Pesticide Applicator Testing

Pennington County Ag Services proctors pesticide testing for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) at the Pennington County Extension office at 101 Main Avenue North, Thief River Falls, Minnesota. We charge $60 for the Commercial/Non-Commercial test and $150 for Commercial Structural Applicator test. Commercial pesticide applicator licenses are for pesticide applicators who apply any pesticide (including herbicides) “for hire". For hire means charging or invoicing for the service. Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)

Testing begins Monday through Friday at 7:30 in the morning. Testing is done at 12:30 pm and is done by appointment only. To register to take a test, call the Pennington County Ag Services Coordinator at 218-683-7030 from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm. You may contact the Ag Services Coordinator via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. You must register with MDA prior to arriving for your test and bring a copy of the receipt you receive during registration. You will also need picture identification.

Steps to successful completion of the Pesticide Certification Exam. 

Private Pesticide applicators who wish to test may do so on their own using either a paper test or online. The Safety Education Manual and necessary test documents are available at the Ag Services office and cost $10.   These applicators generally are farmers or other persons producing an agricultural commodity and using Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP) to control insects, diseases, weeds, or other pests in their production operation. Private Pesticide testing shuts down each year from October 31st through the end of the year to allow the MDA time to create a new test.