Label changes, restricted products, licensing and recordkeeping rules, federal and by state. Every item links to the agency document it came from — no source, no post. If an item here disagrees with the label in your hand, the label wins.
Federal · Label changeTakes effect December 29, 2026
Spanish labeling due for most toxic non-ag products Dec. 29, 2026
The next PRIA 5 deadline is December 29, 2026 for non-agricultural products in Acute Toxicity Category I, which covers some structural and residential-use products. Spanish versions of key label sections must be on the container or reachable by QR code or link. Non-ag, non-RUP products can instead link to a Spanish safety data sheet.
What to doAsk your distributor which Category I products you use will switch to bilingual labels or Spanish SDS links, and update your crew safety binder.
Federal · Label changeTakes effect December 29, 2026
Spanish labeling due for most toxic non-ag products Dec. 29, 2026
The next PRIA 5 deadline is December 29, 2026 for non-agricultural products in Acute Toxicity Category I, which covers some structural and residential-use products. Spanish versions of key label sections must be on the container or reachable by QR code or link. Non-ag, non-RUP products can instead link to a Spanish safety data sheet.
What to doAsk your distributor which Category I products you use will switch to bilingual labels or Spanish SDS links, and update your crew safety binder.
New SPCB exam rules (16 CCR 1940, 1940.1, 1941, 1942) take effect October 1, 2026 for applicator, field representative and operator exams. Exam applications must include a signed statement under penalty of perjury and a copy of acceptable government photo ID. Branch 1, 2 or 3 operator applicants must prove required coursework. The six-month re-exam window language is struck.
What to doHave exam candidates bring acceptable government photo ID, and check that operator candidates have proof of required coursework before applying.
Florida rewrites fumigation rules and log to match new SF labels
FDACS amended its fumigation and records rules (5E-14.102, .1025, .108-.113, .142, .1421), effective May 18, 2026, to match the new sulfuryl fluoride labels. The fumigation log, FDACS-13000 (Rev. 03/26), was substantially rewritten. Updated forms include the notification of fumigation, fumigation inspection and the employee ID card application.
What to doThrow out old fumigation logs and notification forms, switch to the current FDACS revisions, and walk crews through the rewritten log.
OSHA renews heat emphasis program; building services on target list
OSHA reissued its heat National Emphasis Program effective April 10, 2026 for five years. It targets 55 high-risk industries, including NAICS 5617, services to buildings and dwellings, which takes in exterminating and pest control. Inspectors may run random heat inspections on National Weather Service heat advisory or warning days.
What to doCheck that your heat plan, training records and water-rest-shade practices are on paper and followed, especially on heat advisory days.
FWC proposes trapping changes to nuisance wildlife rule 68A-9.010
FWC proposed amendments to nuisance wildlife rule 68A-9.010 that rework how nuisance wildlife may be trapped, including trap types, glue boards and time limits for animals moved offsite. A public hearing was held July 8, 2026. The proposed effective date is December 31, 2026, and the rule has not been adopted yet.
What to doWildlife crews should read the proposed rule text from the FAR notice and watch for adoption before the proposed December 31, 2026 date.
Washington sets rules for supervising unlicensed RUP applicators
WSDA adopted WAC 16-228-1548, effective January 1, 2026, setting duties for licensed applicators who supervise noncertified people using federal restricted use pesticides. The supervisor must hold the matching classification. The noncertified applicator must be trained within the past 12 months on the equipment they use and meet a minimum age.
What to doDocument equipment training for every unlicensed tech who handles RUPs, renew it yearly, and make sure each supervisor is certified in that classification.
Washington revises licence categories and exam retake waits
Effective January 1, 2026, WSDA added, merged and removed pesticide licence classifications, added competency standards for nearly all licensees, and ended substitutions for the core laws and safety exam. Anyone who fails an exam a second, third or fourth time waits at least 14 days to retest; after five or more failures the wait is 60 days.
What to doCheck each licensee's classifications against the new WAC 16-228-1545 list at renewal, and plan exam dates around the retake waits.
Spanish label sections now required on restricted use pesticides
Under PRIA 5, restricted use pesticides and Category I agricultural products released for shipment from December 29, 2025 must carry Spanish translations of key label sections, such as signal word, first aid, PPE and storage, on the container or by QR code or link. Expect bilingual labels on fumigants and other RUPs you buy.
What to doShow Spanish-speaking crews where the translated sections or QR link are on the RUP labels you stock, and include it in safety training.
South Carolina's SGAR restriction no longer has an end date
Clemson DPR extended its statewide restriction on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides indefinitely. The original one-year order began February 1, 2025. The rules stay the same: a dealer licence is needed to sell SGARs, dealers keep sales records, and sales are limited to certified applicators. DPR also plans an industry working group to track SGAR sales and use.
What to doTreat SGAR rules as permanent: keep dealer invoices and supervision records, and budget for alternatives on sensitive coastal accounts.
California DPR drafts rules that would limit anticoagulant baiting
DPR released draft regulations for all anticoagulant rodenticides. They would make them restricted materials, limit use at structures to listed sites within 50 feet, cap baiting at 35 consecutive days and 105 days a year per site, and require annual training plus a written sustainable rodent management plan. This is a draft, not a formal proposal.
What to doStart writing a rodent management plan and tracking bait days per site now so you are ready if DPR formally proposes these rules.
USDA scraps its federal RUP recordkeeping rule (7 CFR Part 110)
USDA rescinded 7 CFR Part 110, the federal rule on recordkeeping of restricted use pesticides by certified applicators, effective July 11, 2025. USDA said the program had been defunded and closed, and EPA had folded much of the recordkeeping material into applicator training. Your state licence rules still set your RUP and job record duties.
What to doKeep RUP and service records exactly as your state rules require; nothing in your state record duties went away with this federal rescission.
Beginning May 19, 2025, Metro Institute gives TDA structural pest control applicator exams at testing sites across Texas. Applicants still apply and pay licence fees to TDA first. Once TDA issues an account or approval number, the applicant registers for the exam on Metro's website.
What to doHave new hires apply to TDA first, then book their exam with Metro using the TDA approval number.
EPA final Insecticide Strategy targets agricultural uses
EPA finalized its Insecticide Strategy, which sets a standard way to pick endangered species protections for agricultural insecticides as products are registered or reviewed. The final version cut buffer distances from the draft. The document says it addresses agricultural insecticide use, so indoor and structural work is not its focus, but ag-use labels you carry may pick up new limits.
What to doIf your firm also does turf, ornamental or ag-adjacent spraying, check new insecticide labels for runoff and drift limits and any Bulletins Live! Two direction.
Florida updates pest control rules, adds prior-notice registry form
FDACS amended Chapter 5E-14 effective April 29, 2025 to carry out 2024 changes to Chapter 482. The update clarifies continuing education and exam rules, revises penalties, updates incorporated forms and adopts form FDACS-13609 (Rev. 03/25) for the registry of people who must get prior notice of pesticide applications near their homes.
What to doUse the current FDACS forms for licence and ID card work, and check your notification list against the state prior-notification registry.
South Carolina restricts four SGAR baits to certified applicators
From February 1, 2025, Clemson DPR restricts brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum and difethialone statewide under Regulation 27-1075(B). Sellers need a dealer licence and must keep sales records. Sales are limited to certified applicators. Verifiably trained technicians may apply SGARs commercially under a certified applicator's supervision.
What to doBuy SGARs only from licensed dealers, keep certified-applicator supervision on every SGAR job, and keep technician training records current.
California bans chlorophacinone and warfarin baits, adds $25,000 fines
AB 2552, the Poison Free Wildlife Act, prohibits chlorophacinone and warfarin statewide, makes them restricted materials, and bans all first-generation anticoagulants in wildlife habitat areas. Selling or using any anticoagulant rodenticide in violation of the rules carries a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per day per violation, on top of other penalties.
What to doAudit every bait station program for anticoagulants and switch to non-anticoagulant baits, traps and exclusion unless a written exemption applies.
EPA finalizes Rodenticide Strategy for endangered species
EPA released its final biological evaluation for 11 rodenticides, which also serves as its Rodenticide Strategy. Expect future label limits that differ by bait station, in-burrow and broadcast use, with location-specific restrictions delivered through Bulletins Live! Two, label language or registration terms. EPA says carcass searches will be used only when other measures are not practical.
What to doMake sure every tech who places rodenticide knows how to look up Bulletins Live! Two, and watch for new labels on the bait products you stock.
California SPCB requires new Standard Structural Fumigation Log
Effective October 1, 2024, SPCB rule 16 CCR 1970 moves fumigation log content into a required Standard Structural Fumigation Log, form 43M-47 (Rev. 6/2023). Application reports must now include time of application, product name and EPA registration number, and show that a registered applicator was supervised by a field representative or operator.
What to doUse form 43M-47 for every fumigation and update your service tickets to capture time, product name, EPA reg. number and the supervising licensee.
OSHA proposes a federal heat illness prevention standard
OSHA proposed a heat injury and illness prevention standard covering indoor and outdoor work. Employers would need a written plan to evaluate and control heat hazards. A public hearing ran June 16 to July 2, 2025, and post-hearing comments closed October 30, 2025. OSHA's Fall 2025 agenda lists a supplemental proposal in December 2026.
What to doPut a written heat plan in place now covering water, rest, shade, acclimatization and attic or crawlspace work; it is good practice and likely to line up with any final rule.
New sulfuryl fluoride labels for residential tent fumigation
EPA approved new sulfuryl fluoride labels on July 11, 2024 for residential structural fumigation. Labels require posted no-entry signs on tents, site-specific fumigation logs, added registrant stewardship training, longer active and passive aeration times, and drop references to "approved" clearance devices. Old-label stock could be sold or distributed for 12 months after approval.
What to doFumigate only by the new label, retrain crews on the longer aeration steps, and keep a site-specific log for every residential job.
South Carolina amends pesticide licensing, supervision and WDO rules
Clemson DPR amended Regulations 27-1070, 27-1071, 27-1078, 27-1083 and 27-1085, effective June 28, 2024. The current text requires a 7B or 1C licensee on site for all fumigant use and sets supervision distances for RUP work. It requires $100,000 combined single limit liability coverage for Category 7, and 10 CCUs, including 3 in 7B, for fumigation licensees.
What to doCheck fumigation crew schedules, supervision distances, insurance certificates and 7B CCU totals against the amended rule text.
EPA interim decision on phosphine and metal phosphides adds aeration buffers
EPA issued its interim registration review decision for aluminum phosphide, magnesium phosphide and phosphine. Labels add aeration buffer zones sized from lookup tables using measured phosphine levels, updated fumigation management plan language, PPE changes, a pre-application burrow check and buffers near conservation areas for burrow treatments. Registrants had to submit amended labels after the June 2024 notice.
What to doBefore your next phosphide job, read the current product label, rebuild your fumigation management plan around the aeration buffer tables, and plan how you will keep people out of the buffer.
Texas enforces higher SPCS insurance minimum and new ALS-1101 form
From January 1, 2024, TDA enforces the higher insurance minimum adopted in 2023: at least $500,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and property damage, with a $1,000,000 annual aggregate, for business and noncommercial certified applicator licences. Policies effective on or after January 1, 2024 must be filed on the revised ALS-1101 form (rev. 11/01/23).
What to doCheck that your certificate of insurance meets $500,000/$1,000,000 and that your agent filed it on the 11/01/23 ALS-1101.
Texas technicians need 48 training hours before adding a category
Since January 1, 2024, TDA fully enforces the rule that a licensed technician must finish 8 classroom hours and 40 on-the-job hours before taking the exam to add a licence category. Training goes on the department's verifiable training record form. Annual technician renewal still needs 8 hours of verifiable training.
What to doLog the 8 classroom and 40 on-the-job hours on the verifiable training record before you book any technician for a new category exam.
California adds diphacinone to its anticoagulant bait ban
AB 1322 added diphacinone to California's SGAR rules: it is banned in wildlife habitat areas and statewide unless an exemption applies, such as certain agricultural activities or declared public health needs, until DPR and Fish and Wildlife certify new restrictions. Violations are misdemeanors enforced by county agricultural commissioners.
What to doPull diphacinone baits from routes that do not fit a statutory exemption and document the exemption on any job where you still use it.
South Carolina commercial CCU block runs Jan. 2024 to Dec. 2028
South Carolina commercial and non-commercial applicators are in a new five-year recertification block, January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2028. Category 7A (industrial, institutional, structural and health-related) alone needs 12 category-specific CCUs and 20 total. Category 7B (fumigation) alone needs 3 specific and 10 total. Combinations raise the specific count.
What to doSet a CCU plan for each licensee now so 7A holders reach 12 category CCUs and 20 total before December 31, 2028.
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