Utah Administrative Code R68-7 — Pesticide Applicator Licensing in Jails and Prisons

Citation

Utah Administrative Code Title R68 (Department of Agriculture and Food), Chapter 7 (Utah Pesticide Control Rule). Administered by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF), 4315 South 2700 West, Taylorsville, UT 84129 (the address is UDAF’s own, from its Pesticide Licenses page; the rule states no address). R68-7 implements the Utah Pesticide Control Act (Utah Code Title 4, Chapter 14) and establishes the legal framework for pesticide application, applicator licensure, recordkeeping, and enforcement in Utah.

What It Says (Operative Provisions)

R68-7 establishes three applicator classifications and a set of certification categories.

Applicator classifications:

• Commercial applicators: Use or apply pesticides for hire or compensation (R68-7-2(1)); the definition turns on compensation, not on who owns the property
• Non-commercial applicators: Employees applying restricted use pesticides on their employer’s property or property under its control (R68-7-2(8); license required by R68-7-12(1))
• Private applicators: Apply restricted-use pesticides for producing an agricultural commodity on property the applicator owns, rents, or leases, or on another’s property without compensation (R68-7-2(12))

Certification categories relevant to correctional facilities:

Category names and scope below are the rule’s own, from R68-7-7. The full verbatim text of Category 7 is quoted further down.

• Category 7 — Structural and Health Related Pest Control: applicators applying pesticides in, on, or around structures the rule lists, which include a prison, and “any other structure or area”; includes vertebrate pests in and within three feet of structures. Excludes Fumigation (13) and Wood Destroying Organisms (15).
• Category 8 — Public Health Pest Control: limited to applicators managing pests “due to issues of medical and public health importance.” The commercial branch is valid only while the applicator is actively contracted by a government entity; the non-commercial branch is limited to government employees in government-sponsored public health programs.
• Category 12 — Vertebrate Animal Pest Control: applicators applying pesticides for the outdoor control of vertebrate pests such as rodents, birds, bats, predators, or domestic animal pests. Excludes Regulatory Pest Control (9), and specifically excludes sodium cyanide and sodium fluoroacetate.
• Category 15 — Wood Destroying Organisms Pest Control: applicators applying pesticides to control termites, carpenter ants, wood-boring or tunneling insects, bees, wasps, wood-decaying fungi, and other pests destroying wood products.

The Category 7 / Category 12 boundary matters at a correctional facility with a perimeter. Vertebrate work in or on the building and within three feet of it (farther only where the product label permits) is Category 7; outdoor vertebrate work beyond that is Category 12. A vendor certified only in Category 7 is not certified for exterior vertebrate work beyond that distance.

Examination requirement:

Commercial and Non-Commercial applicators must score 70% or higher on the pesticide applicator core test (UDAF: “general/core exam”) and at least one category examination. Each category requires a separate examination.

Continuing Education Unit (CEU) requirement — R68-7-11(10)(c)(ii), verbatim and complete:

“(10) Commercial Pesticide Applicator and Commercial Pesticide Business License Recertification and Renewal. (a) Each commercial pesticide applicator and commercial pesticide business license shall expire on December 31 of the third calendar year following its issuance. (b) Commercial pesticide applicators shall recertify before their license expires, and may be subject to re-examination at any time during their valid license period. (c) Recertification options include: (i) completion of the original certification process by taking the required pesticide core and pesticide category tests and successfully completing each required test with a minimum score of 70%; or (ii) participation in approved CEUs and accumulating the required amount of 24 total CEU credits during the licensure period. A minimum of two credits in law, six in safety, and ten in pesticide use are required, while any combination of the three categories may be used for the remaining six credits.”

Application records — R68-7-11(11), verbatim:

“(11) Records Maintained. Commercial applicators shall keep and maintain records of any pesticide applications. (a) These records shall be recorded within 24 hours after the pesticide application is made. (b) The application records shall include the following information: (i) the name and address of the person or entity for whom the pesticide is applied; (ii) the address of the pesticide application location, if the pesticide application location differs from Subsection R68-7-11(11)(a)(i); (iii) the total square footage or total size of the area to be treated with pesticides; (iv) a description of the specific target sites, crops, commodities, or stored products at the pesticide application location to which any pesticides are applied; (v) the time and date, including the month, day, and year when the pesticide was applied; (vi) the brand name of the pesticides, EPA registration number, and mix rate for any pesticides applied; (vii) the total amount of pesticides, including diluted or ready-to-use (RTU) pesticides, applied per location and per application; (viii) the purpose of the pesticide application, the pesticide target site, and pest to be treated; (ix) the name, commercial pesticide business address, and commercial pesticide applicator license number of the certified commercial pesticide applicator who applied the pesticides; and (c) Records shall be kept for a period of at least two years from the date of the pesticide application and shall be available for inspection by the department upon request. (d) Records shall be furnished in a uniform format.”

This is the enforceable service-record specification for Utah: nine elements, recorded within 24 hours, retained at least two years, inspectable on request. A facility reviewing a vendor’s service tickets can check them against this list directly.

Aerial and air-blast restriction — R68-7-19(8), verbatim:

“No pesticides shall be applied by aircraft or air blast sprayers to property abutting or adjacent to schools in session, hospitals, nursing homes, or other similar establishments, when occupied, under conditions that may result in contamination of these establishments or their premises.”

The rule names schools, hospitals, and nursing homes here. It does not name correctional facilities.

What It Means in Plain Language

R68-7 sets the legal floor for who may apply pesticides in Utah. The category most directly relevant to a jail or prison is Category 7. The rule’s own definition, at R68-7-7(7), verbatim:

“This category includes applicators applying pesticides in, on, or around any public or private food handling establishment; dwelling, educational institution, or medical institution; industrial building; business establishment; packing house; food-processing facility; prison; manufacturing facility; grain elevator; or any other structure or area, or immediately adjacent structure or area, to control pests. This category excludes any pesticide applications included in Subsection R68-7-7(13) Fumigation Pest Control and Subsection R68-7-7(15) Wood Destroying Organisms Pest Control. This category includes applicators applying pesticides on vertebrate pests in buildings and structures, and immediately adjacent to, or no further than three feet from, buildings and structures. If the label for a structural pesticide permits the use of the pesticide more than three feet from the structure, then the pesticide may be used beyond three feet from the structure, but may not exceed the maximum distance permitted by the label.”

The operative word for corrections is “prison.” The definition names it expressly. A county jail is not named; the definition’s closing reach, “any other structure or area,” is the text that covers it.

The R68-7 framework is the legal baseline. It is not interchangeable with BCE professional credentialing:

• State pesticide applicator licensure confers the legal authority to apply pesticides commercially
• BCE professional credentialing confers the professional credential to design programs, audit operations, supervise other applicators, and sign off on technical documentation

Who It Applies To

R68-7 applies to all commercial and non-commercial pesticide applicators operating in Utah. For correctional facilities:

• Contracted pest management providers serving Utah jails and prisons apply for compensation, so they are commercial applicators and need current Utah commercial licensure in the categories that match the work
• Facility employees applying restricted use pesticides need a non-commercial applicator license. The rule names government employers expressly (verbatim below).
• Government employees fall within Category 8’s non-commercial branch only in government-sponsored public health programs

R68-7-2(8), verbatim:

“(8) “Non-commercial pesticide applicator” means any person working as an employee of any entity, firm, or government agency who uses or demonstrates the use of any restricted use pesticide on the entity’s property, or any property occupied, managed, or under the direction or authority of any entity, firm, or government agency, and does not require a commercial pesticide applicator’s license.”

R68-7-12(1), verbatim:

“(1) Non-Commercial Pesticide Applicator License Required. (a) A non-commercial pesticide applicator license is required for applying restricted use pesticides for a city, county, state, or federal government entity, or for corporations, businesses, or any other entity that does not require a commercial pesticide applicator license. (b) No person shall purchase, use, or demonstrate the use of any restricted use pesticide without becoming certified and obtaining a non-commercial pesticide applicator license issued by the department. (c) Each person performing the physical act of applying restricted use pesticides shall be certified and have a valid non-commercial pesticide applicator license.”

General-use products applied by staff. The commercial license requirement, R68-7-9(1)(a), reads in full:

“(a) Each person performing the physical act of applying a pesticide, shall be certified by the department and have a valid license issued by the department. No person shall apply, advertise for, solicit, or hold oneself out as willing to engage in the business of applying any pesticide for hire or compensation to the land or property of another at any time without becoming certified as a pesticide applicator, obtaining a commercial pesticide applicator license, and: (i) obtaining a commercial pesticide business license, as described in Section 4-14-111 issued by the department; or (ii) working for a company that has already obtained a commercial pesticide business license.”

The second sentence is limited to work “for hire or compensation to the land or property of another,” which a county or state employee treating the employer’s own facility is not doing. The first sentence is not worded with that limit, and sits under the subsection heading “Commercial Pesticide Applicator and Commercial Pesticide Business License Required.” This reference has not obtained UDAF’s reading of how the first sentence applies to a public employee applying general-use products in the employer’s own building, and does not state one. A facility relying on staff application should confirm it with UDAF in writing.

Documentation Evidence

For a Utah correctional facility contracting pest management:

• Verification of the applicator’s current Utah commercial license with the certification categories that match the scope of work (Category 7 for structural work; Category 12 for outdoor vertebrate work beyond three feet; Category 15 for wood-destroying organisms)
• Pesticide application records meeting all nine elements of R68-7-11(11)(b), recorded within 24 hours and retained at least two years
• Documentation of the verification in the contractor file

How It Is Enforced

UDAF conducts compliance inspections of licensed pesticide applicators and complaint investigations. The facility’s own responsibility is to contract with appropriately licensed applicators and to keep evidence that it verified their credentials.

Confidence Notes

HIGH confidence as of September 24, 2026. The quotations from R68-7-7(7), R68-7-11(10), R68-7-11(11), and R68-7-19(8) were first verified on September 12, 2026, against a capture shared with the companion Healthcare Pest Reference. On September 24, 2026, every quotation on this page, including R68-7-2(8), R68-7-9(1)(a), and R68-7-12(1), was checked against a fresh capture of the rule from the Utah Office of Administrative Rules.

Rule currency: Date of Last Change September 7, 2022; Notice of Continuation November 17, 2025. A 2022 rule that received a Notice of Continuation in 2025 is current, not stale — the continuation is Utah’s five-year review confirming the rule remains in force.

Related Killed Claims

• “Utah pesticide applicator licensure is interchangeable with BCE professional credentialing.” Disconfirmed. State applicator licensure is the legal floor for pesticide application. BCE is a separate voluntary professional credential. The two confer different authorities and serve different purposes.
• “UDAF’s Category 7 definition names ‘institutions such as schools, hospitals.’” Disconfirmed on September 12, 2026. R68-7-7(7) says “dwelling, educational institution, or medical institution.” The phrase “institutions such as schools, hospitals” does not appear in R68-7.
• “The CEU requirement is at R68-7-11(10)(b)(ii).” Disconfirmed. It is at R68-7-11(10)(c)(ii). Subsection (10)(b) is the requirement to recertify before expiry; (10)(c) lists the two recertification options, and the CEU option is (c)(ii).