Skip to content

Notifications

Government mail service may be affected by the Canada Post labour disruption. Learn about how critical government mail will be handled.

Popular topics:

Alberta.ca Account
Part of Pesticide management

Pesticide regulations and schedules

Alberta’s pesticide management regulations ensure that pesticides are safely transported, sold, stored, handled, applied and disposed.

Explore pages in:
Pesticide management

Overview

Pesticide legislation is in place to ensure pesticide application in Alberta is conducted in a safe and effective manner that does not affect other people or the environment. The Alberta government conducts routine inspections and responds to complaints about improper pesticide management.

Legislation

Pesticide management regulations fall under the provincial Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA). The EPEA contains the following regulations specific to pesticides:

Regulatory updates

The Government of Alberta has amended the Environmental Code of Practice for Pesticides – effective February 1, 2025.

Pesticide Schedule 1 to 4

In Alberta, federal classes of pesticides (identified on the product label) have been further subdivided. These schedules are established under the Pesticide (Ministerial) Regulation. Alberta has 4 categories or schedules based on a pesticide’s:

  • potential hazard to human health
  • potential hazard to the environment
  • label use patterns

  • Schedule 1

    These are federally labelled restricted and some commercial pesticides. Most are fumigants and vertebrate toxicants. These pesticides can only be sold to:

    • bona fide farmers (some require farmers to hold a farmer pesticide certificate)
    • certified applicators
    • pesticide service registration holders

    They can only be used by bona fide farmers and certified applicators.

  • Schedule 2

    These are federally labelled commercial (or agricultural and industrial) pesticides. 

    They can only be sold to:

    • bona fide farmers
    • certified applicators
    • pesticide service registration holders

    They can only be used by:

    • farmers
    • certified applicators and their assistants
    • pesticide service registration holders

  • Schedule 3

    These are federally labelled domestic pesticides for use by homeowners. They may be sold to anyone and used by householders around their own homes.

    Anyone using these pesticides as a service must hold a pesticide applicator certificate, or they can be supervised by a certified applicator. This is also required when these pesticides are used in and around:

    • multi-family dwellings
    • day-care facilities
    • hospitals
    • nursing homes
    • schools

  • Schedule 4

    These federally labelled domestic and commercial pesticides may be sold to and used by anyone. They do not represent a significant risk to people or the environment when used as indicated on the label.

    Schedule 4 includes:

    • antimicrobial pesticides such as laundry additives, swimming pool chemicals, disinfectants and wood preservatives
    • animal repellents
    • insect growth regulators and insect repellents for use on pets and people
    • ready-to-use domestic insecticides and pressurized aerosols when used in and around the home (hornet and wasp sprays, ant traps, fly baits and strips, mosquito coils)
    • insecticides applied directly to livestock or their enclosures
    • metered mist application equipment
    • domestic plant growth regulators and pruning paints
    • domestic rodenticides that are ready-to-use baits
    • silicon dioxide (diatomaceous earth)

    If a product has a certification statement indicated on the label, then the product becomes a Schedule 2 pesticide. This means vendors must be registered and can only sell to certified applicators. Only certified applicators can use these products.

More information

Contact

Connect with Outreach Services:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Toll free: 310-3773 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Outside Alberta: 780-944-0313
Toll free: 1-877-944-0313
Email: [email protected]

Mailing address
Alberta Environment and Protected Areas
Outreach Services
9th Floor, South Petroleum Plaza 
9920 108 Street NW
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2G8

Back to Pesticide management
Next Pesticide storage and waste