Wisconsin pesticide and fertilizer record rules for lawn care companies

Last reviewed October 11, 2026 · 9 min read

The short answer

In Wisconsin, a licensed pesticide application business must keep a legible record of every pesticide application it makes, general use and restricted use alike, completed by the applicator on the day of the application: each applicator’s name, the customer’s name and address, the site and a description of where it is, the date and approximate start and end times, each product’s name and EPA number, the amount (concentration and total quantity, or rate and area treated) and any mixing or loading site away from a licensed business location. Keep records at least 2 years. The customer gets the details in writing, landscape applications need Appendix B warning signs, and phosphorus fertilizer may not go on turf except in the cases the law allows.

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

Who regulates lawn care applicators

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) licenses pesticide application businesses and individual commercial applicators (Wis. Stat. §§ 94.703 and 94.704) and certifies commercial applicators (§ 94.705). Its rules for pesticide use, licensing, records, notices and signs are Wis. Admin. Code chapter ATCP 29, “Pesticide Use and Control”.

DATCP lists ATCP 40 (fertilizer), ATCP 29 (pesticides) and ATCP 33 (containment) as the rules that apply to lawn care businesses, and says anyone doing lawn care for hire, “no matter how informally”, may need a license. Cities, villages, towns and counties may not regulate pesticide use, except on land they own and in the other cases the statute lists.

Sources: Wis. Stat. ch. 94, Plant Industry (PDF), Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 29, Pesticide Use and Control (PDF), DATCP: Lawn Care Services

Licenses you need

Pesticide business license: no commercial application business may operate in Wisconsin without one, and it is needed to use or direct the use of any pesticide as an independent contractor for hire. DATCP says applying a weed-and-feed or other fertilizer-pesticide mix is a pesticide application, and a for-hire business needs the license even for retail or “natural” products such as corn gluten meal.
The business license expires December 31 each year, is not transferable, and is needed for each business location, including any site where the business regularly takes orders (a vehicle taking orders by mobile phone is not a site). The fee is $70 per location plus a $20 agricultural chemical cleanup surcharge; DATCP lists the total as $90. The surcharges are reset each May 1 from the cleanup fund’s balance and may be reduced or dropped.
The business license application lists the name and license number of each employee who must hold an individual commercial applicator license, and the business must promptly tell DATCP of added locations and other significant changes.
Individual commercial applicator license: no one may use or direct the use of any pesticide for hire, or as an employee of a for-hire business, without one. It expires December 31 each year, must be carried while working and is not issued to anyone under 18. The fee is $40 plus a $10 surcharge; DATCP lists the total as $50. A sole proprietor who also applies needs both the business license and an individual license.
Certification: no one may use or direct the use of any pesticide as a commercial applicator without certification in the applicable category. Turf and landscape pest control (ATCP 29.31(5), DATCP category 3.0) covers pests affecting turf or landscape. Spot or directed applications to landscapes for structural, household or nuisance pests such as ants, fleas, wasps, bees and hornets, and perimeter barrier applications, fall under general structural (ATCP 29.31(11), DATCP 7.1).
Since July 1, 2026, a commercial applicator may not control mosquitoes without the mosquito supplementary certification, which covers adult and larval mosquitoes anywhere other than waters of the state.
Certification needs training from the University of Wisconsin-Extension and a score of at least 70 percent on DATCP’s written, closed-book exam for each category. It is valid for 5 years and is renewed by passing a written exam again; the rules set no continuing education credits. It is not issued to anyone under 18, and the applicator carries the current certification card.
Trainees: a licensed business may register an employee as a trainee for 30 days. A trainee applies only under the direct on-site supervision of a licensed and certified applicator, may not direct applications or use restricted-use pesticides, and carries the registration form, which names the supervising applicators and each pesticide the trainee may use.
A licensed business may apply pesticides only through individual applicators who are licensed and certified in the applicable category.

Tip: DATCP sums it up for for-hire applicators: before making any application you need certification in a category, an individual commercial applicator license, and to work for or hold a pesticide business license.

Sources: Wis. Stat. ch. 94, Plant Industry (PDF), Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 29, Pesticide Use and Control (PDF), DATCP: Lawn Care Services, DATCP: Commercial Applicator, DATCP: Pesticide Business, DATCP: Commercial Certification Categories

What to record for each application

Under ATCP 29.21, a licensed business keeps a legible record of every pesticide application it makes directly or through an employee, general use and restricted use alike. The individual making the application completes the record on the day of the application. Each record holds:

The first and last name of each individual making the application
The name and address of the customer
The crop, commodity or site the pesticide was applied to
A description of the application site’s location detailed enough that it can be readily found (DATCP’s checklist gives examples such as the whole turf area, only the flower beds, or an ash tree)
The month, day and year, and the approximate starting and ending time
The brand name, product name or common chemical name, and the EPA registration number, of each pesticide
Either the concentration and total quantity of each pesticide applied, or the amount applied per unit area and the total area treated
Each place, other than a licensed business location, where the pesticide was mixed or loaded, unless it was applied straight from a retail container or with equipment holding no more than 5 gallons of liquid or 50 pounds of dry pesticide

An individual commercial applicator makes the same record on the day of each application and keeps it 2 years, unless the employing business keeps it; since July 1, 2026 the applicator’s own record also carries their certification number. A record may be on paper or electronic if it can readily be printed.

Sources: Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 29, Pesticide Use and Control (PDF), DATCP: Landscape Pesticide Applications Compliance Checklist (PDF), Wis. Stat. ch. 94, Plant Industry (PDF)

How long to keep records and who can ask for them

Keep application records for at least 2 years and make them available to DATCP for inspection and copying on request.
Within 30 days of an application (for a landscape application, when the application is completed), give the customer in writing: a phone number, the name and license number of each person who made or directly supervised it, the site and its location, the date and approximate start and end times, each product’s name and EPA number, the amount applied, the label’s post-application precautions, and a free copy of the label or notice that one is free on request.
That information may go by email or text only if the customer agreed in writing before the application. Precautions the label requires of the customer, such as restricted entry intervals, must reach them in time to take them.
Anyone who asks about a landscape application must promptly be offered the business’s name and address, each product’s name and EPA number, the amount applied, the date and approximate time, the label’s post-application precautions and a copy of the label (copying costs may be charged to non-customers).

Sources: Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 29, Pesticide Use and Control (PDF), Wis. Stat. ch. 94, Plant Industry (PDF)

Customer notice, posting and lawn signs

Before the first landscape application for a customer, and at least once a year under a continuing contract, offer in writing (or electronically with written consent) to give pre-application information. If the customer asks, that is each product that may be applied, a copy of each label, the date of application (orally if the customer agrees) and a contact name, business address and phone number. Appendix A of ATCP 29 gives an example “Notice to Customer” that meets the offer requirement.

Landscape warning signs go up at the application site before the application. Each is at least 4 by 5 inches on a stable support, professionally printed in red on white in the Appendix B format, and stays legible for at least 72 hours in foreseeable weather. It reads “Pesticide Application” and “Please Keep Off” (36 pt or larger) with a symbol at least 2 inches across, “Do not remove until sunset on ____” (the date may be handwritten), your business name and phone number, and “This sign required by the Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (608)224-LAWN.” DATCP says not to use it for fertilizer-only applications.
At least one sign must be clearly visible from each point with significant potential for human access to the treated area, such as roads, sidewalks, driveways, doorways, alleys and adjacent yards.
No one may remove the sign before sunset of the day after the application, or sunset of the day the label’s restricted entry interval ends, whichever is later. The applicator is not required to remove it.
When a label prescribes a restricted entry interval, also post signs of at least 8½ by 11 inches in the Appendix D format (“WARNING / AREA TREATED WITH PESTICIDES / DO NOT ENTER”, letters at least 1 inch high) at normal points of access before the application and for the whole interval; a label that only says to stay off until dry does not count. The person controlling the premises, the applicator and the applicator’s employer are each responsible for posting them.
Landscape registry: DATCP keeps an annual registry of people who want advance notice of landscape applications on their own block or adjacent blocks. It runs March 15 to March 14, people register by February 1, and DATCP gives licensed businesses a free copy by March 1. It covers turf and ornamental applications and mosquito spraying, not fertilizer.
Before any landscape application, give every registered person at least 12 hours’ advance notice by phone, mail (postmarked at least 2 business days before) or delivery, with your business’s name, address and phone, the address to be treated, the scheduled date and each pesticide that may be applied; send a revised notice if the date changes.
Bees: notify beekeepers within 1½ miles who asked in writing at least 24 hours before applying a pesticide labeled “Highly Toxic to Bees” or containing methomyl.
Residential structures: a business treating a residential structure, including a perimeter barrier application, gives residents a written notice at the time of application and posts signs at each entrance to the treated area when the label sets a restricted entry interval.

Tip: School boards must have pesticide applications on school grounds made only by certified applicators and must post notice at the time of application and for at least 72 hours after.

Sources: Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 29, Pesticide Use and Control (PDF), Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 29 Appendix A, example notice to customer (PDF), Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 29 Appendix B, landscape warning sign (PDF), Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 29 Appendix D, restricted entry interval warning sign (PDF), DATCP: Landscape Pesticide Registry, DATCP: Landscape Pesticide Applications (PDF), Wis. Stat. ch. 94, Plant Industry (PDF)

Fertilizer rules

No one may intentionally apply fertilizer labeled as containing phosphorus or available phosphate to turf, including residential lawns, except to establish grass by seed or sod in that growing season, or where a laboratory soil test done no more than 36 months before shows the soil is deficient in phosphorus.
No fertilizer may be applied to turf when the ground is frozen; DATCP says ground is frozen when you cannot dig down six to eight inches.
Turf fertilizer may not be applied to an impervious surface, and any that lands there by accident must be removed immediately.
Violations can bring a forfeiture of up to $50 for a first violation and $200 to $500 for later ones.
A fertilizer license is needed only to manufacture or distribute fertilizer. DATCP says a lawn care business that only buys and applies fertilizer per its label is exempt, but changing a fertilizer’s nutrient guarantee (for example mixing urea into water without label blending instructions, or “melting” granular fertilizer into water) is manufacturing.

Wisconsin’s fertilizer rules (ATCP 40) set no applicator certification, application record or turf rate limit.

Sources: Wis. Stat. ch. 94, Plant Industry (PDF), DATCP: Turf Fertilizer Phosphorous Restrictions (PDF), Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 40, Fertilizer and Related Products (PDF), DATCP: Lawn Care Services

Reports filed with the state

We found no routine pesticide use report to DATCP in ATCP 29 or Wis. Stat. chapter 94: records are kept by the business and produced on request. A pesticide spill must be contained and cleaned up immediately and reported at once to the Department of Natural Resources.

A violation of the pesticide law or DATCP’s pesticide rules can bring a forfeiture of $100 to $500 for a first violation and $200 to $1,000 for a later one within 5 years; a commercial applicator who knowingly violates them may be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to one year, or both.

Sources: Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 29, Pesticide Use and Control (PDF), Wis. Stat. ch. 94, Plant Industry (PDF)

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

Wisconsin record items and GroundsQuote’s chemical application record
Wisconsin asks for	In GroundsQuote	Status
First and last name of each individual making the application	Applied by: everyone riding with the crew that day starts checked, and the crew unchecks anyone who did not apply it; trainees can be named too	Recorded
Applicator’s certification number (applicator’s own record)	Certification number for each person who applied it, when license-keeping is switched on	Recorded
For the customer: name and license number of each person who made or directly supervised it	Applied by and Supervised by, with license numbers when license-keeping is switched on; both are on the application statement	Recorded
Customer name and address	Customer name and mailing address	Recorded
Crop, commodity or site	Where on the property (front lawn, beds, fence line… or a description), set on the job; required on Wisconsin jobs	Recorded
A description of the location detailed enough to find it	The property’s street address, unit number, city, state, ZIP and county, with where on the property	Recorded
Month, day, year and approximate start and end time	Date applied, and each chemical’s own start and finish time, else the job’s start and finish times, recorded when the crew starts and finishes it (the office can correct them)	Recorded
Brand, product or common chemical name and EPA registration number	Product name and EPA Reg. No., from the chemical’s setup	Recorded
Concentration and total quantity, or rate per area and total area treated	Rate applied (per area), area treated (sq ft) and total used, with the mix ratio and use dilution (%) offered on Wisconsin jobs and the concentration from the chemical’s setup	Recorded
Mixing or loading site away from a licensed business location (over 5 gallons or 50 pounds)	“Where it was mixed and loaded”, offered on Wisconsin jobs, in the export’s “Mixing or loading site” column	Recorded
For the customer: a phone number	The application statement shows your business phone	Recorded
For the customer: the label’s post-application precautions	The re-entry time and the label’s precautions on the application statement, as entered in the chemical’s setup	Partly
For the customer: a free copy of the label, or notice that one is free on request	Each chemical keeps its label file, and the office can email the statement with it attached; the statement has no fixed line offering a free copy	Partly
Customer’s written consent before information goes by email or text	The customer’s page records the date they agreed in writing to get application information electronically, and how; Finish job and the job’s record warn when it is missing so you give a paper copy. Keep the signed consent itself (it can go under Chemical notices & contracts)	Recorded
Appendix B landscape warning sign before each landscape application	GroundsQuote prints signs laid out from Appendix B, with your business name and phone; posting them, and checking the removal date when a label’s re-entry interval ends after the day after, are yours	Partly
Appendix D sign when a label sets a restricted entry interval	Not printed; use your own 8½ by 11 inch signs	Not recorded
Registry notices at least 12 hours before applying for a registered person	Registry listings and notices can be recorded on the customer’s page, and the schedule and Finish job flag pesticide jobs there until the notice is logged; the app does not load DATCP’s registry or send the notice	Partly
Business and individual licenses, renewals and certification	Not handled by GroundsQuote: GroundsQuote keeps license numbers, categories and expiry dates; renewals and certification are yours	Not recorded

The yearly written offer of pre-application information, registry notices, Appendix D signs, beekeeper notices and the DNR spill report stay yours outside GroundsQuote. Give each customer the application statement (or your own written information) when a landscape application is completed: GroundsQuote prepares it, but sending or handing it over is yours.

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 Wisconsin 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. Wisconsin’s rule covers every pesticide application a licensed business makes, general use and restricted use alike, and the person who applied it completes the record on the day of the application. Keep records at least 2 years.

What must my customer get after an application?

In writing, within 30 days (for a landscape application, when it is completed): a phone number, the name and license number of each person who made or directly supervised it, the site and its location, the date and approximate start and end times, each product’s name and EPA number, the amount applied, the label’s post-application precautions, and a free copy of the label or notice that one is free on request. Email or text is allowed only if the customer agreed in writing beforehand.

How long must a lawn sign stay up?

Nobody may remove it before sunset of the day after the application, or sunset of the day the label’s restricted entry interval ends, whichever is later. The applicator is not required to take it down. A label with a restricted entry interval also calls for the larger Appendix D sign for the whole interval.

Does a fertilizer-only lawn application need a sign or a registry notice?

No. DATCP says not to use the landscape sign for fertilizer-only applications, and the registry does not cover fertilizer. Phosphorus fertilizer may not go on turf except to establish grass by seed or sod that season, or where a soil test from the last 36 months shows a deficiency, and no fertilizer may go on frozen ground.