Clark County is hosting three Private PAT training and testing dates around the county:

• February 21st at Abbotsford City Hall (203 N. 1st Street, Abbotsford)
• March 19th at Thorp Fire Hall (101 N. Wilson Street, Thorp)
• April 11th at Clark County Courthouse Auditorium (517 Court Street, Neillsville)

To sign up for one of these dates and order your training manual (required for the training) please go to the University of Wisconsin Pesticide Applicator Training program website at the link above.

To see training dates in other counties, go to the University of Wisconsin PAT Program website (link above).

You MUST pre-register and pre-order manual to attend a training and exam and/or to take a self-study exam.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Private Applicator: A person who applies restricted-use (pesticide label identifies) pesticide to produce an agricultural commodity AND pesticides are applied on property that they own or rent, or their employer owns or rents. If an applicator does not meet BOTH parts of the definition, they are considered commercial applicators. Examples of commercial applicators: Lawn care company or County Highway employee.
• Certification Validity: Certification is valid for 5 years.
• Notifying expiring license holders: The PAT Program notifies farmers with expiring certifications, but it’s the farmer’s responsibility to track their status.
• Certification Status Check: Applicators can check certification status here:

TRAINING

Training Materials:

• Everyone that would like to become Private Pesticide Applicator certified must purchase a manual.
  • Each person must have their own manual, as it includes a unique PAT Number on the certificate (needed when handing in the test). Those retaking within a year do not need the certificate.
  • Manuals cost $43.
• Applicators can only purchase manuals form the PAT Program website at the University of Wisconsin PAT Program website at the link above.
• Manuals are delivered within 5-10 days at no charge. There is an additional shipping charge for rush delivery.

LEARNING THE MATERIAL:

• Self-study:
  • Self-study students purchase the manual, study independently, and test at a designated County Extension Office or Pearson VUE (see below for testing info).
• Self-paced Online Training (Free for 2025):
  • Available at PAT website: UW PAT Store or register through this direct link.
  • ○ Training must be completed within 2 weeks; otherwise, participants must re-register.
  • ○ Online training takes approx. 3.5 hours. Stopping/starting throughout the training is allowed.
• Extension-hosted Zoom Training (organized and hosted by Regional Crops Educators):
  • Registration costs $10 and must be completed in advance through the UW PAT Store.
  • Students must bring manual with certificate to the training
  • Dates and locations will be posted online.
  • Class is taught by Pesticide Application Training program staff over zoom
• In-person Training & Test:
  • Two in-person trainings will be held in 2025. Registration costs $10 and is available through the UW PAT Program.
  • Details will be posted on the Extension Calendar and UW PAT Program website.

TESTING:

• Self-study or Self-paced Online:
  • A 70% or higher on the exam is required for self-study.
  • A 50% or higher on the exam is required for self-paced
    • The course completion confirmation email must be shown to the proctor to be coded as “attended a training.”
• Pearson VUE Testing:
  • Tests can be taken through Pearson VUE for $45, with a 70% passing requirement.
• Extension-hosted Zoom Training (organized and hosted by Regional Crops Educator):
  • Students must have a manual with a certificate to take the test, test proctored by the Regional Crops Educator after training.
• In-person Training & Test:
  • Two in-person trainings will be held in 2025. Registration costs $10 and is available through the UW PAT Program.
  • Details will be posted on the Extension Calendar and UW PAT Program website.
  • Participants receive a completion email after completing the online training.

If you need to schedule a self-study, or need a paper order form to purchase a manual and/or register for a training… call Clark County Extension at 715-743-5122.