SECTION 7.25. Expiration and Renewal of Licenses

(a) A licensee who fails to file a complete application for renewal on or before the license expiration date must pay a late fee as prescribed by the Code, Chapter 12.

(b) The license of a person who fails to timely file a complete application for renewal is invalid until a completed application and any required late fee has been received by the department. A person who applies a restricted-use or state-limited-use pesticide or regulated herbicide during a period when the person's license is invalid may be assessed administrative penalties in addition to any required late fee.

(c) If a complete application for renewal of a commercial, noncommercial, or private applicator's license is not submitted within one year after the expiration of the license, the license will be deemed to be terminated voluntarily and a renewal application will not be accepted. Before being licensed again, the applicator must meet the requirements for a new license.

(d) Pursuant to the Act, §76.113, the head of the licensing agency in determining whether additional training shall be required of current licensees before renewal of their applicator license may consider changes in technology, pesticide related problems, or the performance of individual applicators. If general retraining and/or retesting is required for all applicators in a category or subcategory, the licensing agency will publish notice at least six months in advance of the license renewal date. If individual retraining and/or retesting is required as a result of the applicator's performance, the agency may give notification and set a time and place of retraining that would be in the best interest of public health and environmental protection.

(e) Military service members or military veterans as defined in Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 55, will be credited with experience equivalent to the pre-license requirements of §7.21(b)(4)(A) - (F) of this chapter (relating to Applicator Certification).

(f) License applications of military spouses, as defined in Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 55, shall be processed on an expedited basis.

(g) If a qualified military spouse applicant holds a current license issued by another jurisdiction and licensing requirements of that jurisdiction are substantially equivalent to the licensing requirements of the department, the department shall issue the applicant a license. For purposes of this subsection, substantially equivalent means:

(1) the requirements of the other jurisdiction require written, proctored examinations for initial certification for the same type of pesticide applicator license being requested;

(2) the other jurisdiction has a state pesticide plan approved by the EPA; and

(3) the department has a current reciprocal agreement with the issuing jurisdiction for pesticide licensing.

Source Note: The provisions of this §7.25 adopted to be effective December 4, 1997, 22 TexReg 11652; amended to be effective January 29, 2014, 39 TexReg 396; amended to be effective March 9, 2023, 48 TexReg 1286