Structural pest control licensing
Is your exterminator licensed in New York?
New York regulates pesticides through its environmental agency, not agriculture — so agriculture-department searches will find nothing. The database is NYSPAD, and it is not the URL most directories list; those point at a guidance page instead. Best doorstep check in the country: every certified New York applicator and technician must have a photograph on file with the DMV in order to be issued a pesticide photo identification card, so ask to see the card and match the face. Cards run on a 3-year cycle for commercial certifications. DEC verifies by phone on (518) 402-8748.
- Who regulates it
- NYSPAD
- Verification
- Online
- Check before paying
- The business license
The regulator
The credential to look for
Open the official New York search →
Renting in New York? Before you pay for treatment, check whether your landlord is legally responsible for the cost. New York bed bug law →
What to verify, in order
The business license, not just the technician
Most states license the company and certify the individual separately. A certified technician working for an unlicensed business is still an unlicensed job.
The category or phase covers structural work
Licenses are issued by category. An applicator certified for turf and ornamental has no business in your bedroom.
Status is active, not lapsed
Some state databases exclude cancelled licenses from results entirely, so a revoked company returns the same empty result as a typo. If you get nothing, phone the agency before assuming you mistyped.
Complaint and enforcement history
Where a state publishes disciplinary actions they are usually on the board site rather than inside the license search.
Link last confirmed: . State license portals migrate often and licenses lapse daily — treat anything older than a few months as a starting point, not an answer.
Always confirm on the state's own site. This page points at the official database; it does not mirror or cache license records. Status changes daily and only the issuing agency is authoritative.