Pesticide application records

The federal floor after 2025

USDA’s restricted-use pesticide recordkeeping rule at 7 CFR Part 110 is gone. USDA rescinded it effective July 11, 2025, calling it obsolete; the federal program had been defunded and closed on September 30, 2012.

What remains is EPA’s certification rule. Under 40 CFR 171.303, every state plan must require certified commercial applicators to keep restricted-use records for at least two years and make them available to state officials. The minimum fields: customer name and address, location, size of area treated, site, time and date, brand or product name, EPA registration number, total amount applied per location per application, and the name and certification number of the certified applicator, plus any noncertified applicator working under direct supervision.

If noncertified techs apply restricted-use products under your supervision, 40 CFR 171.201 also requires records showing each one met the training or qualification standard, including the tech’s printed name and signature, the date, the trainer and what training was given.

What state rules look like

State pest rules usually cover every product, not just restricted-use ones. South Carolina requires the company to record the quantity of each pesticide used, received or purchased, the common chemical name of the active ingredient, the brand name and EPA registration number, the pest or purpose, and the date and place of application. For general household insect control the pest can be listed as "household pests."

Florida requires pest control records, including contracts, to be kept at the licensed business location or the Florida address on the licence application, and electronic records must be produced on request. Fumigation records must include the fumigant cylinder identification number.

How long to keep them

South Carolina: five years, or as long as a warranty or contract continues, whichever is longer, for both pre-construction and post-construction termite treatments, including bait systems. Two years for everything else.

Florida: at least two years for pest control records and restricted-use operational records, three years for preventive subterranean termite treatment in new construction, and two years for fumigation records, which must be handed over within 3 business days of a request.

If you work in more than one state, keep to the longest period that applies, and keep termite records for as long as any warranty on that property is live.

Telling the customer

South Carolina requires a written statement at the customer’s request showing the company name and address, the pest, the common chemical name of the active ingredient (not the brand), and the responsible licensed applicator. Continuing household contracts may use general pest terms and list alternate chemicals.

California requires a registered structural pest control company to give the owner and tenant written notice of the pest, the pesticides and active ingredients, a required caution statement, and the treatment frequency on a contract. Fumigation notice is due at least 48 hours before; other applications need it no later than the application. It can go by mail or email, by posting on the property, or by hand; commercial buildings also need a posted notice.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current record and notice rules with your state pesticide agency.