We’d like to share a few updates from the Office of Pesticide Services. Kaylen Smith, many of you may recognize from her previous role as Registered Technician Specialist, has stepped into the role of Lead Coordinator for Certification & Worker Protection. In addition, Micah Raub, who many of you have worked with over the past eight years as CLRT Unit Supervisor, is now serving as Senior Compliance Officer.
We know this is a big change, but Micah hasn’t gone far—he’ll continue working alongside OPS programs in his new role. In the meantime, our three CLRT Coordinators remain available to assist, and we’ll be recruiting for the Unit Supervisor position soon.
If you’re unsure who to contact or just need help connecting with our team, you can view the full OPS staff listing here:
https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/about-division-of-consumer-protection.shtml
As you stay in touch with us, we also want to remind applicators to take a moment to check their certification status and plan ahead for upcoming deadlines.
If your certification expires on June 30, 2026, be sure to complete one approved recertification course in each category to maintain your certification—no fee or application required. As long as the required training is completed by your expiration date, your certification will renew automatically.
If you miss the June 30 deadline, you will have until August 29, 2026 to complete the required course(s). After that date, re-examination is required, and applying pesticides without a valid certification is a violation of Virginia law.
You can check your certification status here:
www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticides.shtml
A list of approved recertification courses is available here: