How to Check a Florida Pest Control License

What does Chapter 482 cover?

Chapter 482, Florida Statutes, is the state law under which structural pest control is licensed. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services runs the licensing through its Bureau of Licensing and Enforcement, and the chapter sets out who may perform the work and in which categories.

Florida draws a line between structural pest control, licensed under Chapter 482, and pesticide applicator work, which sits under Chapter 487. Most homeowner calls about roaches, termites, rodents and wasps concern structural work, but some jobs also involve applicator rules. Ask which chapter, and therefore which licence, covers the job named on the quote.

The Bureau of Licensing and Enforcement is the part of FDACS that handles licensing and enforcement. It is the office to ask when a licence question cannot be answered from the public record, and its contact page lists how to reach it. This guide does not print a phone number, because numbers on public lists change.

The statute itself is public. Section 482.111 covers certified operators and is short enough to read in a few minutes. This guide summarises the rules a homeowner needs, and it does not replace the law. Where the statute and this page differ, the statute governs.

What is a Certified Operator?

A Certified Operator has passed the state examination in one or more of four categories and is the person in charge of a licensed business location. Under section 482.111, a certified operator may be in charge at only one licensed business location.

The four categories are general household and rodent, lawn and ornamental, termite and other wood-destroying organisms, and fumigation. Passing one category does not qualify a person for the others, so a technician certified for lawn work is not automatically the right person for a termite report.

The single-location rule matters when you check a company. A certified operator named on a licence should be in charge at only one location. Ask who is in charge at the business that is sending the technician, and check that name against the licence record rather than against a business card.

Ask for the operator's certificate and the technician's identification card, and do not accept a verbal assurance in place of either. Keep a copy of each document with the date you saw it, so there is a record if the details change later.

If the operator in charge changes, the licence record should show the change. Ask when the named operator last changed and whether the record was updated. A business whose records are current should be able to say so without difficulty, and a hesitant answer is a reason to check the record yourself.

How do I check a company's licence with FDACS?

Use the FDACS licensing site to look up the licence, and check that the business name, the licence type and the operator in charge match what the technician tells you. The record is the source to rely on, not a copy of a certificate.

Start with the business name. Ask for the exact name that appears on the invoice and on any licence, then search for it on the FDACS licensing site, which is linked in the sources list below. A match on a similar name is not the same as a match on the licence.

Compare what the record shows with what you were told. The licence type should cover the work on the quote, and the operator named should be the person in charge. If the record and the sales conversation disagree, stop and ask again before anyone is allowed on the property.

Keep a printout or a screenshot with the date you checked. If the company asks for its licence number, let it show the number on the phone or in writing first, and note the date. The record you saved is the proof you checked, so write the date down in the same place.

How long does a certificate last?

A 2024 FDACS memo describes certificates as expiring one year after issue and being renewed annually. Because rules change, the practical step is to check the current status on the record itself, not to rely on an old certificate or a date you were shown.

The memo concerns a 2024 change (SB 1084, effective July 1, 2024), and it is the document to read if you want the detail. This guide does not summarise the change beyond the point that matters to a homeowner, which is that the status should be current on the day the work is done.

A certificate on a wall or a card kept in a truck is a copy. Check the licence record, which is the source FDACS maintains, and treat the paper as a convenience rather than as the proof.

If a technician says a licence is being renewed, or describes a status you cannot confirm, ask for that status in writing and check it on the FDACS record before you agree to any work.

What is a WDO inspection, and who must do it?

A wood-destroying organism inspection is a distinct category in Florida. When a real-estate transaction involves a fee or a written report, the inspection must be done by a qualified person under Chapter 482 and reported on FDACS Form 13645, with the inspector's WDO designation on the state identification card.

Florida treats termite and other wood-destroying organism work as its own category. The certified operator categories include it, and the inspection for a real-estate sale is a separate job from a routine pest visit, with its own form and its own qualification.

Section 482.226 and Rule 5E-14.142 of the Florida Administrative Code set the framework for that report. Licensees may not add disclaimers to Form 13645, so any limit on the inspection has to be explained in the scope and the conversation. Read the form in full before you rely on it.

If you are the buyer, ask who will sign the report and check the designation on their card. If you are the seller, the same check applies, because the form is the document the next owner will read and rely on.

What should I do if a licence does not check out?

Stop before any work begins, ask the company for the licence details in writing, and check them with FDACS directly. Do not let a technician start while the paperwork is promised for later, and keep copies of every document you are shown.

Write down what was said. The business name, the technician's name, the operator in charge and the date you checked are the minimum. If the company will not provide those details, that is an answer in itself, and it is one to act on.

Ask the company to explain the gap. A gap can be an administrative lag, a name that does not match, or a licence that covers a different category from the work you need. Each has a different fix, and only the company can say which one applies.

Do not commit to a figure while the licence is unclear. The price is confirmed on site before any work begins, so there is no reason to agree to a number until the licence question has a written answer.

If the company cannot resolve the question, do not treat the matter as settled by a promise. Keep the invoices and your notes, and ask FDACS directly what the record shows. The record, not the company's explanation, is the thing to rely on when you decide whether to go ahead.

What should I keep on file after a visit?

Keep the licence record you checked, the quote, the written scope, the invoices and any inspection report, all dated. Together they show what was licensed, what was agreed and what was done, which is the trail you will need if a question comes up later.

Start with the licence record. A printout or saved copy of the FDACS record, with the date you checked it, shows that you verified the company before work began. Note the business name exactly as it appears on the record, because that is the name to match against the invoice.

Keep the written scope and each invoice together. The scope names the work and the method, and the invoice should match it. A mismatch between the two is worth raising straight away, while the technician who did the work can still explain it.

Keep the inspection report, if one was made, in the same folder. For a real-estate transaction the form is a state form, and the copy you keep is the one a future buyer or insurer will read, so keep it complete, including any notes on what could not be reached.