What has to be on a lawn pesticide notice and posting sign

Two pieces: the sign on the lawn and the notice for the customer

State lawn rules usually split the job in two. A sign goes on the lawn for anyone walking past, and a written notice goes to the customer who hired you. The sign says the lawn was treated. The notice says what was put down, when, and what the label asks of the people who live there. Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin require both, and they disagree on almost every detail.

There is no single national format. The National Pesticide Information Center notes that notification laws differ across the country and sends people to their state pesticide regulatory agency for specifics. The three states below spell out the sign and the notice item by item in their rule texts; elsewhere, the same questions apply but the answers come from your own state's rule.

Ohio: Administrative Code 901:5-11-09

Ohio's rule covers commercial applicators and trained servicepersons applying lawn pesticides to residential lawns in a municipal corporation or a subdivided area of a township, with parallel rules for commercial and public lawns. Before or at the time of the application, the customer must get in writing the brand or common name of each lawn pesticide, the chemical type (fungicide, herbicide or insecticide), any special instruction on the label that applies to the customer, the company name and telephone number, the date and time, and any other pertinent information the label requires.

The written information must also carry one sentence word for word: "Lawn posting signs must remain in place for twenty-four hours following lawn application." If the customer is absent or cannot be reached, the rule allows the information to be left at the residence or business, which is what a door hanger does.

The sign must be at least five by four inches on a dowel or other support, with its bottom edge at least fourteen inches off the ground, and weatherproof for twenty-four hours. It must use the wording and warning symbol illustrated in the rule, with no company logo or advertising on its face, and stand within five feet of each access point where it is posted. Employees of the business may not remove it for twenty-four hours. Separately, abutting neighbors who ask in writing must get a reasonable attempt at notice of the date and approximate time on or before the business day before.

Michigan: Regulation 637, Rules 11 and 12

Michigan's posting rule, R 285.637.11, applies when a commercial applicator makes a broadcast, foliar or space application to a turf or ornamental site other than a golf course or farm; it does not apply to general-use ready-to-use pesticides. Immediately after the application, a lawn marker goes at the primary point or points of entry.

The marker is specified down to the type size: 4 inches high by 5 inches wide, rigid and weather-resistant, its bottom at least 12 inches above the turf, printed identically on both sides in green letters on white. It carries only "CAUTION", "Pesticide Application", "Keep Off Until Dry", a circle at least 2 inches across showing an adult and child walking a dog with a diagonal line through it, and "Customer: Please Remove After 24 Hours". You must also tell the customer the markers should stay up 24 hours and then be removed.

Rule 12, R 285.637.12, sets the written information: the firm's name, address and phone number, the applicator's full name, a general description of the target pests, the pesticides applied including the common name of the active ingredient, the time and date, and the label's precautionary warnings or reentry restrictions. It is due no later than the time of each application, or electronically within 48 hours if the customer approved that in writing beforehand.

Wisconsin: ATCP 29.56 and ATCP 29.22

Wisconsin flips Michigan's timing: under ATCP 29.56, warning signs go up before the application. Each is at least 8½ by 11 inches and professionally printed in red lettering on a white background, in the format the rule specifies, though the removal date may be written by hand, with at least one visible from each point where people are likely to walk onto the treated area. No one may remove the signs until sunset of the day after the application, or sunset of the day the label's restricted entry interval ends, whichever is later.

When the application is completed, the customer gets the items in ATCP 29.22: a phone number, the name and license number of each person who made or directly supervised the application, the site and its location, the date and approximate start and end times, each product's name and EPA registration number, the concentration and total quantity or the amount per unit area and total area, the label's post-application precautions for the customer, and a free label copy or notice that one is available. It can go electronically if the customer consents in writing first.

Wisconsin also keeps a registry of residents who want advance notice of landscape applications near them; registered residents get at least 12 hours' notice. The state revised ATCP 29 in July 2026, with changes that include the aquatic and mosquito certification category and new minimum ages, according to the University of Wisconsin's Pesticide Applicator Training program, so read the current text before you reprint anything.

Common mistakes with lawn notices

One door hanger for every state. A leave-behind written for Michigan has no line for Wisconsin's EPA registration numbers and license numbers, and neither carries Ohio's required sentence about signs. Ohio wants the chemical type, Michigan the target pests and active ingredient, Wisconsin the amount applied. If you cross a state line, the hanger has to change with you.

Texting without the consent the rule asks for. Michigan and Wisconsin both allow electronic delivery only with the customer's written approval or consent given before the application. Ohio's rule speaks of written information and of leaving it at the residence, and does not mention electronic delivery, so ask the Ohio Department of Agriculture before relying on texts alone.

Paraphrasing the label. All three rules ask for the label's own instructions or precautions for the customer. Copy them from the label rather than writing a generic line from memory, especially when the label says more than keep off until dry.

Filling the notice in at night. A notice written from memory after the route is how times and product names go wrong. LawnRound builds the customer notice from the visit at the yard, with presets for Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan, and prints it for the door or sends it by text. The sign on the lawn, and the judgment about what your state requires, stay with you.

This guide summarizes state rule texts and is not legal advice. Rules change and have exceptions not covered here. Read the current rule and the product label, and ask your state's pesticide regulatory agency when you are unsure.

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