South Carolina pesticide and fertilizer record rules for lawn care companies
Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · 6 min read
The short answer
In South Carolina, a company employing licensed commercial applicators keeps records of all pesticides used, general use as well as restricted use: the quantity of each pesticide used, received or purchased, the common chemical name of the active ingredients (if available), the brand name and EPA registration number, the pest or purpose, and the date and place of application. Keep them two years. Applying any pesticide to turf and ornamentals for pay needs a Category 3 commercial applicator license, or work under the direct supervision of a licensee. A customer who asks must be given a written statement about the application. We found no lawn-sign or notification registry rule and no turf fertilizer application law.
General information, not legal advice. Rules change and can depend on what you apply and where. Confirm what applies to your business with the Clemson University, Department of Pesticide Regulation and the product label before you rely on anything here.
Who regulates lawn care applicators
The South Carolina Pesticide Control Act (S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 13) is administered by the State Crop Pest Commission, which must delegate its duties under the Act to the Director of the Division of Regulatory and Public Service Programs at Clemson University. The Department of Pesticide Regulation is a department within that division, and its rules are S.C. Code Regs. 27-1070 through 27-1085.
The Director or designated agents may enter public or private premises at reasonable times, by consent or by warrant, to carry out the Act.
Sources: S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 13, South Carolina Pesticide Control Act, S.C. Code Regs. Chapter 27, Article 17, South Carolina Pesticide Control (§§ 27-1070 to 27-1085)
Licenses you need
- Commercial applicator license: anyone performing turf and ornamental pest control on another’s property must be licensed in the category the Department indicates, or work under the direct supervision of someone so licensed. That covers using any pesticide against pests of turf or ornamental plantings for pay, and also soliciting, advertising or making sales proposals for that work. The Department says this applies to general use as well as restricted use pesticides.
- Which category: lawn care is Category 3, Ornamental and Turf Pest Control, and licensing is mandatory in it. A narrower Category 12E license covers only glyphosate-only herbicides with a “Caution” signal word, applied with backpack or hand-held compressed-air sprayers of no more than 5 gallons.
- Exams and fees: you must be at least 18 and pass the Core exam ($75) and the category exam ($50 each). The Department says exam results are good for five years. A new commercial license costs $50, with an Evidence of Financial Responsibility form completed by your insurance company.
- Insurance: Category 3 applicators must carry financial responsibility of $50,000 with an annual aggregate claims limit of at least $100,000 before doing any pest control work, advertising included. A policy’s deductible may be no more than $1,000, and one not yet satisfied must itself be covered by a bond or insurance. If coverage lapses the license is suspended at once, and if it is not reinstated within three months it is revoked and you must test again. Insurers must give the Department ten days’ written notice before cancelling.
- Renewal: licenses expire December 31 and are renewed by applying before January 1. A renewal filed after January 1 carries a 25% penalty, and a license not renewed by April 1 requires reexamination.
- Recertification: in each five-year period (ending December 31 of 1998, 2003, 2008 and every five years after) after the one your license was issued in, a Category 3 applicator needs at least 10 continuing certification units, at least 3 of them specific to Category 3. No more than half of the category-specific units, and half of the core units, may be earned in the period’s last year; extra units earned that year carry over.
- No business license: the Department’s business license is only for structural (Category 7A) companies.
- Keeping the Department informed: a license held for a business is valid only while the examined person works there, and the Director must be told within thirty days when it lapses that way. Report a change of the phone number where you can be reached during working hours within three working days; the Department also asks to hear of a change of employment within two weeks.
Direct supervision means a competent person applies the pesticide under the instructions and control of a certified applicator who is available when needed, even if not on site, unless the label says otherwise. For a business located in South Carolina, the supervising licensee must be reachable at once by phone or radio and within 30 miles of the site for restricted use pesticides, 60 miles for “Danger” or “Warning” products and 100 miles for “Caution” products or products with no signal word. For a business located outside the state, a licensed applicator must be within 30 minutes of the site.
Tip: Every vehicle used to carry pesticides to and from jobs, or to apply them, must show the Department’s identification symbol on both sides, kept clean and recognizable from 100 feet. South Carolina has reciprocal licensing with 13 states; for Category 3, Virginia and New Jersey applicators need both 3A and 3B.
Sources: S.C. Code Regs. Chapter 27, Article 17, South Carolina Pesticide Control (§§ 27-1070 to 27-1085), Clemson DPR: Licensing, Clemson DPR: Frequently Asked Questions, Clemson DPR: SC Certification Categories, Clemson DPR: Exam Information, Clemson DPR: Recertification, S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 13, South Carolina Pesticide Control Act
What to record for each application
Under S.C. Code Regs. 27-1083 C, each company employing licensed commercial applicators (or the licensed applicator, when self-employed) keeps records of all pesticides used. The record includes:
- The quantity of each pesticide used, received or purchased
- The common chemical name of the active ingredient(s), if available
- The brand name and EPA registration number
- The pest or purpose for which it was applied
- The date and place of application
Making false, fraudulent or inadequate records, or failing to keep them, is grounds for denying, suspending or revoking a license and is a misdemeanor. A willful violation of the Act is punishable by a fine of up to $100 or 30 days for a first offense, $500 or 60 days for a second, and $1,000 or 90 days after that; the Director may also assess a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per offense.
Sources: S.C. Code Regs. Chapter 27, Article 17, South Carolina Pesticide Control (§§ 27-1070 to 27-1085), S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 13, South Carolina Pesticide Control Act
How long to keep records and who can ask for them
- Application records (other than termiticides): two years from the date of application.
- The Director may request records of all pesticides used by any applicator, including records of pesticides purchased or received; the Department pays for copying them.
- The Director or a designee may inspect and copy all records the Act requires, on a written request.
Sources: S.C. Code Regs. Chapter 27, Article 17, South Carolina Pesticide Control (§§ 27-1070 to 27-1085), S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 13, South Carolina Pesticide Control Act
Customer notice, posting and lawn signs
When a customer asks, lawn, ornamental plant and tree applicators must give them a completed, fully legible statement about any pesticide application. It must show at least:
- The company name and address
- The pest or pests controlled, or the purpose of the application
- The chemical or common name of the active ingredient(s), not the brand name
- The name of the responsible licensed applicator
Commercial applicators working for and under the direct supervision of a government entity must instead announce the nature and timing of applications in the appropriate mass media at least 24 hours beforehand. We found no lawn-sign, posting, advance-notice or notification registry requirement for turf applications in the Pesticide Control Act or the Department’s regulations.
Sources: S.C. Code Regs. Chapter 27, Article 17, South Carolina Pesticide Control (§§ 27-1070 to 27-1085), S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 13, South Carolina Pesticide Control Act
Fertilizer rules
South Carolina’s fertilizer law (S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 25) covers registration, labeling, guaranteed analysis, inspection and sale of commercial fertilizer. We found in it no applicator license, application record, nitrogen or phosphorus limit, blackout date or setback for lawn care.
Fertilizer applied on its own needs no pesticide license, because it is not a turf and ornamental pest control activity. A fertilizer mixed with a pesticide or herbicide is, so the Category 3 license and the record rule apply to it.
Sources: S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 25, South Carolina Fertilizer Law of 1954, S.C. Code Regs. Chapter 27, Article 17, South Carolina Pesticide Control (§§ 27-1070 to 27-1085)
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 South Carolina, Finish job asks the crew for the details South Carolina lists, and the records export with the columns in South Carolina’s order. Here is each item South Carolina lists, set against what the record actually holds. Keeping the record complete and correct is still your responsibility.
| South Carolina asks for | In GroundsQuote | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity of each pesticide used | Total used, with the rate applied and the area treated | Recorded |
| Quantity of each pesticide received or purchased | Not kept: GroundsQuote records what each job used, not purchases or deliveries | Not recorded |
| Common chemical name of the active ingredient(s) | Active ingredients, from the chemical’s setup | Recorded |
| Brand name | Product name, as entered in the chemical’s setup | Recorded |
| EPA registration number | EPA Reg. No., from the chemical’s setup | Recorded |
| Pest or purpose | Target pest (editable on the job) and the service | Recorded |
| Date of application | Date applied | Recorded |
| Place of application | Address, city, state, ZIP and county of the property, and where on the property it went | Recorded |
Keep purchase and delivery records for your pesticides separately. For a customer who asks, the application statement gives your company name and address, the target pest or purpose, each product’s active ingredients as entered in its setup and who applied it, with license numbers when you keep them.
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), 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, 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, with each one’s standing (certified, registered technician, trained, not certified or registered), license 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, N-P-K and slow-release %, formulation, restricted-use flag, signal word, re-entry interval, and a copy of the label on file
- Amounts:
- Rate applied (per area), area treated in sq ft, total product used, mix ratio, water or carrier, gallons of mix applied, lb of N and P per 1,000 sq ft
- Job:
- Target pest and the equipment used (both set on the job), service and crew
- 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
- Changes:
- Corrections are saved as history; the earlier record is kept
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 South Carolina sources, checked on October 10, 2026. Read them for the full text and any changes since.
- S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 13, South Carolina Pesticide Control Act
- S.C. Code Regs. Chapter 27, Article 17, South Carolina Pesticide Control (§§ 27-1070 to 27-1085)
- Clemson DPR: Licensing
- Clemson DPR: Frequently Asked Questions
- Clemson DPR: SC Certification Categories
- Clemson DPR: Exam Information
- Clemson DPR: Recertification
- S.C. Code Title 46, Chapter 25, South Carolina Fertilizer Law of 1954
General information, not legal advice. Rules change and can depend on what you apply and where. Confirm what applies to your business with the Clemson University, Department of Pesticide Regulation and the product label before you rely on anything here.
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 trialChemical records are on the Pro and Business plans.
Questions
Do I need records for general use products, or only restricted use?
Both. South Carolina’s regulation requires records of all pesticides used by companies employing licensed commercial applicators, and the Department says any pesticide applied in Category 3 (ornamentals and turf) needs a licensed applicator.
Does South Carolina require a lawn sign after a pesticide application?
We found no lawn-sign, posting, advance-notice or registry requirement for turf applications in the Pesticide Control Act or the Department’s regulations. What the regulation does require is a written statement for any customer who asks: your company name and address, the pest or purpose, the common name of the active ingredients and the responsible licensed applicator.
Do I need a license to fertilize lawns in South Carolina?
Not for fertilizer alone: it is not a turf and ornamental pest control activity, and we found no fertilizer applicator license in the state fertilizer law. A fertilizer mixed with a pesticide or herbicide needs the Category 3 license and goes in your pesticide records.