Custom Pesticide Applicator Bond - Statewide in Alabama

Brief Summary

The number here is smaller than most applicators expect. Alabama starts this bond at $3,000 for ground equipment or up to two aircraft, and it tops out at $12,000 no matter how big the fleet gets. It is filed with the Commissioner before the license is issued, the State of Alabama is the obligee, and you can substitute a liability insurance policy for at least the same amount. If you go the insurance route, get it priced as a real program rather than a filing at PestControlLiability.com, which covers pesticide and pest control general liability, pollution from drift and contamination, workers compensation, property and equipment, drone operations, termite and bedbug work, lawncare and remediation.

Alabama requires anyone engaged in the custom application of pesticides to hold an annual license from the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, and Code of Alabama 2-27-56 requires a surety bond or liability insurance on file before that license issues. The bond is $3,000 for an applicant operating ground equipment or not more than two aircraft, plus $3,000 for each additional aircraft, and the total may not exceed $12,000. The State of Alabama is named as obligee. A liability insurance policy in an amount not less than the bond, from an insurer authorized in Alabama or an eligible surplus line insurer, satisfies the requirement instead.

We can help with all Alabama bonds!

How to Apply for a Custom Pesticide Applicator Bond:

• Count your aircraft before you order anything. $3,000 covers ground equipment or up to two aircraft, then $3,000 per additional aircraft, capped at $12,000.
• Check the exemptions first. Lawns, trees and shrubs immediately adjacent to a dwelling or building, termite and household pest work, farmers using their own equipment on their own or leased ground, and government agencies using their own employees are all outside this article.
• Legal business name exactly as it will appear on the Application for Custom Business License.
• Owner or officer information for the underwriting and credit review.
• Complete the bond application and review the quoted premium, or place a liability policy for at least the bond amount with an Alabama authorized insurer or eligible surplus line insurer. Quotes at PestControlLiability.com.
• Use the Department's Bond for Custom Application of Pesticides form, with the State of Alabama named as obligee.
• File it with the Commissioner before the license is issued, along with the license fee.
• Sit the written examination required by 2-27-53(b).
• Renew as of January 1. The license expires December 31, and a 10 percent delinquency penalty applies if the fee is not paid by February 15 or within 45 days of the due date.

Detailed Information About the Alabama Custom Pesticide Applicator Bond:

The amount depends on your aircraft count, and it caps out

This is the fact competitor pages skip, usually by printing no figure at all.

$3,000 for each applicant operating ground equipment or not more than two aircraft. Then $3,000 for each additional aircraft. The Department's own Surety Bond or Liability Insurance document puts the ceiling plainly: the total amount of any bond required under the section shall not exceed the sum of $12,000.

So a ground only operation posts $3,000. A two plane operation posts $3,000. A three plane operation posts $6,000. Anyone at five or more aircraft sits at the $12,000 cap.

The surety must be a corporate surety company qualified to do business in Alabama, and the State of Alabama is named as obligee. It goes to the Commissioner before a license is issued.

The insurance alternative, and its fine print

You can file a liability insurance policy instead, in an amount not less than the amount of the bond, issued by an insurance company qualified and authorized to do business in Alabama or by an eligible surplus line insurer. The aggregate liability of the insurer is limited to the face amount of the policy, and a reasonable deductible clause may be included in an amount acceptable to the commissioner.

Worth saying out loud: $3,000 is a filing threshold, not a risk transfer plan. A single drift claim onto a neighboring field will run past it before lunch. If you are going to buy a policy anyway, buy one sized to your actual exposure rather than to the statute. Full quotes for applicators, including pollution and drift, are at PestControlLiability.com.

Who is covered, and who is not

Custom application of pesticides means any application of pesticides to growing agricultural, horticultural or floricultural crops, rights of way or woodlands, by aircraft or ground equipment, for remuneration. That is the trigger.

Section 2-27-52 puts four things outside the article entirely:

Application of pesticides to lawns, trees or shrubs immediately adjacent to a dwelling or building.

Use of pesticides or other chemicals for the control, eradication or prevention of termites or household pests.

Persons engaged in farming who apply pesticides with their own equipment, unless they are doing the work for hire on property they do not own or lease.

Municipalities, counties, and state or federal agencies or their subdivisions, where the governmental agency does the custom application through its own employees. That exemption stops at the agency line. When the agency contracts the work out to a private applicator, the private applicator is regulated.

That first and second exemption matter for lawn care and structural firms. If your work is residential lawns and shrubs next to the house, or termite and household pest control, this is not your license.

The written examination does not replace the bond

Section 2-27-53(b) requires the applicant to show, on written examination, adequate knowledge concerning the proper use and application of pesticides. Passing it is a licensing prerequisite. It has nothing to do with the financial filing, which is a separate condition under 2-27-56. Neither substitutes for the other.

The calendar and the fees

The license expires December 31 of the year for which it is issued and is renewable as of January 1. Fees are set by the Board of Agriculture and Industries and vary by equipment type, but the statute caps the total at $120 regardless of how many aircraft are involved. A delinquency penalty of 10 percent applies if the fee is not paid by February 15 or within 45 days of the due date.

Since the bond and the license both run on a calendar year, keep them on the same renewal reminder. A lapsed bond and an unrenewed license tend to happen in the same week of January.

Forms

The Department publishes an Application for Custom Business License, a Bond for Custom Application of Pesticides form, a Change of Info form for custom pesticide applicators, and the Surety Bond or Liability Insurance document that states the amounts. Use the Department's bond form rather than a generic one.

One free thing worth doing

While you are updating filings for the year, list the company on BestPestControlIn.com. It is free for licensed pest control companies, consumers search it by ZIP code and state, the listing carries a backlink that helps your own site rank, and the blog writes about companies in the directory.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Alabama Custom Pesticide Applicator Bond:

• A corporate surety company qualified to do business in Alabama.
• Bond amount set by equipment: $3,000 for ground equipment or up to two aircraft, plus $3,000 for each additional aircraft, not to exceed $12,000 total.
• The State of Alabama named as obligee.
• Alternatively, a liability insurance policy in an amount not less than the bond, from an insurer qualified and authorized in Alabama or an eligible surplus line insurer, with insurer aggregate liability limited to the policy face amount and any deductible in an amount acceptable to the commissioner.
• Filed with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries before the license is issued.
• Business name on the bond matching the license application exactly.
• Passing score on the written examination for the license itself.
• Owner credit review. At these amounts credit generally shapes the rate rather than eligibility.

Alabama Custom Pesticide Applicator Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Alabama Custom Pesticide Applicator Bond: