What information goes on a pesticide application record

The minimum list in EPA's rule

In the United States the baseline comes from EPA's applicator certification rule. Under 40 CFR 171.303, every state certification plan must require certified commercial applicators to record, for each restricted-use pesticide application, at least: the name and address of the person the application was made for; the location of the application; the size of the area treated; the crop, commodity, stored product or site treated; the time and date; the brand or product name; the EPA registration number; the total amount applied per location per application; and the name and certification number of the certified applicator who made or supervised it, plus the name of any noncertified applicator working under direct supervision.

The same list ends with a pointer to records showing that each noncertified applicator working under supervision is qualified, which are kept under a separate section of the rule, 40 CFR 171.201. States can ask for more than this minimum, and the examples below show how much more.

The registration number deserves a sentence of its own. EPA's label review training calls it the single most important piece of information for tracking pesticide products. It follows the words 'EPA Reg. No.' and is made of a company number, a hyphen and a product number. It is not the EPA establishment number, which follows 'EPA Est.' and identifies the facility where the product was produced or labeled.

What Florida asks for

Florida's rule 5E-9.032, for licensed pesticide applicators, lists ten items for each restricted-use application: the name and license number of the licensee responsible; the name of the person who actually applied it; the date with start and end times; the location of the treatment site; the crop, commodity or type of target site; the total size of the treatment site; the brand name and EPA registration number; the total amount of formulated product applied; the application method; and, when the property is not the licensee's own, the name of the person who requested or authorized the application.

The location can be recorded several ways, including county, range, township and section; maps or written descriptions that distinguish the site; the legal property description; or GPS coordinates. The size can be in acres, square feet, acre-feet, number of animals treated or another suitable unit. Information that repeats on every record can be written once, with a written note saying which records it applies to.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services publishes a two-page suggested recordkeeping document built around these fields. It also marks the items the federal Worker Protection Standard needs for agricultural applications, such as active ingredients and the restricted-entry interval.

What New South Wales asks for

The NSW EPA's list for everyone who uses pesticides at work covers who applied it (name, address and phone numbers, plus the employer's details for a contractor or employee); the date; the full product name; the situation, such as rooms in a house; the total amount of mix made up and used, the rate of application and the area covered; the property address with the treated area delineated, for example on a sketch; and, when spraying outdoors through the air, an estimate of wind strength and direction.

The EPA is specific about the product name. 'Glyphosate' is not enough; the record needs the product name from the label, in the way 'Bloggs Glyphosate 360 Herbicide' identifies one product. Wind can be estimated without instruments, for example with the Beaufort scale, but significant weather changes during the job need to be noted as well. If a label restricts use by temperature, humidity or expected rain, record that condition too.

Licensed pesticide users add the equipment used, the times they started and finished, and the name and contact details of the owner or occupier. Licensed users who treat several areas in one job also record the order in which they were treated, although the EPA says this does not apply to pest management technicians.

Extra details Washington asks of pest control operators

Washington's WAC 16-228-1320 shows how far a state can go. On top of the customer, the location, the product name and EPA registration number, and the date with start and stop times, it asks for the wind direction, the estimated wind speed in miles per hour and the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, taken close to the application site. That weather requirement does not apply to bait stations, applications inside structures, or drip and subsurface irrigation.

For the PCO classification the rule wants the pests to be controlled, and the amount applied to the nearest ounce of product or the nearest gallon of liquid spray per site. Every record also needs the concentration applied, such as product per 100 gallons or a percentage in the tank mix, the apparatus license plate number, the applicator's license number, address and phone number, and for commercial applications the firm's name and address.

Common gaps that draw warnings

In July 2026 the NSW EPA reported on a campaign in North-West NSW that reviewed nearly 170 spray records from landholders and sprayers and led to 19 advisory letters and eight formal warnings. It said the warnings were mainly for poor record keeping: not recording the full product name, or missing details about spray areas, dates and weather conditions.

A generic product name. Active ingredient names are shared by many products. Write the product name as it appears on the label, and the EPA registration number where your rules use one.

An address instead of the treated area. Rules ask where the pesticide went, not only whose property it was. Florida lists ways to describe the treatment site, and NSW asks for the treated area to be delineated.

Mixing up concentrate and mix. Florida's rule asks for the total amount of formulated product, while NSW asks for the total mix plus the application rate. A record that shows both the dilution and the total mix lets anyone work out the product used: 3.6 gallons of mix at 0.5 fluid ounces per gallon is 1.8 fluid ounces of product.

Leaving out the weather. NSW and Washington both ask for wind on outdoor spray jobs, and it is easy to forget once you are back in the truck. A field on the record that asks the question is the simplest fix. SprayTicket, for example, puts wind and temperature on every application ticket next to the product, EPA registration number, amount, dilution and area treated, and turns the ticket into a PDF copy for the customer.

This guide summarizes published rules as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. The fields you must record depend on your license category and jurisdiction. The product label is the law: follow its directions, and check with your state or territory regulator for the exact record you must keep.

Frequently asked questions