1. (a) Initial certification.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) All first-time applicants for a private applicator’s license must have been "certified" within the twelve (12) months prior to license application.
      2. (B) Certification for a first-time applicant can be obtained in one (1) of two (2) ways:

2. (i) Applicant may attend the pesticide applicator training offered by the county cooperative extension office each year; or

   1. (ii)
3. (a) (a) Applicant may take an examination given by the State Plant Board.

4. (b) (b) Applicant must achieve a minimum score of seventy percent (70%) of total possible points.

   1. (2) This certification will be valid for one (1) five-year license or five (5) consecutive one-year licenses. In no case shall a certification make a person eligible for licensure in excess of five (5) years.

5. (b) Recertification.

   1. (1) All applicants for a subsequent five-year private applicator license must have been "recertified" within the twelve (12) months prior to license application.

   2. (2)

      1. (A) All applicants for a one-year license must have been "recertified" within the forty-eight (48) months prior to license application.

      2. (B) Recertification can be obtained in one (1) of two (2) ways:

         1. (i) Applicant may attend the pesticide applicator training offered by the county cooperative extension office each year; or
         2. (ii) Applicant may take an examination given by the State Plant Board. Applicant must achieve a minimum score of seventy percent (70%) of total possible points.

   3. (3)

      1. (A) One other option available for recertification is that the applicant may attend other approved training classes that address the certification requirements for private applicator certification cited in 40 C.F.R. § 171.5.
      2. (B) Each approved class will be assigned a point value by the board and at least five (5) points must be accumulated during the thirty-six (36) months prior to license application.
      3. (C) Course facilitators must provide the board with a list of all who attended the class who want the class points to be applied to private applicator recertification.
      4. (D) The applicant will be required to fill out a course verification form for each class and submit it with their private applicator license application form.

   4. (4)

      1. (A) Recertification will be valid for:

         1. (i) One (1) five-year license; or
         2. (ii) Five (5) consecutive one-year licenses.

      2. (B) In no case shall recertification make a person eligible for licensure in excess of five (5) years.

         1. (c) The fee for private applicator's license shall be as specified in the Arkansas Pesticide Use and Application Act, Arkansas Code § 20-20-201 et seq., as amended.
         2. (d) The license will permit the certified applicator to purchase and use restricted use pesticides in any category under the amended FIFRA or state rules on pesticide classification.

6. (e)

   1. (1) A fee of two dollars ($2.00) from each license issued to a private applicator by the board for each year of the license period shall be transferred to the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service for the purpose of developing and providing training for certification and recertification of private pesticide applicators in accordance with the requirements of 40 C.F.R. § 171.5.
   2. (2) The transfer of such funds shall be made quarterly by a cooperative agreement contract between the board and the service.
7. (f) Private applicators using aircraft to apply herbicides must comply with the criteria set out for commercial applicators in 2 CAR § 72-102(a).
8. (g) A private applicator must be at least eighteen (18) years old as required by 40 C.F.R. § 171.105(g).

Codification Notes: “FIFRA” means the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which was enacted in Pub. L. No. 61-152 and is codified at 7 U.S.C. § 136 et seq.