The Colorado Department of Agriculture has made a change for private pesticide licensing. Private pesticide applicators who need to take licensing tests, or re-test due to license expiration, will now need to test at a proctored testing site. The first step is to get registered for testing. For both commercial and private pesticide testing, this can be accomplished by accessing Metro Institute, which is a computer based testing scheduler, and can be found at https://www.metroinstitute.com.

When at this site select the Colorado option. Set up an account at this site and find a testing center and time that works best. Once the date and location is scheduled, just arrive at the test site early and begin the check-in process.

Both commercial and private pesticide licensing are now accomplished using a proctored method. While private pesticide testing is now proctored, the test is still an open book test. Commercial testing continues to be closed-book.

In addition, Colorado State University Extension is hosting Private Pesticide Recertification sessions at various locations in Northeast Colorado. Anyone who purchases restricted-use pesticides must have a Private Pesticide Applicator license which is issued by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Once a license is received, it is active for three years before renewal is needed. Renewal can be achieved by either retaking the exam at a proctored site or attending a recertification session. These recertification sessions offer seven core credits which can be substituted for retaking the exam and qualifies for private pesticide license renewal. 

Private pesticide recertification sessions will be held March 18-19, and April 2. The March 18 session will be held at the Sedgewick County Annex in Julesburg. The March 19 the session will be held at the Burlington Community Center. April 2 there will be a session in Lamar. A fee will be charged.

Preregistration is mandatory and can be accomplished by calling the local hosting office or registering on line at: https://goldenplains.extension.colostate.edu/programs/agriculture/crop/, or http://bit.ly/pestapplicator.

This program is also available remotely via Zoom. When registering, participants can choose to attend the event in-person or remotely using Zoom.