Section R3-3-207. Agricultural Pest Control Advisor License; Examination; Fee; Renewal; Exemption

A.      An individual shall not act as a PCA without a valid PCA license issued by the Department. To advise in any of the cate- gories listed in subsection (I), a PCA shall pass the specific examination associated with the category.

B.       An individual applying for a PCA license shall provide the fol- lowing information on a form obtained from the Department:

1.        The applicant's name, address, e-mail address, daytime telephone number, social security number, and signature;

2.        Date of the application;

3.        License renewal period;

4.        Name, physical address, mailing address, e-mail address, and daytime telephone number of the applicant’s employer, if applicable;

5.        Examinations that the applicant has passed by category; and

6.        Whether the applicant has had a similar license revoked, suspended, or denied in this or any other jurisdiction during the last three years, and the nature of the violation resulting in the revocation, suspension, or denial.

C.      An individual applying for a PCA license, except an individ- ual who holds or has held a PCA license in this state within the previous five years shall meet one of the following five sets of qualifications:

1.        College degree.

a.         Possess a bachelor’s degree (B.A. or B.S.), master’s degree or doctorate degree in any subject; and

b.        Have completed 42 semester hours (63 quarter units) of college-level curricula as specified in subsection (D).

2.        Master’s degree in a biological science.

a.         Possess a master’s degree in a biological science;

b.        Have 12 months of work experience related to a core area listed in subsection (D); and

c.         Have a letter from the institution, a faculty member, or a supervisor where the individual obtained the work experience certifying the time spent and describing the type of experience obtained by the individual.

3.        Doctorate degree in a biological science.

a.         Possess a doctorate degree in a biological science; and either

b.        Meet the qualifications in subsection (C)(2)(b) and (C)(2)(c); or

c.         Have a letter of recommendation from the faculty member that supervised the dissertation or the divi- sion head of the discipline.

4.        Other education with unlicensed experience.

a.         Have completed 42 semester hours (63 quarter units) of college-level curricula as specified in subsection (D);

b.        Have 24 months of work experience related to a core area listed in subsection (D); and

c.         Have a letter from the institution, a faculty member, or a supervisor where the individual obtained the work experience certifying the time spent and describing the type of experience obtained by the individual.

5.        Other education with licensed experience.

a.         Be currently licensed as a pest control advisor (PCA) or equivalent in another state; and

b.        Have completed 42 semester hours (63 quarter units) of college-level curricula as specified in subsection (D), except that each year of verifiable licensed experience under subsection (C)(5)(a) within the previous 5 years qualifies for two semester hours up to 10 hours. The semester hours based on licensed experience do not reduce the minimum hours required from each individual core area.

c.         The applicant shall provide proof of the equivalency of a license from another state.

D.     

Core Area	Examples of Subjects	Sem. Hours	Qtr. Units
Physical, bio- logical, and earth sciences, and mathemat- ics	Inorganic chemistry; organic chemistry; bio- chemistry; plant biology or botany; general ecol- ogy; biology; genetics; plant physiology; zool- ogy; post-algebra mathe- matics	12	18

  

 

The 42 semester hours (63 quarter units) of college-level cur- ricula specified in subsection (C) shall come from the core areas shown in the following table, with at least the minimum indicated hours (or units) coming from each individual core area. A single course shall not count toward the minimum hours of more than one core area. At least one course from the pest management systems and methods core area shall empha- size integrated pest management principles.

Crop health	Soils and irrigation; veg- etation management or weed science; plant pathology; entomology; plant nutrition or fertil- ity; nematology; verte- brate management	6	9
Pest manage- ment systems and methods	Applied courses in ento- mology, plant pathology, vegetation management or weed science, and other pest management disciplines; pesticides or use of pesticides; pest control equipment sys- tems; alternative crop- ping systems; sustainable or organic agricultural systems; biological con- trol	3	4.5
Production sys- tems	Horticulture; viticulture; forestry; agronomy; crop, vegetable, fruit or animal sciences; other production systems (e.g., wildlife production, cat- tle production)	3	4.5

E.       Alternative curricula credits.

1.        A current crop advisor certificate issued by the American Society of Agronomy qualifies for three semester hours in one of the following core areas: physical, biological and earth sciences and mathematics; crop health; or pro- duction systems.

2.        Non-traditional courses such as a senior project, an internship, cooperative work experience, independent study, a dissertation or a thesis qualify for three semester hours in one of the core areas of crop health, pest man- agement systems and methods, or production systems, as applicable.

3.        For applicants with a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree, at least one year of full-time related work experi- ence qualifies for three semester hours in one of the core areas of pest management systems and methods or pro- duction systems, as applicable.

F.       In addition to the information required by subsection (B), an applicant shall submit to the Department:

1.        An official transcript verifying the courses completed and the degrees granted to the applicant.

2.        Documentation verifying alternative curricula relied on under subsection (E). Documentation of subsection (E)(2) and (E)(3) shall include a letter certifying comple- tion and describing the activity from the institution, a fac- ulty member or supervisor.

3.        If applicable, the letter required for licensure under sub- section (C).

4.        A $50 fee.

G.      A PCA license is not transferable, expires on December 31, and is:

1.        Issued for up to one year as an initial license;

2.        Renewed every one or two years, depending on the renewal period selected by the applicant; and

3.        Renewed for all categories of license under subsection (I) for the same renewal period.

H.      Renewal.

1.        The continuing education requirement in subsection (H)(5) is not applicable to an individual who passes the examination prescribed in subsection (I) and who applies for a PCA license between October 1 and December 31 of the test year.

2.        Upon renewal, a PCA license is valid for one or two years, depending on the renewal period selected by the applicant, provided the applicant meets the criteria pre- scribed under subsection (H).

3.        An applicant shall submit the completed application, accompanied by a $50 fee for each licensing year or por- tion of the year during which the license is valid.

4.        Renewal; expired license.

a.         An applicant may renew an expired license without retaking the written examinations under subsection

(I)   provided the applicant:

i.         Complies with the CEU requirements in sub- section (H)(5),

ii.        Submits a completed application and fee within 30 days after the expiration date, and

iii.      Does not provide any pest control-related ser- vice from the date the license expired until the date the renewal is effective.

b.        All other applicants for renewal shall retake the applicable written examinations prescribed in sub- section (I).

5.        The Department shall not renew a PCA license unless, before the expiration of the current license, the licensee completes 15 CEUs for each year of the renewal period or passes any applicable examination prescribed in subsec- tion (I). The licensee shall complete CEU credit during the calendar years the current license is in effect. CEUs earned that are in excess of the requirements do not carry forward for use with future renewals.

6.        To obtain credit, the applicant shall provide the Depart- ment with documentation of completion of the CEU course.

I.        Examinations.

1.        The Department shall administer examinations by appointment at every Environmental Services Division office. In addition to the core examination required in R3- 3-202, an applicant shall demonstrate knowledge and understanding of integrated pest management in any of the following categories by scoring at least 75 percent on a written examination:

a.         Weed control,

b.        Invertebrate control,

c.         Nematode control,

d.        Plant pathogen control,

e.         Vertebrate pest control,

f.         Plant growth regulators, or

g.        Defoliation.

2.        An individual who fails the examination may retake it no more than two times in a 12-month period and shall not retake an examination until at least seven days have elapsed from the date of the last examination.

J.        Exemption. An individual operating in an official capacity for a college or university, providing recommendations in a not- for-profit capacity, or merely furnishing information concern- ing general and labeling usage of a registered pesticide is not considered an authority or general advisor for the purposes of this Chapter.

Historical Note

Adopted effective November 20, 1987 (Supp. 87-4). Renumbered from R3-10-207 (Supp. 91-4). Former Sec- tion R3-3-207 repealed; new R3-3-207 renumbered from

R3-3-206 and amended by final rulemaking at 10 A.A.R. 276, effective March 6, 2004 (Supp. 04-1). Amended by

final rulemaking at 19 A.A.R. 3855, effective January 28,

2014 (Supp. 13-4).