PESTICIDES

SOFAD’s mandate concerning pesticides

The Pesticides Act (chapter P-9.3) stipulates that pesticide vendors and applicators must establish their competence in their activity sector and be certified by the ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP). The certification exams administered by SOFAD are prescribed by the Act and are administered online only. The certification exams administered by SOFAD are prescribed by the Act and are administered under supervision across Quebec in SOFAD authorized institutions. A certificate from the Ministère is obtained after the applicant has passed the examination prescribed by or recognized by the MELCCFP.

Training is not mandatory but allows for the acquisition of knowledge needed to pass the certification examination. For more information, visit the MELCCFP’s website at www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/pesticides/inter_en.htm.

NOTE:

To determine which certificate matches your activity sector, click here to view the table of certificates issued by the MELCCFP and the corresponding exams available from SOFAD. You can also contact the MELCCFP at 1 800 561-1616.

Exam preparation

SOFAD offeres multiple options to allow you to properly prepare for your exam.

Courses
Self-tuition
Guides

Printed guides for exam preparation are available.

Click here to view the available guides.

Complementary resources
Pre-evaluation: Use of Pesticides – Application on Raw Land

Presented in the same form as the certification examination, pre-evaluation will allow you to determine whether you are prepared enough to take the examination.

You can download the pre-evaluation (along with the answer booklet and appendix) for the EXAMSTI-01 examination free of charge by clicking on the following link: Use of Pesticides – Application on Raw Land.

You can also download the guide Utilisation des pesticides en terrain inculte (in French only) free of charge at 

https://adm/min/environnement/pesticides/guide-apprentissage-utilisation-terrain-inculte.pdf.

https://adm/min/environnement/pesticides/guide-apprentissage-utilisation-pesticides-aires-forestieres.pdf.

Please note that this guide was developed by the MELCCFP.

SOFAD does not offer distance education for this course.

Pretests

The online pretests allow candidates to determine whether or not they are ready to take a certification examination. The pre-tests are only offered in French.

They consist of 25 questions and take at most one hour to complete. They are automatically corrected and candidates can see their result for each question.

The pretests serve as an indicator of a candidate’s readiness to take a certification examination. They do not guarantee that the candidate will pass the final examination.

Online pretests are available for the following certificates:

Common Core for Pesticide Users (French only)
B2: Retail Sales (Class 4), parts I and II (French only)
CD4: Application in Ornamental Horticulture (French only)
CD5: Application in Pest Management (French only)
CD8: Application on Cultivated Land (French only)

Online exams
Certification exams - Registration
Attestation exam - Registration

Upon passing this examination, applicants will receive an attestation of successful completion only (not an MELCCFP certificate). This attestation allows the recipient to apply pesticides to lawns under certain conditions, without being a certificate holder.

These conditions are set out in a memorandum of instructions issued by the MELCCFP. Click here to view the memorandum.

The passing mark for the exams is 65%.

To register for the exam, click on the link below to download the appropriate document.

Materials permitted during the examination: a calculator (provided by the candidate) and a dictionary (provided by the centre). No other documentation is permitted.

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