Illinois lawmakers have passed a bill to amend the pesticide applicator licensing process. In what’s expected to be in place by 2027, the current exam renewal required every three years will be replaced instead with continuing education requirements.
“It’s finally good to be on offense down at the Illinois State Capitol rather than being on defense,” says Kevin Johnson, president of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, the organization which initiated the legislation.
The bill passed the Illinois Senate 50-4 and the state house 116-0.
“That’s not usual. Many ag bills in the state of Illinois don’t get those kind of kind of numbers, so we’re proud of that,” Johnson says. Now, it’s on to Gov. Pritzker’s desk for consideration to be signed into law; he has 90 days to act.
There are more than 36,000 registered pesticide applicators in Illinois — of which 11,000 are farmers.
In the potential new process, for the initial license issued by the state’s department of agriculture, a first-time applicant would need to pass the 100-question exam. Then, going forward, they could renew their status via the continuing education requirement.
“We have been an outlier for quite a few years. A lot of states have done this for 20 years,” Johnson says. “Our applicators are specifically asking for this, and so this has been a thing that we’ve worked on many years.”
Assuming the governor signs the bill, Johnson says it will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026, but industry stakeholders should expect about a year for the entire process to be developed with the official availability in 2027.
Not only will the new structure provide an in-demand change by pesticide applicators, but it will also give the department of agriculture an opportunity to provide timely, ongoing training for industry professionals.
“The continuing education will focus on the general standards, but it does give us the opportunity to update some topics every year,” Johnson says. “So, for example, it could be about the herbicide and insecticide strategies for the Endangered Species Act, so in coming years more about tank clean out.”
