United States

Department of 

Agriculture

Natural 

Resources

Conservation

Service

PA-1782

September 2004

Technical Service

Providers

Expanding Conservation Technical 

Assistance Capacity on Private Lands
What are Technical 

Service Providers?

Technical Service Providers (TSPs) are 

individuals, private businesses, nonprofit 

organizations, or public agencies outside 

of the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) that help agricultural producers 

apply conservation practices on the land. 

These Natural Resources Conservation 

Service (NRCS) certified professionals 

provide for convenient access to technical services, quality work, and professional one-on-one technical assistance to 

landowners or producers who participate 

in USDA conservation programs.

TSPs can...

• Develop conservation plans 

and perform selected 

compliance studies

• Plan, design, and lay out 

conservation practices

• Check out completed 

conservation practices

How Did The Technical 

Service Provider 

Process Begin?

The 2002 Farm Bill expanded the capacity of USDA conservation programs to 

protect the Nationʼs natural resources on 

private and tribal lands. In order to better 

serve agricultural producers, the 2002 

Farm Bill also encouraged USDA to 

use technical service providers to increase the technical assistance available 

to help landowners meet their conservation goals.

Who Can Become a 

Technical Service 

Provider?

Individuals, private businesses, nonprofit 

organizations, and public agencies can 

become part of a cadre of certified 

professionals to help meet the technical 

assistance needs of Americaʼs farmers 

and ranchers.

How Do You Become 

a Certified Technical 

Service Provider?

To become a certified TSP and 

assure quality delivery of technical 

services, you must follow these 

four steps:

Step 1- Obtain an eGovernment 

account and password

Log on to http://www.eauth.egov.usda.

gov/ and establish a Level 2 eGovernment account. Visit a USDA Service 

Center near you to activate your account. 

You can locate USDA Service Centers 

at http:// offices.usda.gov. You will 

obtain a user ID and password to register 

on TechReg, an Internet-based registry 

for TSPs. 

Step 2- Register on TechReg

Log onto TechReg (http://techreg.usda.

gov) and fill out the sections that pertain 

to you as an individual, business, or 

public agency. Potential TSPs must be 

able to demonstrate knowledge in their 

respective areas of expertise through 

documentation of training or experience. 

Step 3 - Become certified

To become certified, applicants must 

meet all of the certification requirements 

contained in TechReg for the specific 

category or categories of technical services they wish to provide. They must 

obtain licenses or certifications required 

by local, State, or tribal law. Applicants 

must document their qualifications in 

TechReg and indicate how they meet 

specific certification criteria. They 

must also sign a certification agreement 

electronically. Once certified by NRCS, 

TSPs will be placed on an “approved 

list” in TechReg to provide specific 

technical services in specific States.

Step 4 – Provide technical services 

to the producer

Producers can search TechReg to find 

certified TSPs. Once selected and hired 

by the producer, the TSPs can provide 

the technical services they are certified 

to perform.

Key USDA staff sign a Technical Service Provider agreement with American 

Society of Agronomy.
Need Help to Get 

Certified?

NRCS has agreements with several 

organizations to streamline the certification process. Prospective TSPs can work 

with one or more of these organizations 

to become qualified for certification in 

specific areas of expertise. These organizations include: 

• American Society of Agronomy

• Environmental Management 

Solutions, LLC

• National Alliance of Independent 

Crop Consultants

• Society of American Foresters

• Society for Range Management

• The Irrigation Association

• The Wildlife Society

• University of Tennessee

Prospective TSPs should check the 

TechReg Web site for a complete list of 

organizations approved for certification 

assistance.

What Does a Technical 

Service Provider Do?

A TSP has many responsibilities, 

including the following:

• provides high-quality technical 

service,

• complies with all Federal, State, 

tribal, and local laws and 

requirements,

• certifies that all technical services 

provided meet NRCS standards and 

specifications,

• develops, maintains and provides 

the producer with complete 

documentation for the technical 

services provided, and

• maintains the producerʼs 

confidentiality.

How Does a Technical 

Service Provider Receive 

Payment?

TSPs must negotiate directly with the 

producer for the technical services to 

be provided and their costs. When the 

technical services are completed, documented, and reported, the TSP provides 

the documentation and an invoice to the 

producer and NRCS. The producer pays 

the TSP. NRCS reimburses the producer 

for the technical services obtained at 

a not-to-exceed rate contained in the 

producerʼs conservation program contract with USDA. NRCS has established 

maximum payment rates for technical 

services in each State. The rates can be 

found at http://www.tsp-nte.nrcs.

usda.gov. 

Technical service providers can use conservation practices such as riparian buffers to help 

landowners protect water quality.
For More Information

Additional information on technical 

service provider assistance is available 

at http://techreg.usda.gov or by 

contacting a USDA Service Center. 

USDA Service Centers can be located on the Web at http://offices.

usda.gov or through the local telephone directory under U.S. Government. A list of State TSP Coordinators 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and 

activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political 

beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all 

programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of 

program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDAʼs TARGET 

Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 

326W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 

or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

September 2004

can be found at http://techreg.usda.

gov/RptStateContact4Admin.aspx.

Information also can be obtained by 

contacting the National Technical Service Provider Coordinator, Conservation 

Engineering Staff, USDA-NRCS, P.O. 

Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013. All 

updates and changes on technical service 

providers will be posted on the TechReg 

Web site.

Contour farming is an effective conservation practice that technical service 

providers can use on private lands.