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Florida Statute 482.161 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 482.161 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
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The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXXII
REGULATION OF PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
Chapter 482
PEST CONTROL
View Entire Chapter
482.161 Disciplinary grounds and actions; reinstatement.
(1) The department may issue a written warning to or impose a fine against, or deny the application for licensure or licensure renewal of, a licensee, certified operator, limited certificateholder, identification cardholder, or special identification cardholder or any other person, or may suspend, revoke, or deny the issuance or renewal of any license, certificate, limited certificate, identification card, or special identification card that is within the scope of this chapter, in accordance with chapter 120, upon any of the following grounds:
(a) Violation of any provision of this chapter or of any rule of the department adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(b) Conviction in any court within this state of a violation of any provision of this chapter.
(c) Habitual intemperance or addiction to narcotics.
(d) Conviction in any court in any state or in any federal court of a felony, unless civil rights have been restored.
(e) Knowingly making false or fraudulent claims with respect to pest control; knowingly misrepresenting the effects of materials or methods used in pest control; or knowingly failing to use materials or methods suitable for the pest control undertaken.
(f) Performing pest control in a negligent manner.
(g) Failure to give to the department, or authorized representative thereof, true information upon request regarding methods and materials used, work performed, or other information essential to the administration of this chapter.
(h) Fraudulent or misleading advertising relative to pest control or advertising in an unauthorized category of pest control.
(i) Failure to pay an administrative fine imposed pursuant to subsection (7).
(j) Impersonation of a department employee.
(k) Swearing to or affirming any false statement in an application for a license issued pursuant to this chapter.
(l) Cheating on an examination required for licensure under this chapter or violating a published test center or examination procedure provided orally, in writing, or electronically at the test site and affirmatively acknowledged by the examinee.
(m) Issuance of a final order imposing civil penalties under s. 14(a) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) or a criminal conviction under s. 14(b) of FIFRA.
(2) A revocation or suspension of a license, certificate, or limited certificate is effective for all categories unless the department, in its sole discretion, suspends or revokes fewer than all categories thereof.
(3) Three years after a revocation, application may be made to the department for reinstatement; and the department may authorize reinstatement.
(4) Any charge of a violation of this chapter or of the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter by a licensee affects only the license or permit of the business location from which the violation is alleged to have occurred. Another license or permit may not be issued to the same licensee, or to any person who has an ownership interest in the suspended or revoked business license of the licensee and who knew or should have known of the violation that resulted in the suspension or revocation, for a new business location in the same county or any contiguous county for a period of 3 years after the effective date of the suspension or revocation.
(5) If, after appropriate hearing in accordance with chapter 120, the department finds that a licensee, certified operator, limited certificateholder, identification cardholder, or special identification cardholder has committed any act described in subsection (1), but further finds that such act is of such nature or occurred under such circumstances that suspension or revocation of the license, certificate, limited certificate, identification card, or special identification card would either be detrimental to the public or be unnecessarily harsh under the circumstances, it may, in lieu of executing the order of suspension or revocation, either:
(a) Reprimand the party publicly or privately; or
(b) Place the party on probation for a period of not more than 2 years.
(6)(a) If the department finds that the terms of any such probation have been violated, it may revoke the probation order immediately; and its initial order takes effect.
(b) If a person is found by the department to have violated any of the other terms of this chapter or of the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter, the department may declare such probation revoked; and, in its proceeding with regard to such additional violation, the department may consider the violation for which probation is in effect in determining the extent of its order with regard to such additional violation.
(7) The department, pursuant to chapter 120, in addition to or in lieu of any other remedy provided by state or local law, may impose an administrative fine in the Class II category pursuant to s. 570.971 for a violation of this chapter or of the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter. In determining the amount of fine to be levied for a violation, the following factors shall be considered:
(a) The severity of the violation, including the probability that the death, or serious harm to the health or safety, of any person will result or has resulted; the severity of the actual or potential harm; and the extent to which this chapter or the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter were violated;
(b) Any actions taken by the licensee or certified operator in charge, or limited certificateholder, to correct the violation or to remedy complaints;
(c) Any previous violations of this chapter or of the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter; and
(d) The cost to the department of investigating the violation.
(8) An administrative law judge may, in lieu of or in addition to imposition of a fine, recommend probation or public or private reprimand. A public reprimand must be made in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of the licensee.
(9) The department shall publish quarterly a list of disciplinary actions taken pursuant to this section and shall provide such list to each licensee.
(10) The department may require any licensee disciplined for a violation of s. 482.226 to submit to the department reports for wood-destroying organism inspections and treatments performed. These reports must be submitted at such times as required by the department but not more frequently than once a week.
History.s. 1, ch. 59-454; s. 1, ch. 65-295; ss. 19, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 383, ch. 77-147; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 12, ch. 78-292; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 10, 14, 15, ch. 82-229; s. 13, ch. 89-180; ss. 42, 59, ch. 92-203; s. 7, ch. 94-194; s. 225, ch. 96-410; s. 6, ch. 2001-280; s. 5, ch. 2003-35; s. 15, ch. 2014-150; s. 61, ch. 2015-2; s. 7, ch. 2024-137; s. 38, ch. 2025-22.

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Amendments to 482.161


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 482.161

Total Results: 4  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Pest Control Comm'n of Florida v. Ace Pest Control, Inc., 214 So. 2d 892 (Fla. 1st DCA 1968).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1968 Fla. App. LEXIS 5067

...ctural pest control. Among the powers conferred upon the commission is the revocation and suspension of licenses when violations of the statutes or rules enacted thereunder have occurred. Specific grounds for suspension and revocation are set out in Section 482.161....
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Wilson v. Pest Control Comm'n of Florida, 199 So. 2d 777 (Fla. 4th DCA 1967).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 1967 Fla. App. LEXIS 4930

...The commission determined that, since the petitioner had sold the business, he was not actively engaged in lawn and ornamental pest control for a period of six months preceding the effective date of the Pest Control Act. The commission further takes the position that the petitioner violated provisions of F.S.A. § 482.161(7) [1] by failing in his application to give the commission true information as to the sale of the business to H.M....
...Many of our commissions are embodied with the far-reaching power and authority to affect the livelihood and well being of our citizens. The quasi-judicial power to stop the renewal of certificates initially issued by the pest control commission was granted to the commission by the legislature when it promulgated F.S.A. § 482.161....
...trative Code, Chapter 333-7.01. [4] Although there is no mention of renewal of certificate in F.S.A. § 482.171 as the section deals specifically with revocation or suspension, nevertheless, F.S.A. § 482.171 must be read in pari materia with F.S.A. § 482.161 which includes therein power to deny renewal of a certificate....
...I concur in the decision to grant the writ of certiorari and to require the Pest Control *782 Commission to issue a certificate to the petitioner, Harry J. Wilson, Jr., as a lawn and ornamental pest control operator under the grandfather clause of the Pest Control Act, F.S.A. § 482.221(6). NOTES [1] F.S.A. § 482.161 "Grounds for suspension and revocation....
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Flaig v. Pest Control Comm'n, 213 So. 2d 471 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1968).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1968 Fla. App. LEXIS 5142

...ears old. These experts testified that one treatment should last two to five years, but even with the best treatment reinfestation was possible. The Pest Control Commission found that the treatment was improperly and negligently done in violation of Section 482.161 (6) and Rule 1701-2.04(3); that the method and equipment used was unsatisfactory; that Petitioner’s workman was improperly trained in violation of Section 482.152 and Rule 1701-2.04(4); and that Flaig violated Section 482.161(5)....
...d be charged with alleged violations occurring prior to the date of the enactment because the Pest Control Commission had no vested rights which were cut off or impaired by the statute. Petitioner was further charged with violating the following: Subsection 482.161(5), Florida Statutes, which reads: “(5) Knowingly making false or fraudulent claims; knowingly misrepresenting the effects of material or methods; knowingly failing to use methods or materials suitable for the pest control undertaken Subsection 482.161(6), Florida Statutes, which reads: “(6) Performing pest control in a negligent manner;” Subsection 482.152(4), Florida Statutes, which reads: “(4) The training of personnel in the proper and acceptable methods of pest control....
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Rifkin v. Florida Real Est. Comm'n, 345 So. 2d 349 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1977).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

...aths — Section 462.14(2) Nurses — Section 464.21(1) Nursing Home Administrators — Section 468.-175(l)(d) Occupational Therapists — Section 468.-217(l)(c) Optometry — Section 463.11(l)(b) Osteopaths — Section 459.14(2)(a) Pest Control — Section 482.161(4) Pharmacy — Section 465.101(l)(g) Pilots — Pilotage—Section 310.101 Podiatry — Section 461.08(l)(b) Professional Engineers — Section 471.26(1) Psychologist — Section 490.26(l)(c) Sanitarian — Section 491.12(3) Speech Pathology — Section 468.147(3) Veterinarians....

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