Catherine Bowman
Pesticide Management Compliance
Are you or do you want to distribute, sell, barter, or supply pesticides online in Washington State? If yes, read on. Here’s what you should know.
First, you need a Pesticide Dealer license if you’re distributing any pesticides in Washington other than those for “home and garden use only” an actual legal definition determined by WSDA.
Second, a Pesticide Dealer may only distribute pesticides in Washington that are registered with WSDA and it’s the Pesticide Dealer’s responsibility to make sure products offered for sale in our state are registered.
Finally, to buy what are known as Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs) as defined by the federal government or the state, you must be certified, or licensed, by WSDA.
Maintaining this license requires you to keep sales records for pesticides, except, once again, those classified by WSDA as being for “home and garden use only.” These records must be maintained for seven years. You can learn more about recordkeeping on our website.
What is a pesticide?
Pesticides include, but are not limited to:
- Any substance or mix of substances intended to prevent, destroy, control, repel, or mitigate any insect, rodent, snail, slug, fungus, weed, and any other form of plant, animal life or virus. The exceptions are viruses in people or in an animal that’s already a pest .
- Any substance or mix of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant, something inducing dryness.
- Any spray adjuvant, which is a substance added to a spray tank to improve pesticide performance.
Be familiar with legal requirements for doing business in Washington State. Most companies, including out-of-state businesses, need some type of business registration or licensing through the State Department of Revenue’s (DOR) Business Licensing Service. For more information, visit DOR’s Doing business page.
If you are distributing pesticide products other than for home and garden use, you will need to complete the Agricultural Addendum to become licensed as a Pesticide Dealer.
For the answer to “Which pesticides in the state of Washington require a license to purchase and apply them?” see Selling Pesticides Online under that question heading.
With questions regarding the Business License or Pesticide Dealer licenses, contact DOR’s Business Licensing Service at 800-451-7985.
Questions?
Give WSDA a call at 877-301-4555. From the menu options, select:
- “Licensing” for questions about pesticide licensing.
- “Laws” for questions about recordkeeping or distribution of RUPs.
- “Registration” for questions about registration of pesticides and classification as home and garden use only.
Image courtesy of sixninepixels at FreeDigitalPhotos.net