Checking a pest controller's licence
Every pest controller who sprays or baits for a living in Victoria needs a Department of Health licence, and the register of licence holders is public.
We connect you with a local pest controller who works in the hills.
Ask for a quoteOlinda Forest. Photo: Nick Carson, CC BY 3.0
Who needs one
In Victoria, anyone using pesticides in a pest control business needs a licence from the Department of Health, issued under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008. It is illegal for a person in a pest control business to apply pesticides without one. The exceptions are listed uses such as agriculture, horticulture and weed control, and none of them covers pest animal work at homes.
Checked 25 October 2026 against Department of Health: guidelines for pest control operators, Department of Health: pest control legislation and Better Health Channel: pest control services.
What the licence covers
A licence is either a technician's, for three years, or a trainee's, for twelve months and under supervision. It carries one or more authorisations:
- General, excluding timber pests
- Pests including birds and rodents, but not timber pests or pest animals.
- General, including timber pests
- The same, plus timber pests. The one to look for if the job is termites.
- Pest animal
- Pesticides for pest animals at commercial buildings, homes and the private land next to them.
- Fumigant
- Pesticides in the form of fumigants.
Checked 25 October 2026 against Department of Health: pest control licence applications.
How to check
The department keeps a searchable register of every current licence holder, with the name and the expiry date. Better Health says to check that the person applying the pesticide holds a current licence, and that the authorisation on their licence suits your job. A termite job needs the timber pests authorisation. The department's pest control team answers on 1300 767 469, weekday mornings.
Checked 25 October 2026 against Department of Health: find a licensed pest control operator and Better Health Channel: pest control services.
What they keep about your job
A licensed operator has to record every treatment and keep the record for three years: the product, where in the property it went, the pests treated, the re-entry period and the customer. Better Health suggests asking for the full chemical name of the pesticide before the work starts.
Checked 25 October 2026 against Department of Health: Pesticide Safety Technical Note 3, record keeping and Better Health Channel: pest control services.
This site
Requests sent through this site go to one local pest controller. Before the site puts anyone's name on it, their licence and its authorisations are checked on the register, and you are welcome to check it again yourself.
Ask for a quote
Tell us where you are and what needs doing, and we'll contact you as soon as possible.