Wire · Regulatory · CA
California regulatory updates
Label changes, cancellations, restricted-use changes and rule updates that affect how you work in California. Every item links to the agency or registrant document it came from. If an item here disagrees with the label in your hand, the label in your hand wins — tell us and we will correct this page.
California changes
California SPCB exam rules change Oct. 1, 2026
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.
Source: OAL Notice of Approval, SPCB examinations rulemaking, OAL Matter No. 2026-0601-04 (July 13, 2026)
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.
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.
Source: California AB 2552 (Ch. 571, Stats. 2024), Food and Agricultural Code §12978.7
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.
Source: OAL Notice of Approval, SPCB amendments to 16 CCR 1970, OAL Matter No. 2024-0725-01 (Aug. 21, 2024)
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.
Source: California AB 1322 (Ch. 836, Stats. 2023), Food and Agricultural Code §12978.7
Federal changes that apply in California
EPA, USDA and other federal actions apply in every state. Your state can be stricter, never looser.
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.
Source: EPA Pesticide Registration Notice 2025-02 (signed Feb. 26, 2026)
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.
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.
Source: EPA Pesticide Registration Notice 2025-02 (signed Feb. 26, 2026), bilingual labeling tracking
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.
Source: Federal Register 90 FR 20083 (May 12, 2025), final rule, AMS
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.
Source: EPA Insecticide Strategy (Final), docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2024-0299 (posted Apr. 29, 2025)
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.
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.
Source: Federal Register 89 FR 70698 (Aug. 30, 2024), proposed rule, RIN 1218-AD39
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.
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.
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