Pesticide applicator recertification and supervising noncertified applicators practice questions
20 free practice questions from 40 CFR 171.107, 171.201 and Subpart D. Each answer is explained and linked to the rule it comes from.
Pesticide applicator recertification and supervising noncertified applicators
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Certification period and recertification
1. A certified commercial applicator will recertify by written examination. Under 171.107(b)(1), the examination must be designed to evaluate whether the applicator demonstrates which level of competency?
- A. The level required by 171.105 for private applicators
- B. The level required by 171.103 for commercial applicators
- C. The level required of noncertified applicators under 171.201
- D. A level set by the applicator's employer
Show answer
Answer: B. The level required by 171.103 for commercial applicators
The examination must be "designed to evaluate whether the certified applicator demonstrates the level of competency required by § 171.103 for commercial applicators or § 171.105 for private applicators." It must also "conform to the applicable standards for examinations set forth in § 171.103(a)(2)".
Source: eCFR: 40 CFR 171.107, Standards for recertification of certified applicators (as of Nov 4, 2026)
2. A State certifying authority wants its applicators to recertify more often than the federal certification period. What does 171.107(a) say about this?
- A. A certifying authority may establish a shorter certification period.
- B. Only EPA may set a certification period other than the federal one.
- C. A certifying authority may shorten the period only for commercial applicators.
- D. A certifying authority may change the period only if it uses continuing education.
Show answer
Answer: A. A certifying authority may establish a shorter certification period.
171.107(a) states: "A certifying authority may establish a shorter certification period."
Source: eCFR: 40 CFR 171.107, Standards for recertification of certified applicators (as of Nov 4, 2026)
3. For a certified applicator's certification to continue without interruption, when must the applicator be recertified under 171.107?
- A. Within 90 days after the current certification expires
- B. Within 12 months after the current certification expires
- C. At the next exam session offered after the certification expires
- D. Before the expiration of his or her current certification
Show answer
Answer: D. Before the expiration of his or her current certification
171.107(a): to continue without interruption, "the certified applicator must be recertified under this section before the expiration of his or her current certification."
Source: eCFR: 40 CFR 171.107, Standards for recertification of certified applicators (as of Nov 4, 2026)
4. An applicator plans to recertify through an online continuing education course. Under 171.107(b)(2)(iii), what must the certifying authority ensure that such a course includes?
- A. A proctored final exam at a testing center
- B. A minimum of eight hours of instruction
- C. A process to verify the applicator's successful completion of the course or event
- D. A printed certificate mailed to the applicator's employer
Show answer
Answer: C. A process to verify the applicator's successful completion of the course or event
Under 171.107(b)(2)(iii), any continuing education course or event, "including an online or other distance education course or event," relied upon for recertification must include "a process to verify the applicator's successful completion of the course or event."
Source: eCFR: 40 CFR 171.107, Standards for recertification of certified applicators (as of Nov 4, 2026)
Supervisors, scope and exceptions
5. To whom does 171.201 apply?
- A. Any person who sells restricted use pesticides to noncertified persons
- B. Any noncertified person who uses general use pesticides at work
- C. Any certified applicator who allows or relies on a noncertified applicator to use a restricted use pesticide under the certified applicator's direct supervision
- D. Only commercial applicators who employ noncertified applicators full time
Show answer
Answer: C. Any certified applicator who allows or relies on a noncertified applicator to use a restricted use pesticide under the certified applicator's direct supervision
171.201(a): "This section applies to any certified applicator who allows or relies on a noncertified applicator to use a restricted use pesticide under the certified applicator's direct supervision."
6. A certified applicator will supervise a noncertified applicator's use of a restricted use pesticide. Under 171.201(b)(1)(ii), in which categories must the certified applicator be certified?
- A. In each category applicable to the supervised pesticide use
- B. In any one category, regardless of the supervised use
- C. In the category the noncertified applicator's employer holds
- D. Only in the category that covers the supervisor's own applications
Show answer
Answer: A. In each category applicable to the supervised pesticide use
171.201(b)(1)(ii): "The certified applicator must be certified in each category as set forth in §§ 171.101 and 171.105(a) through (f) applicable to the supervised pesticide use."
7. Under 171.303(a)(7), what may a State certification plan do instead of including standards for direct supervision of noncertified applicators?
- A. Leave supervision rules to each employer
- B. Adopt supervision standards below those in 171.201 for private applicators
- C. Allow noncertified use without supervision standards when the label permits it
- D. State that use by noncertified applicators is not permitted
Show answer
Answer: D. State that use by noncertified applicators is not permitted
The plan must include supervision standards that "meet or exceed those standards prescribed by the Agency under § 171.201, or must state that use by noncertified applicators is not permitted."
Source: eCFR: 40 CFR 171.303, Requirements for State certification plans (as of Nov 4, 2026)
What each noncertified applicator must meet
8. A 16-year-old will use a restricted use pesticide under the direct supervision of a parent who is a certified private applicator. Which of these is one of the conditions in 171.201(b)(2)(iii) that must be met?
- A. The application is made only outside school hours
- B. The restricted use pesticide is not a fumigant, sodium cyanide, or sodium fluoroacetate
- C. The noncertified applicator holds a State learner's permit
- D. The application is made aerially only with the parent on board
Show answer
Answer: B. The restricted use pesticide is not a fumigant, sodium cyanide, or sodium fluoroacetate
The 16-year minimum applies only if all listed requirements are met, including that "The restricted use pesticide is not a fumigant, sodium cyanide, or sodium fluoroacetate."
9. What time period does 171.201(b)(2)(ii) set for the noncertified applicator's instruction in the safe operation of the equipment he or she will use?
- A. Within the last five years
- B. Within the last three years
- C. At any time before the first use, with no time limit
- D. Within the last 12 months
Show answer
Answer: D. Within the last 12 months
The noncertified applicator must have "been instructed within the last 12 months in the safe operation of any equipment he or she will use for mixing, loading, transferring, or applying pesticides."
10. Which of these is one of the qualifications in 171.201(c) that a noncertified applicator may meet before using a restricted use pesticide under direct supervision?
- A. Having met the training requirements for an agricultural handler under 40 CFR 170.501 within the last 12 months
- B. Having worked for the supervising applicator's business for at least six months
- C. Having read the product label in the presence of the supervisor
- D. Having watched another worker make the same application
Show answer
Answer: A. Having met the training requirements for an agricultural handler under 40 CFR 170.501 within the last 12 months
One listed qualification is: "The noncertified applicator has met the training requirements for an agricultural handler under 40 CFR 170.501 of this title within the last 12 months."
Conditions for each supervised use
11. The labeling of a restricted use pesticide requires personal protective equipment for mixing and loading. Under 171.201(b)(3)(ii), what must the supervising certified applicator ensure for a noncertified applicator doing that work?
- A. That the noncertified applicator chooses equipment the supervisor considers equivalent to the labeling
- B. That the noncertified applicator signs a statement accepting the risk
- C. That the noncertified applicator has clean, labeling-required personal protective equipment in proper operating condition, worn and used correctly for its intended purpose
- D. That the equipment is inspected by the State once a year
Show answer
Answer: C. That the noncertified applicator has clean, labeling-required personal protective equipment in proper operating condition, worn and used correctly for its intended purpose
171.201(b)(3)(ii): the certified applicator "must ensure that any noncertified applicator has clean, labeling-required personal protective equipment in proper operating condition and that the personal protective equipment is worn and used correctly for its intended purpose."
12. A certified applicator supervises a noncertified applicator working at a field several miles away, and the product labeling does not require the certified applicator to be physically present. Under 171.201(b)(3)(v), what must the certified applicator ensure is available to the noncertified applicator?
- A. A second certified applicator who stays at the field
- B. A means to immediately communicate with the certified applicator
- C. A copy of the certified applicator's certification credential
- D. A written statement from the State lead agency approving the absence
Show answer
Answer: B. A means to immediately communicate with the certified applicator
171.201(b)(3)(v): "The certified applicator must ensure that a means to immediately communicate with the certified applicator is available to each noncertified applicator using restricted use pesticides under his or her direct supervision."
13. Under 171.201(b)(3)(iv), when must the certified applicator ensure that equipment a noncertified applicator uses for mixing, loading, transferring, or applying pesticides is in proper operating condition as intended by the manufacturer?
- A. Before each day of use
- B. Once at the start of each season
- C. Once a month
- D. Only when the equipment is first purchased
Show answer
Answer: A. Before each day of use
171.201(b)(3)(iv): "The certified applicator must ensure that before each day of use equipment used for mixing, loading, transferring, or applying pesticides is in proper operating condition as intended by the manufacturer".
Noncertified applicator training
14. Which of these is one of the criteria in 171.201(d)(2) that the person who conducts noncertified applicator training may meet?
- A. Having at least two years of field experience as a crew supervisor
- B. Having completed the noncertified applicator training as a trainee
- C. Being employed by the registrant of the pesticide product used
- D. Being currently designated as a trainer of certified applicators or pesticide handlers by EPA, the certifying authority, or a State, Tribal, or Federal agency having jurisdiction
Show answer
Answer: D. Being currently designated as a trainer of certified applicators or pesticide handlers by EPA, the certifying authority, or a State, Tribal, or Federal agency having jurisdiction
One listed criterion is to "Be currently designated as a trainer of certified applicators or pesticide handlers by EPA, the certifying authority, or a State, Tribal, or Federal agency having jurisdiction."
15. Noncertified applicator training is presented audiovisually. What does 171.201(d)(1) require of the person conducting the training?
- A. To be reachable by phone within 24 hours of the session
- B. To give each trainee a written test afterward
- C. To be present during the entire training program and respond to the noncertified applicators' questions
- D. To send the training video to the certifying authority
Show answer
Answer: C. To be present during the entire training program and respond to the noncertified applicators' questions
171.201(d)(1): "The person conducting the training must be present during the entire training program and must respond to the noncertified applicators' questions."
Supervision records
16. Under 171.201(e)(3), where, and for how long, must a supervising commercial applicator have access to the records documenting a noncertified applicator's qualifications?
- A. At the application site, for 12 months from the date of training
- B. At the commercial applicator's principal place of business, for two years from the date the noncertified applicator used the restricted use pesticide
- C. At the State lead agency, for five years from the date of certification
- D. At the commercial applicator's principal place of business, for one year from the date of hire
Show answer
Answer: B. At the commercial applicator's principal place of business, for two years from the date the noncertified applicator used the restricted use pesticide
171.201(e)(3): the commercial applicator "must have access to records" documenting the required information "at the commercial applicator's principal place of business for two years from the date the noncertified applicator used the restricted use pesticide."
17. Under 171.201(e)(2), when must a commercial applicator create or verify the existence of the record of a noncertified applicator's qualifications?
- A. Within 30 days after the noncertified applicator first uses the pesticide
- B. By the end of the application season
- C. Only when a State inspector asks for it
- D. Before allowing the noncertified applicator to use restricted use pesticides under his or her direct supervision
Show answer
Answer: D. Before allowing the noncertified applicator to use restricted use pesticides under his or her direct supervision
171.201(e)(2): the commercial applicator must create or verify the record "before allowing the noncertified applicator to use restricted use pesticides under his or her direct supervision."
Validity and other jurisdictions' certifications
18. Under 171.301(a), where is a certification issued under a particular certifying authority's certification plan valid?
- A. Only within the geographical area specified in the certification plan approved by the Agency
- B. In every State, Tribe and Federal agency program
- C. Anywhere in the United States for private applicators only
- D. Anywhere the applicator's employer does business
Show answer
Answer: A. Only within the geographical area specified in the certification plan approved by the Agency
171.301(a): such a certification "is only valid within the geographical area specified in the certification plan approved by the Agency."
Indian country and EPA-administered programs
19. A crew will use a restricted use pesticide in an area of Indian country. Under 171.307, which of these is one of the ways an applicator there may use it?
- A. Holding a certification from any State, whether or not it is valid in that area of Indian country
- B. Holding a certification that expired within the last 12 months
- C. Working under the direct supervision of a certified applicator whose certification is valid in that area of Indian country
- D. Working under the direct supervision of a certified applicator whose certification is not valid in that area of Indian country
Show answer
Answer: C. Working under the direct supervision of a certified applicator whose certification is valid in that area of Indian country
171.307: applicators in Indian country "must hold a certification valid in that area of Indian country, or be working under the direct supervision of a certified applicator whose certification is valid in that area of Indian country."
Source: eCFR: 40 CFR 171.307, Certification of applicators in Indian country (as of Nov 4, 2026)
20. Under 171.311(b)(3), in an area where EPA administers the certification plan, for what uses may a noncertified applicator use a restricted use pesticide under direct supervision?
- A. For any use, if the label permits it
- B. Only for uses in categories authorized by the supervising certified applicator's certification
- C. For any use the noncertified applicator has been trained for
- D. Only for uses the State lead agency has approved in writing
Show answer
Answer: B. Only for uses in categories authorized by the supervising certified applicator's certification
171.311(b)(3): a noncertified applicator may use a restricted use pesticide only under direct supervision "and only for uses in categories authorized by that certified applicator's certification."
Source: eCFR: 40 CFR 171.311, EPA-administered applicator certification programs (as of Nov 4, 2026)