Grower Pesticide Safety Course

To achieve certification, you must complete the requirements of the Grower Pesticide Safety Course (GPSC). You will learn how to handle and use pesticides while keeping yourself, others, and the environment safe.  The course does not provide crop protection recommendations. All exams are open-book. To obtain certification, a grade of 75% or more is needed.  If you don't pass the first time, the GPSC test can be rewritten up to 2 more times at no charge, within six months.

How to get certified?

Options to choose from are:

In-person course and exam 

Full day or half day options are available. (Note:  Half day sessions are called Refresh & Write.)  There is some math to do - bring your calculator! You have two hours to complete the test.  You can rewrite the test again at no charge within six months, if you don't pass the first time.

Exam only at an in-person course

Study ahead of time then arrive at an assigned time to write the open book test at a one day in-person course. There is some math to do - bring your calculator! You have two hours to complete the test.  You can rewrite the test again at no charge within six months, if you don't pass the first time.

Online course

The online Grower Pesticide Safety Course is operates from Monday to Friday on specific weeks. The course is available 24 hours each of the 5 days it's open. There are 5 areas of focus with marked assignments, each taking approximately 2 hours to complete.  Answers to the assignments must be submitted by 11 pm each day. All grades received are added together to obtain your overall grade for a possible total of 100.  You need 75% or more to obtain certification.

After signing up for the online course here, you will be emailed detailed time-sensitive instructions for accessing the course.*** 

*** Course access involves the creation of a University of Guelph - School of Continuing Studies account and the multi-factor authentication. This account and MFA set up must be completed by the Wednesday prior to the start of the course. If this deadline is missed, please reschedule to the next available date.***

The more you learn before you begin the course, the easier it will be for you to participate and complete the learning activities. Before the course starts:

  • Read the manual chapters.
  • Practice your understanding by completing the Practice Your Understanding questions at the end of each chapter.
  • Watch the videos or listen to the podcasts.

Computer Skills and Equipment. You are expected be competent in the use of the internet and know how to use e-mail as you will be navigating and searching the internet, and corresponding with your instructor.  The course works best when you use a computer or laptop on Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browsers. You need a high speed connection to enroll in this course.  

This YouTube video demonstrates the online course format. 

Ready to Sign Up?

Get Ready for Certification

Before you participate in a course or write the test, read our course manual and view our collection of videos on our YouTube Channel, Ontario Pesticide Ed. You may pick up your manual free of charge at a location near you.  If there is no location close to you, reply to the confirmation email to mail you one.

Study Tips for Success

  • Read the manual.
  • View our videos on our Ontario Pesticide Education Program YouTube channel or listen to the podcasts of each chapter.
  • Complete the Practice Your Understanding questions at the end of each chapter.  The answers are at the back of the book.
  • Use the Table of Contents. This will help you to follow along in the course and to find information during the open-book exam.
  • There is a glossary at the back of the book. Refer to it if you are unsure about the meaning of a technical word that is new to you.
  • Are you confident that you can calculate how much pesticide to use?  Read the chapter "Applying the Right Amount of Pesticide" and practice your math.
  • Pesticide labels give you the directions specific to each product.  Read the chapter "The Pesticide Label" to learn about the information on a pesticide label. 
  • If you need more help with understanding the label and the calculations, please ask for our Label and Math Workbook.

If you have any special needs, please call us at 1-800-652-8573.  We're here to help!