Utah pesticide and fertilizer record rules for lawn care companies

Last reviewed October 11, 2026 · 8 min read

The short answer

In Utah, commercial applicators must keep records of any pesticide applications, general use and restricted use alike, recorded within 24 hours after the application: the name and address of the person for whom it is applied, the application address if different, the total square footage or size of the area treated, the specific target sites, the time and date, the brand name, EPA registration number and mix rate of each pesticide, the total amount applied including diluted or ready-to-use pesticides, the purpose, target site and pest, and the name, business address and license number of the certified commercial applicator who applied it. Keep records at least two years and make them available to the Department on request. Utah has no lawn sign requirement for turf; before a restricted use pesticide with a “Danger” or “Danger-Poison” signal word, the customer gets a written statement.

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

Who regulates lawn care applicators

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) licenses pesticide applicators and pesticide businesses under the Utah Pesticide Control Act (Utah Code Title 4, Chapter 14) and the Utah Pesticide Control Rule (Utah Admin. Code R68-7). R68-7 was last changed on September 7, 2022, and its notice of continuation is dated November 17, 2025. The 2026 Legislature (Chapter 478, effective May 6, 2026) amended the Act to create an ornamental and turf technician permit and a salesperson permit.

Under the Act a “pesticide” includes any substance meant to control weeds or other pests, plant regulators, and spray adjuvants such as wetting and spreading agents used with a pesticide. The Department has exclusive jurisdiction over fertilizer and pesticide regulation, and local ordinances that seek to regulate them are void, except zoning, fire, building and waste disposal rules and source water protection rules for pesticides and fertilizers created on or before January 1, 2017.

The Department periodically observes and investigates pesticide use and inspects application equipment, and may enter private or public premises at reasonable times to do so, with an ex parte warrant if refused. Violations include failing to keep or maintain required records, giving false records to the Department, applying without the property owner’s, manager’s or responsible party’s consent, and letting an application run off or drift from the target area whether or not damage occurred.

In administrative cases the Department sets penalties from a penalty matrix of $50 to $500 per violation, and may issue a warning instead. An individual who violates a provision on ornamental and turf technicians is subject to an administrative fine of up to $1,000 per violation. Unless Title 4 provides otherwise, a person who violates the Agricultural Code is assessed a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation, and is guilty of a class B misdemeanor in a criminal proceeding (a class A misdemeanor for a later criminal violation within two years).

Sources: Utah Code Title 4, Chapter 14 "Utah Pesticide Control Act" (chapter index), Utah Admin. Code R68-7 "Utah Pesticide Control Rule" (last change 9/7/2022; continued 11/17/2025), UDAF "Pesticide Licenses and Permits", UDAF "Commercial Pesticide Business License", Utah Code 4-14-102 Definitions (eff. 5/6/2026), Utah Code 4-14-112 Ornamental and turf technician – Salesperson (enacted 2026, eff. 5/6/2026), Utah Code 4-2-305 Preemption (eff. 5/7/2025), Utah Code 4-14-107 Enforcement – Inspection and sampling (eff. 7/1/2017), Utah Code 4-14-108 Suspension or revocation … Fines (eff. 5/6/2026), Utah Code 4-2-304 Civil and criminal penalties (eff. 7/1/2017)

Licenses you need

Applicator license: a person must be licensed before applying a restricted use pesticide or a general use pesticide for hire. The rule says each person performing the physical act of applying a pesticide must be certified and licensed, and no one may apply or offer to apply pesticides for hire on another’s property without a commercial pesticide applicator license and either their own commercial pesticide business license or work for a company that has one.
Business license: UDAF says it is required of any business that commercially applies pesticides of any kind in any amounts, including spot treatment of weeds after mowing or spreading a granular weed and feed or a pre-emergent, and that herbicides are pesticides. A business may employ only licensed certified applicators, permitted ornamental and turf technicians and permitted salespersons, and must employ at least one certified applicator.
Each business location needs a business license (locations used only to store and mix or load pesticides are exempt but must be disclosed), and each licensed location must have at least one certified commercial applicator certified in each category in which applications are made. A separate business license is needed for each business name operated from one location.
The business license application must show that the owner or qualifying party is a Utah certified applicator, is not the qualifying party or an employee of another pesticide business, and has been certified at least two of the ten years before applying or holds an associate degree or higher in a related science. A business whose only pesticide use is ornamental and turf herbicide spot treatment as part of a lawn maintenance service, with herbicides labeled “caution” or “warning”, may be exempted from the two-year requirement. The qualifying party must retake the business license test every three years.
Category: Ornamental and Turf Pest Control covers pesticide applications to control pests in the maintenance and production of ornamental trees, shrubs, flowers and turf, including pests on sidewalks, driveways and similar locations. The Structural and Health Related Pest Control category covers applications in, on or around structures or immediately adjacent areas.
Exams: applicators must be at least 18 years old, pass the core test with at least 70% and at least one category test with at least 70%, after which they receive a temporary applicator permit by email that expires 30 days after it is issued.
Term and renewal: the applicator and business licenses expire on December 31 of the third calendar year after issue. Applicators recertify by retaking the core and category tests or by earning 24 continuing education credits during the license period, including at least 2 in law, 6 in safety and 10 in pesticide use.
Fees (FY 2027): $125 for a commercial pesticide business license, $100 for the triennial commercial applicator certification and license, and $25 for adding a category.
Ornamental and turf technician permit: since May 6, 2026, an individual must hold one before commercially applying a general use herbicide with a “caution” or “warning” signal word for ornamental and turf weed pest control. A technician completes a Department-approved video training each calendar year, works under the indirect supervision of a certified applicator employed by the same business, and may not apply any other pesticide, including a “danger” herbicide or a restricted use pesticide.
Salesperson permit: an individual must hold one before soliciting a person to agree to a pesticide application. Technician and salesperson permits are annual and expire on December 31.
An applicator must have their license in their immediate possession when applying, and applicators and businesses notify the Department within 30 calendar days of changes such as name, address, phone, email or employer.
An applicator certified in another state may apply for a Utah license without testing by sending fees, copies of their credentials and ID, and a letter of good standing sent directly by their state.
Neither the Act nor R68-7 requires a commercial applicator or pesticide business to carry liability insurance or post a bond.

Business duties: keep evidence of pesticide training with the employee’s name and license number, the topics and products covered, and the signatures of the trainees and trainer, and keep the agenda and training material for two years after the employee leaves. Each pesticide service vehicle must carry complete, legible, up-to-date labels for each pesticide applied from it; electronic copies of labels are not acceptable. Show the business name and license number on customer proposals or contracts that include pest management services, on service records and service notifications, and on both sides of service vehicles and trailers. UDAF says certified applicators using a paraquat product must complete paraquat-specific training, renew it every three years, and keep the completion certificate.

Sources: Utah Code 4-14-103 Registration … Distributor or applicator license (eff. 3/21/2022), Utah Code 4-14-102 Definitions (eff. 5/6/2026), Utah Admin. Code R68-7 "Utah Pesticide Control Rule" (last change 9/7/2022; continued 11/17/2025), UDAF "Commercial Pesticide Business License", Utah Code 4-14-111 Registration required for a pesticide applicator business (eff. 5/6/2026), UDAF Fee Schedule (Fiscal Year 2027), Utah Code 4-14-112 Ornamental and turf technician – Salesperson (enacted 2026, eff. 5/6/2026), UDAF "Ornamental and Turf Technician Permit", Utah Code 4-14-109 Reciprocal agreement (eff. 5/6/2026), UDAF "Pesticide Continuing Education" (paraquat training)

What to record for each application

Under R68-7-11(11), commercial applicators must keep records of any pesticide applications, general use and restricted use alike. Records must be recorded within 24 hours after the application is made. Each record holds:

The name and address of the person or entity for whom the pesticide is applied
The address of the application location, if it differs from that person’s address
The total square footage or total size of the area to be treated
A description of the specific target sites, crops, commodities or stored products at the location
The time and date (month, day and year) the pesticide was applied
The brand name, EPA registration number and mix rate of each pesticide applied
The total amount of pesticide applied, including diluted or ready-to-use pesticides, per location and per application
The purpose of the application, the target site, and the pest treated
The name, commercial pesticide business address and commercial pesticide applicator license number of the certified commercial applicator who applied the pesticides

Non-commercial applicators, such as city or county staff, record only restricted use pesticide applications. It is a violation to handle or apply a pesticide without an appropriate, complete, legible and current label at hand or on the container.

Source: Utah Admin. Code R68-7 "Utah Pesticide Control Rule" (last change 9/7/2022; continued 11/17/2025)

How long to keep records and who can ask for them

Keep commercial application records at least two years from the date of application.
Make them available for inspection by the Department on request.
Furnish records in a uniform format.
The Department may enter premises to observe pesticide use and inspect equipment, storage and disposal areas, and lands reported to be exposed to pesticides.

Sources: Utah Admin. Code R68-7 "Utah Pesticide Control Rule" (last change 9/7/2022; continued 11/17/2025), Utah Code 4-14-107 Enforcement – Inspection and sampling (eff. 7/1/2017)

Customer notice, posting and lawn signs

Before each application of a restricted use pesticide with a “Danger” or “Danger-Poison” signal word, the certified commercial applicator or an employee of the business must give the customer a written statement with the business name, business license number and telephone number; the name and license number of the applicator who will apply; the date and time of the application; the type of service and the brand name and EPA registration number of the pesticides; and instructions to call the business for more specific information about the product. It may be left at the residence, left with the property manager or their representative at a multi-unit residence, or mailed to an off-site property manager at least seven calendar days before the application. Failing to give this notice is a violation.

Neither the Act nor R68-7 requires lawn signs or posting for turf or ornamental applications; the rule’s only signs are for fumigation and for storage areas holding “danger/poison” pesticides. R68-7 has no neighbor notice or notification registry for lawn applications, and local ordinances regulating pesticides are void under state law. Label-required posting still applies. Pesticides may not be applied by aircraft or air blast sprayer to property next to schools in session, hospitals, nursing homes or similar places, when occupied, where that may contaminate them.

Sources: Utah Admin. Code R68-7 "Utah Pesticide Control Rule" (last change 9/7/2022; continued 11/17/2025), Utah Code Title 4, Chapter 14 "Utah Pesticide Control Act" (chapter index), Utah Code 4-2-305 Preemption (eff. 5/7/2025)

Fertilizer rules

Utah regulates fertilizer under the Utah Plant Food Act (Utah Code Title 4, Chapter 13) and the Utah Plant Food Rule (R68-3), which require each brand and grade of plant food to be registered before it is distributed in the state and properly labeled. A registration expires on December 31 each year, and the final distributor files a tonnage report by December 31 covering November 1 to October 31. UDAF’s FY 2027 fertilizer fees are $75 per product registration and $100 for a blenders license. A pesticide may be added to a registered plant food only if the pesticide is registered and the mixture’s label meets both labeling sections, and plant food must be stored in a way that minimizes its release.

The Plant Food Act and R68-3 set no applicator license, application record, customer notice, nitrogen or phosphorus limit, blackout dates or setbacks for lawn fertilizer. UDAF’s fertilizer FAQ says no license is needed to apply fertilizer (a pesticide applicator license is needed when the product is also a pesticide), but that the applicator delivers a statement to the customer at the time of application with the applicator’s name and address and the guaranteed analysis and net weight of the fertilizer applied. We could not find that statement in the Act or the rule.

Sources: Utah Code Title 4, Chapter 13 "Utah Plant Food Act" (eff. 5/7/2025), Utah Admin. Code R68-3 "Utah Plant Food Rule" (last change 12/22/2025), UDAF Fee Schedule (Fiscal Year 2027), UDAF "Fertilizer/Plant Food" (with its Fertilizer FAQs), UDAF "Commercial Pesticide Business License"

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

Utah record items and GroundsQuote’s chemical application record
Utah asks for	In GroundsQuote	Status
Name and address of the person or entity for whom applied	Customer name and mailing address	Recorded
Address of the application location, if different	Address, unit, city, state, ZIP and county	Recorded
Total square footage or size of the area treated	Area treated in sq ft	Recorded
Specific target sites at the location	Where on the property (front lawn, beds, fence line… or a description), set on the job; required on Utah jobs	Recorded
Time and date (month, day, year) applied	Date and time applied	Recorded
Brand name and EPA registration number of each pesticide	Product name and EPA Reg. No., from the chemical’s setup	Recorded
Mix rate	Mix ratio, set on the job; required on Utah jobs	Recorded
Total amount applied, including diluted or ready-to-use, per location and per application	Total used, and the gallons of mix applied (offered on Utah jobs)	Recorded
Purpose of the application, target site and pest	Target pest for each chemical, where on the property, and the chemical’s type	Recorded
Name, business address and license number of the certified commercial applicator who applied	Applied by, with license numbers when license-keeping is switched on; your business address in the records export and on the application statement	Recorded
Ornamental and turf technician applying under a certified applicator’s indirect supervision	Applied by with each person’s standing (technician) and Supervised by, offered on Utah jobs; GroundsQuote keeps no permit-specific record of the yearly video training and does not check which products a technician applies	Partly
Recorded within 24 hours after the application	Finish job saves the record when the job is finished and shows the 24-hour deadline; the Schedule lists Utah chemical jobs finished without a record	Recorded
Kept at least two years, in a uniform format	Records are kept with corrections as history; the records export has a Utah column order	Recorded
Written statement before a restricted use pesticide with a Danger or Danger-Poison signal word	Not handled by GroundsQuote: the application statement is made after the job, and there is no notice before an application or mailing to an off-site manager	Not recorded
Business name and license number on proposals or contracts and service notifications	The application statement carries your business license when license-keeping is switched on; quotes and invoices do not print it	Partly
Fertilizer statement described in UDAF’s FAQ (applicator’s name and address, guaranteed analysis, net weight)	The application statement prints your business address, who applied it and the amount applied, but not the fertilizer’s guaranteed analysis	Partly

Give the customer the written statement before any restricted use pesticide with a Danger or Danger-Poison signal word yourself, and print your business license number on proposals, contracts and vehicles. Outside GroundsQuote, keep paper labels in each service vehicle, training records with signatures, paraquat certificates, technician and salesperson permits, license renewals and recertification, spill kits and the notices to the Department.

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 Utah 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. Utah’s rule requires commercial applicators to keep records of any pesticide applications, general use and restricted use alike, recorded within 24 hours after the application and kept at least two years. Only non-commercial applicators, such as city or county staff, are limited to restricted use pesticides.

Does a crew member spreading weed and feed need a license?

UDAF says a commercial pesticide business license is required of any business that commercially applies pesticides of any kind in any amounts, including spreading a granular weed and feed or a pre-emergent. Since May 6, 2026, an individual must hold an ornamental and turf technician permit before commercially applying a general use herbicide with a “caution” or “warning” signal word for turf weed control.

What can an ornamental and turf technician apply?

Only general use herbicides with a “caution” or “warning” signal word, for ornamental and turf weed control, under the indirect supervision of a certified applicator employed by the same business. A technician may not apply a “danger” herbicide, a restricted use pesticide or a pesticide for any other purpose, and completes a Department-approved video training each calendar year.

Do I need lawn signs or to notify neighbors in Utah?

No. Neither the Act nor R68-7 requires lawn signs or posting for turf or ornamental applications, and R68-7 has no neighbor notice or registry for lawn applications. The customer gets a written statement before an application of a restricted use pesticide with a “Danger” or “Danger-Poison” signal word. Label-required posting still applies.

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

The Plant Food Act and R68-3 deal with registration, labeling, tonnage, sampling and deficiencies, and set no applicator license, application record, nitrogen or phosphorus limit, blackout dates or setbacks for lawn fertilizer. UDAF’s fertilizer FAQ says the applicator delivers a statement to the customer at the time of application with the applicator’s name and address and the fertilizer’s guaranteed analysis and net weight.