Pest Control Operator ($100,000) Bond - Statewide in Arkansas

Brief Summary

The $100,000 figure is the termite and structural pests tier, not a flat Arkansas pest control bond. If your license is household pests and rodent control only, you post $50,000 instead, so the first thing worth checking is which classification you are actually applying for. Either way the bond alone does not carry your risk. Arkansas also requires liability insurance on top of it, and for termite work that is $500,000 per occurrence. Get the whole program quoted at PestControlLiability.com, covering pest control general liability, workers compensation, pollution for drift and contamination, property and equipment, drone operations, termite and bedbug, lawncare and remediation.

Arkansas sets the pest control bond by license classification under Ark. Code Ann. 17-37-210. It is $100,000 for an applicant for a termite and other structural pests license, or any combination of licenses that includes termite and other structural pests. It is $50,000 for an applicant for a household pests and rodent control license, or any combination that includes household pests and rodent control. The bond runs in favor of the State of Arkansas for the benefit of any person damaged, must be written by a surety company licensed to do business in Arkansas, and cannot be cancelled or terminated until at least 30 days after the board receives a notice of cancellation. Liability insurance is required in addition to the bond, not instead of it.

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How to Apply for a Pest Control Operator ($100,000) Bond:

• Confirm your classification first. Termite and other structural pests, or any combination including it, is the $100,000 tier. Household pests and rodent control, or a combination including it, is $50,000.
• Legal business name exactly as it will appear on the State Plant Board license application.
• Owner or officer information for the underwriting and credit review.
• Complete the bond application and review the quoted premium.
• Receive the executed bond from a surety company licensed to do business in Arkansas, in favor of the State of Arkansas.
• Place the liability insurance that has to accompany the bond: $500,000 per occurrence or aggregate for termite and structural work, or $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and not less than $5,000 property damage for household pest, rodent and general fumigation work. Get it quoted alongside workers compensation, pollution, property, equipment and drone coverage at PestControlLiability.com.
• Provide the Plant Board with copies of all required surety bond and insurance policies before the license issues.
• Confirm the policies cover every commercial applicator and registered agent doing work under your license.
• Renew the license holder license prior to June 30, and pay the fee for your registered agent count.
• File monthly reports by the 15th of the following month to avoid the late fee.

Detailed Information About the Arkansas Pest Control Operator ($100,000) Bond:

Two tiers, and the $100,000 is the termite one

This is the fact that gets misprinted constantly. Ark. Code Ann. 17-37-210 sets the bond by what you are licensed to do.

$100,000 for an applicant for a termite and other structural pests license, or any combination of licenses that includes termite and other structural pests.

$50,000 for an applicant for a household pests and rodent control license, or any combination of licenses that includes household pests and rodent control.

The combination language is what decides borderline cases. Add termite to a household pest license and the whole thing sits at the $100,000 tier. There is no averaging and no stacking of the two figures.

The bond is executed by the applicant as principal and by a surety company licensed to do business in this state, in favor of the State of Arkansas for the benefit of any person damaged.

The bond is not the whole requirement

Arkansas requires liability insurance as well. Both, not either.

For household pests and rodent control and general fumigation, the statutory minimums are $25,000 for any one person and $50,000 for any one accident, and not less than $5,000 for property damage.

For termite and other structural pests, the minimum is $500,000 per occurrence or $500,000 per aggregate.

There is an exemption buried in subdivision (a)(2)(A)(ii)(b): the household pests insurance requirement does not apply to a combination of licenses that includes termite and other structural pests. In practice the termite limits govern once termite is in the mix.

Why the statutory minimum is still not your insurance program

A $500,000 per occurrence limit sounds like real money until a termite claim turns into structural repair, a wood destroying insect report dispute, or a mold and moisture argument on a house that just sold. The statutory figures are a licensing threshold that protects the public, not a risk transfer plan built around your exposure. Callbacks, misidentified activity on an inspection, chemical drift and overspray on a lawn account, workers compensation on a crew, equipment on trucks, and drone work all sit outside what a bond does. Price the actual program at PestControlLiability.com, which quotes pest control general liability, workers compensation, pollution coverage for drift and contamination, property and equipment, drone operations, termite and bedbug, lawncare and remediation.

The 30 day clock

The bond and the insurance cannot be cancelled or terminated until at least 30 days after a notice of cancellation is received by the board. That is a floor on how fast your filing can disappear, and it is also the window you have to replace it. A lapse is not a paperwork problem, it is a license problem.

Who has to hold what

The license holder provides the Plant Board with copies of all required surety bond and insurance policies before a license issues for Classifications 1, 2 or 3, and the license holder guarantees that those policies cover all pest control service work performed by the license holder's commercial applicators and registered agents. So the filing sits at the company level and has to reach down over the whole crew.

There is a licensing exemption worth knowing. A commercial applicator license is not required of license holders who employ licensed commercial applicators and who do not themselves use or supervise the use of restricted use pesticides. That exempts the owner from a separate applicator credential. It does not touch the bond or the insurance.

Dates, fees and reports

The license holder license must be renewed prior to June 30 annually.

License holder fees run by registered agent count: $100 for 0 to 30 registered agents, $250 for 31 to 60, and $500 for 61 or more.

Commercial applicator licenses are $150 for the first classification and $100 for each additional classification, capped at $300 per applicator, also renewed prior to June 30.

Reporting carries its own money. There is a $5 fee for each building on which a contract has been issued, and a $10 late fee once a report is 30 days overdue. The Department's pest control page states that monthly reports submitted online must be received by the 15th of the month following the month being reported.

Onsite exam applications have to reach the Department at least five working days before the exam date, and online testing through Everblue carries an additional proctoring fee of roughly $30 per exam.

Do not confuse this with the agricultural applicator filing

If your work is crop, right of way or woodland application for hire rather than structural, you are under the Arkansas Pesticide Use and Application Act instead. That license expires December 31, not June 30, and it runs on a $100,000 financial responsibility filing that can be satisfied by a letter of credit, a surety bond, an escrow account or an insurance policy. Different statute, different calendar, different filing.

One free thing worth doing

While you are handling the June 30 renewal, list the company on BestPestControlIn.com. It is free for any licensed pest control company, consumers search it by ZIP code and state, the listing carries a backlink that helps your own site rank, it sends referrals, and we write blog posts on companies in the directory.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Arkansas Pest Control Operator ($100,000) Bond:

• A surety company licensed to do business in the State of Arkansas.
• Bond amount by classification: $100,000 for termite and other structural pests or any combination including it, $50,000 for household pests and rodent control or any combination including it.
• The State of Arkansas as obligee, for the benefit of any person damaged.
• Liability insurance in addition to the bond, at the limits set for your classification.
• Bond and insurance that cannot be cancelled or terminated until at least 30 days after the board receives a notice of cancellation.
• Policies issued to the license holder and covering all commercial applicators and registered agents performing pest control service work.
• Business name on the bond matching the license application exactly.
• Owner credit review. At these amounts credit and company financials shape the rate, and a weak file can affect eligibility.

Arkansas Pest Control Operator ($100,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Arkansas Pest Control Operator ($100,000) Bond: