Pesticide Recordkeeping 

Requirements 

for Certifi ed Private 

Applicators of Federally 

Restricted Use Pesticides

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in

all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin,

age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status,

parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political

beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual’s income is derived

from any public assistance program. (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 USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and

TDD). To fi le a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Offi ce

of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-

9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an

equal opportunity provider and employer.

Revised June 2010

Slightly Revised June 20130

Recordkeeping Manuals are

available upon request from

the Pesticide Recordkeeping

Program. Please send

your request to the e-mail

address listed below.

For additional information about the Pesticide

Recordkeeping Program, please contact:

USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Room 3933-South, Stop 0273

Washington, D.C. 20250

Phone: 202-720-8998

Web site: 

www.ams.usda.gov/pesticiderecords

E-mail: 

amspesticide.records@usda.gov

United States Department of Agriculture Required Elements Restricted Use Pesticides

USDA Requirements for Private Applicators

Agricultural Use Pesticides

Worker Protection Standard Requirements 

for posting treated areas

Applicator Names

Applicator Certifi cation Number

MM/DD/YYYY + Including time of application

EPA Registration Number

Active Ingredients

Brand Name/Product Name

Crop, Commodity, or Site

Restricted Entry Level (REI)

Size of Area Treated

Total Amount Applied -

Field ID / Location

Completed Records

Within 14 days of the application, 

legible records must be recorded 

and kept for 2 years.

Post before application. Information should 

be kept 30 days after the REI expiration.

+ 

Applicator 

Name and 

Certifi cation 

Number

MM/DD/

YYYY & 

Time

EPA 

Registration 

Number

Active 

Ingredients

Brand Name/

Product 

Name

Crop, 

Commodity, 

Stored Product 

or Site

REI Size of Area 

Treated

Total 

Amount 

Applied

Field Notes 

(Optional)

Field ID/ Location:

Find more information about the Worker Protection Standard at the EPA web site: 

www.epa.gov/agriculture/twor.html.

Agricultural Marketing Service
The 1990 Farm Bill requires certifi ed private 

pesticide applicators to keep records of all applications of federally restricted use pesticides. The U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) carries out the provisions 

of the Federal recordkeeping requirements. 

Information must be legibly recorded no later 

than 14 days following a federally restricted use 

pesticide application and must be maintained for 

2 years following the application.

Access to the Record Information 

is Limited to:

USDA-authorized representatives who present 

identifi cation; State-authorized representatives 

who present identifi cation; and attending licensed 

health care professionals, or those acting under 

their direction when treating individuals who may 

have been exposed to restricted use pesticides.

Civil Penalties:

A certifi ed private applicator who violates any 

provision of the regulations will:

1. For the fi rst offense, be subject to a fi ne of 

not more than $750

2. For subsequent offenses, be subject to a fi ne 

of not less than $1,100 for each violation. 

The penalty shall be less than $1,100 if 

the administrator of the USDA Agricultural 

Marketing Service, or his or her designee, 

determines that the certifi ed applicator has 

made a good-faith effort to comply.

Records Must Contain the Following:

1. The brand or product name of the 

federally restricted use pesticide 

being applied. Multiple lines may be used 

to record tank mixes. Information on the 

Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) used in a 

tank mix is required.

2. The product’s U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) registration 

number, which is located below the ingredients statement on most labels (for example, 

EPA Reg. No. 3120-280). It is not the same as 

the EPA establishment number.

3. The total amount applied. Record the 

total quantity of the product used – not the 

quantity after water or other substances are 

added. Amount does not refer to percent of 

active ingredient. Use the pesticide label for 

reference and record the amount in similar 

language. For example, if the label states the 

pesticide is to be measured in pints or ounces, 

then record the amount in those units.

4. The size of the area treated. This 

information should be recorded in the unit 

of measure (such as acre, linear feet, bushel, 

cubic feet, number of animals, etc.) which is 

normally expressed on the label in reference 

to the application being made. For example, if 

an 80-acre grove is treated using the alternate 

middle approach, the entire 80 acres would be 

recorded as the “size of area treated.”

5. The crop, commodity, stored product, 

or site to which the pesticide was applied. 

Refer to the pesticide label for guidance to 

record this information.

6. The location of the application.

Record the location of the application, not 

the address of the farm or business. Your 

goal is to be able to identify the exact area 

of the application 2 years later if requested. 

The law allows any of the following designations: county, range, township, and section 

(although not required, subsection is acceptable); 

maps or written descriptions; a USDA identifi cation system, which involves maps and a 

numbering system to identify fi eld locations; 

Global Positioning System (GPS), for more 

information see www.ams.usda.gov/pesticide 

records; the legal property description.

7. The month, day, and year of the 

application.

8. The certifi ed applicator’s name 

and certifi cation number, if applicable 

(some States do not assign numbers). If the 

application was made by someone who is not 

certifi ed, then Record the name and number 

of the certifi ed applicator who supervised the 

application.

How to Record Treatments on Less Than 

1/10 of an Acre:

Smaller or spot treatments are especially useful 

in the control of noxious weeds. If you apply 

restricted use pesticides on the same day in a 

total area of less than 1/10 of an acre, you are 

required to record the following: 

■ Brand Name/Product name

■ EPA Registration Number

■ Total Amount of Pesticide Applied

■ Location of the Field Treated, designated 

as “Spot Application,” followed by brief 

description

■ Month, Day, and Year of the application.

Commercial Applicator Requirements:

All commercial applicators will continue to 

maintain records they currently keep under State, 

Tribal, or Federal regulations. The Federal pesticide 

recordkeeping regulations require all commercial 

applicators, both agricultural and nonagricultural, 

to furnish a copy of the data they are currently 

keeping, or the data elements required by this 

regulation, to the customer within 30 days of the 

restricted use pesticide application. A receipt of 

the application to the customer does not satisfy 

this requirement unless it contains all of the 

USDA required elements. Commercial applicators 

who violate this provision are subject to the civil 

penalties cited.

USDA Pesticide Recordkeeping Requirements