Exterminator Training

To become a certified exterminator, you must:

  1. Complete the application form and return it with payment of $165.00 to Ontario Pesticide Training and Certification, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus
  2. Review the study materials that will be sent to you. You will receive a Core Manual which contains information relevant to all exterminators and a Licence Category Specific Module which contains information relevant to each new licence class.
  3. Schedule for and write the certification examination at a convenient date and location in your area. The certification exam is multiple-choice and is made up of two parts. Each part is 50 questions long. The Core Manual exam is one-hour, closed book; the Licence Category Specific Module exam is one and a half hours, open book. (Details come with your study materials).
  4. Successfully complete the exam with a pass mark of 75% or greater on both parts of the exam. You will then receive a letter of certification; you must send a copy of this letter to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) when you apply for a Pesticide Exterminator licence.

You must apply to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for your Pesticide Exterminator Licence within one year of obtaining certification. The licence fee is $90 for five years.

If you fail on your first exam attempt, you have one year to rewrite the exam. You are allowed a maximum of two more attempts during the 12 months, with no more than two attempts in any six month period. The exam rewrite fee for failures is $40.00.

If you are already licensed/certified as an exterminator/applicator in another province or territory, and you wish to become licensed as an exterminator in Ontario, you must:

  1. Complete the order form for the purchase of Ontario exterminator study materials (the Core Manual which contains information relevant to all exterminators and a Licence Category Specific Module which contains information relevant to the licence class you already hold).
  2. Read and review the study materials that will be sent to you.
  3. Become knowledgeable about the legislation and regulations that govern the practice of the occupation of exterminators in Ontario. Copies of the Pesticides Act and Ontario Regulation 63/09 can be downloaded from http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/index.html
  4. Complete a form from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment indicating that you have obtained and are knowledgeable about the relevant materials.
  5. Have your home province or territory (the out-of-province regulatory authority) sign and complete a form indicating that your licence/certification has not been expired, or been cancelled or revoked. The form is available from the MOE. Alternatively, the out-of-province regulatory authority can write a letter on their letterhead providing the same information.
  6. Submit these forms along with a copy of your exisiting licence/certificate and receipt of the training materials to the MOE's Standard Development Branch.

Contact the Ontario Ministry of the Environment Standards Development Branch at 416-327-5519 for more information and to obtain the forms.