Georgia Commercial Applicator Exams for Structural Pest Control

Georgia does not use a single commercial applicator exam that unlocks every structural pest control service. The Structural Pest Control Act (O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 45) and Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. Chapter 620-3 divide individual testing into two tracks: Certified Operator License and Registered Employee. Exams credential people; a Structural Pest Control Company License with designated certified-operator coverage and insurance is still required for for-hire work.

This page is an exam-path deep dive for owner-operators, career changers, hiring managers, and multi-state firms placing staff in Georgia. It complements the Georgia licensing-requirements and technician-registration Phase 2 pages by focusing on what you sit for, eligibility evidence, fees, category choice, and how Georgia’s no-reciprocity stance differs from exam-waiver states. Soft language applies where facts are silent: question counts, closed-book rules, and seating calendars are not inventoried here - confirm those mechanics on current GDA Structural Pest Control materials.

Georgia’s four operational categories - Fumigation (28), Household Pest Control (29), Wood-destroying Organism Control (30), and Honey Bee Control and Removal (HBR) - drive which operator exams you take and which employee registrations you build. Fees, pass scores, experience gates, and CE-exam alternatives below come from GDA credential pages and Chapter 620-3 as verified in the Georgia facts pack (accessed August 2, 2026).

The Certified Operator License authorizes use or supervision of pesticide use in the structural categories held. A company must designate an appropriately certified operator for each operational category offered. Passing exams without a company license - or employment by a licensed company - does not authorize for-hire work.

What you sit for. Pass the General Examination and each category examination sought at 70 percent. Budget $45 per category examination under Chapter 620-3, separate from the $100 operator certification fee for the two-year period (or fraction thereof). Soft language: this guide does not invent question counts or timed-section breakdowns - treat the Act, Commission rules, and category scopes as testable content.

Experience and degree gates. Applicants generally must document either (1) two years of actual service experience in the category sought, with one year within the preceding five years - university specialized category training may substitute at one year of training for one-quarter year of experience - or (2) a recognized college or university degree with advanced training or major in entomology, sanitary or public health engineering, or related subjects, plus one year of actual supervised service experience in the category sought within the preceding five years.

Fumigation extra gate. Category 28 applicants must also submit a list of at least six fumigation treatments in which the applicant participated. Plan that documentation early if fumigation is on your service menu.

After passing. Operator certification renews June 30 of each odd-numbered year. Category competence also sits inside a five-year recertification period with Commission-approved CE or a written-exam alternative.

Match exams to the services you will advertise and supervise.

Category 28 - Fumigation. Application of a fumigant to a structure, enclosed space, or compartment to control insects, rodents, or other pests - plus the six-treatment participation list.

Category 29 - Household Pest Control. Use of pesticide, device, or practice to control pests commonly entering, nesting on/in, or invading structures, other than fumigation. Usual foundation for Atlanta, Savannah, Columbus, and similar metro route businesses; it does not authorize WDO or structural fumigation.

Category 30 - Wood-destroying Organism Control. Measures to control termites, powder post beetles, wood-boring beetles, wood-destroying fungi, and related organisms other than by fumigation. Pair exam passage with higher WDO insurance floors ($100,000 per occurrence / $500,000 aggregate with occurrence-basis E&O) and Chapter 620-6 documentation readiness.

HBR - Honey Bee Control and Removal. Professional control and removal of an established honey bee colony in a structure without pesticides; excludes wasps and hornets. Confirm current HBR exam packaging on GDA credentials materials before marketing a catch-all stinging-pest line.

Each category sought requires its own $45 examination fee and qualification documentation.

Employees who solicit or perform structural pest control work must become Registered Employees unless working in the presence of a certified operator, certified registered employee, or another registered employee until registration requirements are satisfied.

Prerequisites. Complete 10 hours of approved classroom training and 70 hours of supervised on-the-job training in the category, then pass the written exam at 70 percent. Fees: $45 examination plus $10 registration. Licensees must notify GDA about employees who do not become registered within 30 days of employment - build exam scheduling into onboarding.

Category registration. Employees register in the categories they will solicit or perform. Household Pest Control and WDO are the common pairing for Georgia residential firms; fumigation registration belongs only where the company runs a fumigation program under a fumigation-certified operator.

After passing. Credentials renew June 30 of each odd-numbered year. Verified renewal credits over the two-year period are 8 hours Household Pest Control, 8 hours WDO, and 3 hours fumigation (computer-based maximums 4 / 4 / 1), due before March 1 of the second year - or re-examination in the agency-published renewal window. Soft language: a consolidated 2026 rules PDF conflicts with a 10-hour reference in Rule 620-3-.03; this pack follows Rule 620-3-.02 and the GDA registered-employee page - confirm before coaching staff.

Operator cost stack. $45 examination fee per category plus $100 operator certification for the two-year period. Multi-category operators multiply the $45 line by each category sought.

Employee cost stack. $45 examination fee plus $10 registration. Classroom and OJT hours are employer time costs even when the state fee looks small.

Company sequencing. Company license ($100 + $70 research fee) still depends on employing qualified operators. Exams that do not map to designated categories leave the company application incomplete.

Late-renewal cliff. Company and operator renewal fees not received by June 30 are doubled (research fee not subject to the late penalty). A license or certification generally cannot renew more than ninety days after expiration without reexamination or reapplication. Soft language: confirm exact day-count treatment on current Chapter 620-3 and GDA forms.

Scheduling. Confirm examination application pathways, dates, and identification requirements on GDA Structural Pest Control program and credential pages. Exact advance-deadline day counts are not locked in the facts pack.

Georgia’s exam system is also a renewal contingency path.

Operators. Over five years, Commission-approved hours are 25 Household Pest Control, 25 WDO, and 12 fumigation (computer-based maximums 10 / 10 / 5), completed at least ninety days before certification expires - or pass a written examination instead. Budget $45 per category if you use the exam alternative.

Employees. Complete category renewal credits before March 1 of the second year of the registration period, or re-examine in the agency-published renewal window ($45 employee exam fee on the verified schedule).

Do not confuse paths. Entry exams establish initial certification or registration. CE-alternative exams support recertification when hour tracks are incomplete. Approved seminars do not replace category examinations for new operator authority you have never held.

Verified facts mark reciprocity as NONE for operational planning. Although O.C.G.A. § 43-45-8 authorizes reciprocal agreements, GDA states the Commission does not have reciprocal certification agreements with other states.

Out-of-state operators should plan Georgia experience or degree documentation, General and category examinations at $45 each, and the $100 operator certification fee - not an exam-waiver form. An out-of-state structural pest control applicator certification equivalent to the Georgia category can satisfy one documented eligibility option to sit for the certified registered employee examination; that is not operator reciprocity and does not create a company license. No official source reviewed authorizes for-hire structural pest control before Georgia company, operator, and employee credentials are satisfied. Soft language: if the Commission later publishes agreements, re-verify on GDA materials.

Study from official category scopes, the Structural Pest Control Act, and Chapter 620-3. Separate General Examination law-and-safety content from category-specific methods. WDO candidates need termite biology plus awareness that Georgia’s WDO operating rules are detailed - exam passage is necessary but not sufficient for compliant contracts. Fumigation candidates need participation documentation and safety systems.

A clean Georgia startup sequence: (1) decide categories - usually Household Pest Control first; (2) document operator experience or degree evidence and schedule General plus category exams at $45 each; (3) obtain operator certification ($100) and insurance certificates; (4) file the company license ($100 + $70 research fee) with designated operators named by category; (5) hire under presence rules, complete 10 classroom + 70 OJT hours, sit the $45 employee exam, and register at $10. Passing Household Pest Control first can unlock a lawful general-pest launch while you finish WDO documentation and a second category exam.

Facts were last verified August 2, 2026 (next review by February 2, 2027). Re-confirm fees, pass scores, and scheduling on live GDA pages before each exam attempt.