Section 3(d) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

(d) CLASSIFICATION OF PESTICIDES.— 

 (1) CLASSIFICATION FOR GENERAL USE, RESTRICTED USE, OR 

BOTH.— 

 (A) As a part of the registration of a pesticide the Administrator shall classify it as being 

for general use or for restricted use. If the Administrator determines that some of the uses for 

which the pesticide is registered should be for general use and that other uses for which it is 

registered should be for restricted use, the Administrator shall classify it for both general use 

and restricted use. Pesticide uses may be classified by regulation on the initial classification 

and registered pesticides may be classified prior to reregistration. If some of the uses of the 

pesticide are classified for general use and other uses are classified for restricted use, the 

directions relating to its general uses shall be clearly separated and distinguished from those 

directions relating to its restricted uses. The Administrator may require that its packaging and 

labeling for restricted uses shall be clearly distinguishable from its packaging and labeling 

for general uses. 

(B) If the Administrator determines that the pesticide, when applied in accordance with 

its directions for use, warnings and cautions and for the uses for which it is registered, or for 

one or more of such uses, or in accordance with a widespread and commonly recognized 

practice, will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, the 

Administrator will classify the pesticide, or the particular use or uses of the pesticide to 

which the determination applies, for general use. 

(C) If the Administrator determines that the pesticide, when applied in accordance with 

its directions for use, warnings and cautions and for the uses for which it is registered, or for 

one or more of such uses, or in accordance with a widespread and commonly recognized 

practice, may generally cause, without additional regulatory restrictions, unreasonable 

adverse effects on the environment, including injury to the applicator, the Administrator shall 

classify the pesticide, or the particular use or uses to which the determination applies, for 

restricted use: 

(i) If the Administrator classifies a pesticide, or one or more uses of such pesticide, 

for restricted use because of a determination that the acute dermal or inhalation toxicity 

of the pesticide presents a hazard to the applicator or other persons, the pesticide shall be 

applied for any use to which the restricted classification applies only by or under the 

direct supervision of a certified applicator. 

(ii) If the Administrator classifies a pesticide, or one or more uses of such pesticide, 

for restricted use because of a determination that its use without additional regulatory 

restriction may cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, the pesticide shall 

be applied for any use to which the determination applies only by or under the direct 

supervision of a certified applicator, or subject to such other restrictions as the 

Administrator may provide by regulation. Any such regulation shall be reviewable in the 

appropriate court of appeals upon petition of a person adversely affected filed within 60 

days of the publication of the regulation in final form. 

EPA ICR No. 0155.12 OMB Control No. 2070-0029 

ATTACHMENT A
(2) CHANGE IN CLASSIFICATION.—If the Administrator determines that a 

change in the classification of any use of a pesticide from general use to restricted use is 

necessary to prevent unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, the Administrator 

shall notify the registrant of such pesticide of such determination at least forty-five days 

before making the change and shall publish the proposed change in the Federal Register. 

The registrant, or other interested person with the concurrence of the registrant, may seek 

relief from such determination under section 6(b). 

(3) CHANGE IN CLASSIFICATION FROM RESTRICTED USE TO GENERAL 

USE.— The registrant of any pesticide with one or more uses classified for restricted use 

may petition the Administrator to change any such classification from restricted to 

general use. Such petition shall set out the basis for the registrant’s position that restricted 

use classification is unnecessary 

because classification of the pesticide for general use would not cause unreasonable 

adverse effects on the environment. The Administrator, within sixty days after receiving 

such petition, shall notify the registrant whether the petition has been granted or denied. 

Any denial shall contain an explanation therefor and any such denial shall be subject to 

judicial review under section 16 of this Act.