FFP Guides

Compliance by state

NSW's EPA record rules for commercial pesticide use

In New South Wales, anyone using pesticides as part of a business, including pest control technicians, must make a written record of each pesticide use as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after it, under the Pesticides Regulation 2017. The NSW EPA regulates this, records must be legible and in English, and must be kept for at least 3 years.

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Official name
Pesticide use record
Regulator
NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA)
Who issues it
Any commercial user of pesticides, including pest control technicians
When
Using a pesticide as part of a business activity
Deadline
Record made as soon as possible, no later than 48 hours after use
Lodgement
Kept by the business; not lodged with the EPA unless requested during an investigation or audit
Keep records for
At least 3 years, in a legible, English language record
Penalty
This page could not confirm a specific dollar penalty for a record keeping breach from the EPA pages checked; the EPA regulates the Pesticides Regulation 2017 and can act against a commercial user's compliance for failing to keep required records. Confirm current penalty amounts with the EPA before quoting one to a client.

Homeowner? If a pest control business treats your home or workplace in NSW, they are required to keep a written record of what was used and when, in English and legibly, for at least 3 years, even though you as the property owner have no record keeping duty of your own.

What the certificate must show

Produce it from a ServiceM8 job

  1. In Settings > Forms > Add Form, create a form called Pesticide use record NSW.
  2. Add Text questions for Pesticide product, Application rate/amount and Target pest.
  3. Add a Date question for Application date and a Text question for the applicator's name.
  4. Set all text answers to plain English entry, since the EPA requires the record to be legible and in English.
  5. Attach the form to a Pest treatment job badge and require it before checkout, keeping the record inside the 48 hour deadline.
  6. Retain completed forms in ServiceM8's job history for at least 3 years, or 5 years if the business also services Queensland clients under that state's longer rule.

A commercial duty, not a homeowner one

NSW's pesticide record keeping requirement sits in the Pesticides Regulation 2017, made under the Pesticides Act 1999 and regulated by the NSW Environment Protection Authority. It applies to commercial users, a category that covers pest control businesses, farmers, noxious weed authorities and council spray teams, among others. A homeowner using pesticide for their own weed or pest control at home is not caught by the requirement, which is a useful line to draw for a trade explaining to a client why the technician, not the property owner, is the one keeping the record.

48 hours to write it down, in English, legibly

The record has to be made as soon as possible, and no later than 48 hours after the pesticide is used, a tighter window than Queensland's 24 hour rule is generous about but still a hard outer limit rather than a target. The EPA's own record keeping requirements specify that records made or kept under the Regulation must be legible and in the English language, which matters for businesses that keep job notes in a mix of languages or shorthand: the pesticide record itself has to stand alone and be readable by an inspector without translation.

Three years, and where the number sits against sibling states

NSW's retention period is 3 years, shorter than Queensland's 5 year rule under the Medicines and Poisons (Pest Management Activities) Regulation 2021. A pest control business operating across the QLD and NSW border, or servicing clients in both states, needs to run the longer 5 year period as its practical default if it wants one record keeping policy to satisfy both regulators, rather than tracking two different retention clocks by job location.

Sources

  1. Commercial users of pesticides, including farmers, noxious weed authorities, council sprayers and other businesses using pesticides, must keep records of their pesticide use under the Pesticides Regulation 2017; domestic users pesticides for personal use at home do not have to keep records. NSW Environment Protection Authority, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  2. A record of pesticide use must be made as soon as possible, and no later than 48 hours after the pesticide is used. NSW Environment Protection Authority, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  3. Records made or kept under the Pesticides Regulation 2017 must be legible and in the English language, and must be kept for at least 3 years. NSW Environment Protection Authority, checked 25 Sep 2026.