time for each chemical”, offered on Missouri jobs; left blank, a chemical carries the job’s start and finish times, recorded when the crew starts and finishes it (the office can correct them)	Recorded
Name and address of the person requesting the use	Customer name and mailing address	Recorded
Address or description of the application site	Address, city, state, ZIP and county	Recorded
Size of the area treated	Area treated in sq ft	Recorded
Site, crop or variety treated	Where on the property (front lawn, beds, fence line… or a description), set on the job; required on Missouri jobs	Recorded
Target pest or pests	Target pest, set for each chemical on the job	Recorded
Complete trade name from the label	Product name, as entered in the chemical’s setup	Recorded
EPA registration number and special local need (24(c)) number	EPA Reg. No. and the EUP / Section 18 / 24(c) number, from the chemical’s setup	Recorded
Mixture rate	Mix ratio, set on the job; required on Missouri jobs	Recorded
Total amount of mixture used	Water or carrier and gallons of mix applied, set on the job; required on Missouri jobs	Recorded
Rate of application	Rate applied (per area)	Recorded
Ready-to-use products: estimated amount used and actual rate	Total used and rate applied	Recorded
Outdoor applications: air temperature, measured wind speed and direction at the site	Conditions on site, required on Missouri jobs: the crew enters the wind, direction and temperature they measured, or confirms the nearest weather station’s reading (the rule says measured at the site, so choose the measured option)	Partly
Agricultural producers: signed request for a lesser concentration	Not kept: it applies to agricultural producers, not lawn care	Not recorded
Record completed within 3 business days of the application	Finish job saves the record and shows the 3-business-day deadline; the Schedule lists Missouri chemical jobs finished without a record, with the date each is due	Recorded
Work order naming the supervising certified applicator and license number, carried by a technician, trainee or NRUP applicator	Not handled by GroundsQuote: Finish job reminds about it on Missouri jobs; the work order itself is yours	Not recorded
Technician’s signed Notice of Training kept 3 years	Training and ID records for each person, with a copy of the signed form, and a reminder on Finish job; GroundsQuote does not track how long it is kept or collect signatures	Partly
Notices to the Department (hiring or losing a technician, coverage ending, convictions)	Not handled by GroundsQuote: send them yourself	Not recorded
License renewal and recertification	Not handled by GroundsQuote: GroundsQuote keeps license numbers, categories and expiry dates; renewals and recertification are yours	Not recorded

On Missouri jobs, have the crew measure the wind, direction and temperature on site rather than confirm a station reading, and finish each record within 3 business days (Finish job shows the deadline and the Schedule lists records still missing). Outside GroundsQuote, keep the work order with the supervising applicator’s license details that technicians and trainees carry, the label copies, Department notices, training forms, license renewals and recertification, the bond or insurance certificate and the displayed license.

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 Missouri 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. Missouri’s rule covers the use of all pesticides by certified commercial applicators or their employers, general use and restricted use, including pesticides used by technicians, trainees and NRUP applicators under their supervision. Records must be completed within 3 business days of the application.

Can a nearby weather station reading stand in for the wind on site?

The rule asks for the air temperature, measured wind speed and wind direction at the site for outdoor applications. We could not confirm whether a nearby station’s reading meets that, so measuring the wind on site is the safer course.

Can my technicians apply restricted use pesticides?

Not since January 1, 2025. Pesticide technicians may use only general use and minimum risk pesticides; anyone using a restricted use pesticide must at least hold a noncertified RUP applicator (NRUP) license.

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

Missouri’s pesticide rules have no lawn-sign, posting or customer notice requirement for turf applications, and the Pesticide Use Act preempts city and county ordinances on the subjects it covers. Label-required posting still applies.

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

We found none. The fertilizer law requires distributors to hold a permit and file tonnage reports; its rules set no applicator license, application record, nitrogen or phosphorus limit, blackout dates or setbacks for turf.