Miami-Dade local guide

How to Verify a Pest Control License in Florida

Updated November 4, 2026

Florida requires every pest control business location to be licensed and run under a certified operator. Here's what Chapter 482 requires, what to ask a provider, and the current rules on rat poison.

In Florida, it's unlawful to run a pest control business without a license from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under Chapter 482 of the Florida Statutes. Each business location needs its own license, and the business has to operate under a certified operator in charge. Rodent work inside buildings falls under the general household pest control category. Every employee who does pest control has to carry an ID card with a photo.

Before anyone sets a trap or a bait station at your house, ask for the business license, the certified operator's name and the technician's ID card, and confirm them with FDACS. This guide explains what each one means and covers the rules on rodenticides.

The business license

Section 482.071 makes it unlawful to operate a pest control business that isn't licensed by the department, and it requires each business location to be licensed. A license can't be issued or renewed unless the business operates under certified operators in charge for the categories it works in.

The same section sets insurance minimums. A licensee must carry bodily injury coverage of at least $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence, and property damage coverage of at least $250,000 per occurrence and $500,000 in the aggregate, or combined single-limit coverage of $500,000 in the aggregate. Ask for a certificate of insurance, especially if you're a condo board or a business.

The certified operator in charge

Under section 482.152, the certified operator in charge must be a full-time employee whose main occupation is with the licensee. That person is responsible for the work done under the license. Ask who it is. A small company often has the owner as its certified operator. A larger one may have one per location.

Ask for the operator's name and the categories they hold, and confirm both with FDACS along with the business license.

Which category covers rats and mice

Section 482.111 lists the certification categories: fumigation, general household pest control, lawn and ornamental pest control, and termites and other wood-destroying organisms. The statute defines general household pest control as pest control in any structure, other than fumigation and termite work. UF/IFAS's guide to Florida licensing gives the control of rats and mice inside buildings as an example of general household pest control.

There's one more credential you may see. Section 482.157 creates a limited certification for commercial wildlife trapping, using nonchemical methods to control commensal rodents. It doesn't allow chemical use other than adhesives. A wildlife trapper with that certificate can trap rats and mice but can't place rodenticide bait.

The technician's ID card

Section 482.091 requires each employee who performs pest control for a licensee to have an identification card, and says an employee can't perform pest control without carrying a current card with their signature and photograph. New employees need at least five days of field training before doing pest control. It's reasonable to ask the technician at your door to show the card.

What to ask before hiring

Ask these on the phone or at the first visit:

1. What's the business license number, and is it for this location?
2. Who is your certified operator in charge, and in which categories?
3. Will the technician carry an FDACS ID card?
4. Can you send a certificate of insurance?
5. What will you use, where, and is any of it rodenticide?
6. Will I get a written quote and a written description of the work?

How to confirm it

FDACS issues the licenses and certifications, so it's the place to confirm what a company tells you. Check the business name, the license number and the certified operator's name with the department before work starts. Make sure the license is current and the name matches the company on your invoice.

If something doesn't match, or a company refuses to give a license number, move on. There are plenty of licensed providers in Miami-Dade.

Doing it yourself is allowed

Section 482.211 says the chapter doesn't apply to pest control, other than fumigation, that a person performs on their own individual residential property. So you can set traps or use consumer bait stations at your own home without a license. You still have to follow product labels. Doing pest control for someone else for pay requires a license.

Current rodenticide rules

Federal rules from EPA's 2008 decision still shape what you can buy. EPA says consumer rodenticide products must come with bait stations that securely contain the poison, loose bait forms are no longer permitted for consumers, and consumer packages are limited to one pound or less. Second-generation anticoagulants such as brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum and difethialone can't be sold to general consumers, though pest control professionals can still use them.

EPA has proposed more limits. Its 2022 proposed interim decisions would classify all second-generation anticoagulants, strychnine and zinc phosphide products as restricted use pesticides, along with larger packages of some other rodenticides, and would bar refillable stations for consumer-sized products. UF/IFAS's pesticide information office described these changes as upcoming in late 2023. Check EPA for their current status before relying on them.

In Florida yards, UF/IFAS says outdoor rodent bait must be placed in a tamper-resistant station, and notes that rodenticide labels prohibit placing bait where children, pets, livestock or wildlife can reach it unless it's in a secured station. Many providers in Miami prefer traps indoors so rodents don't die inside walls.

Red flags

Be careful with anyone who:

• Won't give a license number or the certified operator's name
• Shows up with no ID card
• Gives a price before seeing the property
• Wants cash up front for the whole job
• Plans to put loose bait inside the house
• Can't explain what they'll seal and with what

For businesses and condo boards

Businesses and associations should ask for more than a homeowner does: a certificate of insurance naming the business or association, the license for the location that will service the account, a written scope of work, a device map and a visit log. Restaurants should make sure records are available for state inspectors. See restaurant rodent violations, restaurant and commercial rodent control and condo and apartment rodent control.

Related services: Rodent Control, Rodent Inspection, Restaurant and Commercial Rodent Control