Authorisations for plant protection products: application, renewal, consultation

The purchase, use, sale and performance of advisory work on plant protection products are subject to possession of specific certificates of competence.

Certificates of authorisation are divided into three types:

• Professional users;
• Sellers;
• Consultants.

In order to obtain the qualification and the renewal of qualifications, it is necessary to attend special training courses, carried out by subjects accredited by the Autonomous Province of Trento or by professional orders and colleges in the agricultural sector, on behalf of their members.

The catalogue of accredited training providers is available here.

Incompatibility:

1. The subject in possession of the sales qualification certificate cannot carry out the activity of consultant.
2. The activity of a consultant is incompatible with the status of subjects who have relationships of dependence or direct collaboration in return for payment with subjects holding authorisation for plant protection products, as defined in Article 3(24) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009.
3. Excluded from this incompatibility are persons working within public research and experimentation facilities who, at an institutional level, have established relationships of occasional collaboration for scientific purposes with the above-mentioned companies holding authorisations. Also excluded are researchers at universities and research institutes, as well as technicians at the test centres of companies that do not hold authorisations for plant protection products.

Professional users, salespersons and consultants who meet the following requirements may apply for a licence:

• be over 18 years of age
• be in possession of a five-year higher education diploma or a university degree, even a three-year one, in agricultural and forestry disciplines (only for the qualification for sales and consultancy)
• have attended a specific basic training course lasting 20 hours (qualification for use) or 25 hours (qualification for sale and advice)
• have obtained a positive assessment of the knowledge acquired.

Professional users, salespersons and consultants with an authorisation that expired no more than five years ago and who have attended a specific 12-hour refresher course may have their authorisations renewed.

Requesting new authorisations

To request a new authorisation, you must submit an application in one of the following ways

1. if you have a SPID or CPS you can authenticate yourself and fill out the online application by following the link in the Digital Channels section of this page;
2. if you do not have SPID or CPS you can prepare your application online (without the need for authentication) by following the link in the Digital Channels section of this page, print, fill in the form and then submit it by one of the following methods
   • direct delivery at the Agricultural Service or at the assistance and public information desks of the Province
   • by post by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt; the date of the postmark of the accepting post office will be taken as the date of admission
   • by fax to the corresponding number in the Agriculture Service (for private individuals only)
   • by telematic means to the certified electronic mailbox of the Agricultural Service

For the compilation of the applications, please consult the compilation guides:

Renewals

It is not necessary to submit an application for the renewal of authorisations. The Agricultural Service will automatically renew the authorisations of the persons concerned, after having ascertained ex officio that they have complied with the obligation to attend the refresher course, by consulting the lists of persons who have completed the training course, for each type of authorisation, forwarded by the person who carried out the training.

Consultation

You can consult the public list of persons authorised to sell plant protection products and persons authorised to provide advice on the use of plant protection products at this link.

You can also consult and print out your own authorisations or those of your customers by following the links in the Digital Channels section of this page.

Exempted from the obligation to attend the Professional User training course, but still having to pass the qualification examination, are those with a five-year higher education diploma or a degree, even a three-year degree, in the disciplines of agriculture and forestry, biology, nature, environment, chemistry, pharmacy, medicine and veterinary medicine.