Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP's) are pesticides that are available for purchase and use only by certified pesticide applicators or persons under their direct supervision. This designation is assigned to a pesticide product because of its relatively high degree of potential human and/or environmental hazard even when used according to label directions. Therefore, initial pesticide training programs are primarily geared towards pesticide safety, preventing environmental contamination from pesticides and compliance with pertinent pesticides laws and regulations. Initial training programs must be at least 6 hours in length followed by a 40 question open book quiz.

The following subject areas and topics are required for 6 hour initial training sessions:

Private Applicator License:

• What are pesticides and what are Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP's)?
• How to read your license number and why it is important
• How to keep certified.
• Pesticide fees and where they go!
• What you can and can't do with your license

Integrated Pest Management: 

• What is toxicity; acute vs. chronic.
• Four routes of exposure.
• Pesticide Formulations and applicator safety: Liquid vs. dry formulations.
• What is an LD50 and Signal Words.
• How your body processes toxic substances.
• Protecting Yourself; Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Laundering Pesticide Contaminated Clothing.
• Proper Pesticide Storage: storage of pesticides in their original containers, triple rinsing, storage checklist, disposal of empties and excess pesticide
• Reading and Understanding the Pesticide Label (site restrictions, active versus inert ingredients etc...)

Pertinent Pesticide Laws:

• Worker Protection Standard (WPS)
• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
• Montana Pesticides Act and other Montana laws and regulations.
• Federal Recordkeeping Requirements: What key elements you need to record, How to use calibration formulas to help you keep accurate records.

Calibration of Backpack, Boom and Broadjet Sprayers:

• The Calibration Strip Method.
• Determining Nozzle Output.
• How to read a nozzle specification sheet.
• Understanding the effects of speed and pressure.
• How many acres can you spray with a given volume.
• How much pesticide do you add to the tank.
• Useful conversions...pints to ounces, gallons to ounces, etc.
• Using calibration formulas to help you keep pesticide records.
• Calibration Exercises

Pesticides in the Environment:

• Pesticide Properties in regards to environmental contamination
• Solubility.
• Soil binding capabilities (Adsorption)
• How pesticides behave in the soil; leaching, runoff, groundwater contamination.
• Drift.
• Volatilization
• How nozzles and pressure contribute to drift
• Degradation.Other Pest and Pesticide Related Topics of Local Interest.

The guiding principle towards assigning private applicator credits to a program is if the topic(s) will contribute to the competence in the use and handling of pesticides by a private applicator (40 CFR 171).

Continuing education units (CEU) are credits granted for the attendance and successful completion of an approved training or educational workshop or seminar held for the recertification of private pesticide applicator license. The term "credits" and "points" is used synonymously with CEU. In general, 45 minutes to one hour of instruction equals one CEU.

CEUs are awarded based on the following guidelines:

• Product sales and chemical update meetings may be awarded 0.5 CEU for every hour of contact time. These meetings may receive more CEUs if the agenda can show that the information being conveyed will contribute to the competence in the use and handling of pesticides by a private applicator. If a meeting agenda is incomplete or vague, there may be no CEUs given. 
• In order to receive four (4) CEUs, a program must contain three hours of pesticide related information and one hour on one of the following 6 core topics: private applicator license, IPM, pesticide laws, pesticide safety, environmental concerns, or calibration.
• For five (5) CEUs, a program must contain three hours of pesticide related information and two hours on two of the following 6 core topics: private applicator license, IPM, pesticide laws, pesticide safety, environmental concerns, or calibration.
• For six (6) CEUs, a program must contain three hours of pesticide related information and three hours of information on three of the following 6 core topics: private applicator license, IPM, pesticide laws, pesticide safety, environmental concerns, or calibration.