How to become a pest control technician in Washington

The path in Washington, step by step

Washington licenses pest control work at the state level through the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Management Division. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Get study materials from WSU and pass the WSDA exams for your categories.
2. Show proof of financial coverage: $50,000 public liability and $50,000 property damage.
3. License the business as a Commercial Applicator in every category it works in.
4. License each employee who applies pesticides as a Commercial Operator.
5. Recertify every five years.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: pest control license in Washington.

Finding an apprenticeship in Washington

Washington runs Registered Apprenticeship through its own State Apprenticeship Agency, recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor to register and oversee programs there. Its staff are state employees, and it may use the federal paperwork or forms of its own. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Washington State Apprenticeship Agency as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. Pest control is learned mostly on the job rather than in a long apprenticeship. Training can usually be finished in less than 3 months.

License levels and exams in Washington

The license to aim for: Commercial Applicator license (business), with Commercial Operator licenses for employees.

Trade exam. Yes. WSDA gives pesticide exams every Tuesday in Olympia and Yakima and at other offices. Some exams are in Spanish.

Keeping it. Recertify every five years, through approved courses or by retesting.

What pest control technicians earn in Washington

The median pest control technician in Washington earned $24.66 an hour in May 2025, the highest median of any state, with 1,430 on payrolls. The national median was $21.75.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of pest control technicians in Washington earned under $22.78 an hour and a tenth under $21.32. At the top, a quarter earned over $28.57 and a tenth over $29.42.

Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: pest control technician salary in Washington.

Jobs ahead in Washington

Washington's labor market office projects jobs for pest control technicians growing from 1,400 in 2022 to 1,650 in 2032, a change of 17.9%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 240 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 17.9% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 3.2% projected nationally, ranking 7th of the 39 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group pest control workers.

Starting your own pest control technician business in Washington

To contract on your own in Washington, the license is the Commercial Applicator license (business), with Commercial Operator licenses for employees.

Insurance. A liability insurance policy or surety bond with $50,000 public liability and $50,000 property damage coverage.

Bond. A surety bond can stand in for the liability policy.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Washington median of $24.66 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $113.90 per billable hour. Try your own in the labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start a pest control business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.