A third-party licensing guide reviewed for this site says a pest control firm in New Mexico operates under one or more individually licensed commercial applicators, certified by category, and names four structural categories: 7A Structural Pests, 7B Vertebrate Pests, 7C Fumigation and 7D Wood-Destroying Pests. The names have not been confirmed with the Department of Agriculture. Confirm them with the Department before relying on any of them, and never assume a category that a technician or firm has not shown you.
Key takeaways
- The category names in this guide come from a third-party licensing guide and must be confirmed with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.
- A licence category describes what the holder may apply. It is not a quality rating.
- Ask which category the technician holds and whether it covers the work planned for your property.
- A firm may hold licences in more than one category, held by different people.
- Do not accept a category claim you have not checked against the Department.
- If the work involves fumigation or wood-destroying work, ask about that category by name.
Where do the category names in this guide come from?
The category names come from a third-party licensing guide reviewed for this site in 2026. That guide is not named here, and its names are not treated as confirmed. The Department of Agriculture is the authority, and the names must be checked with it.
A useful licensing guide explains how the system is organised, but it may be out of date or may simplify the rules. This site therefore treats the category names as to be verified. A caller who reads a category name on a website should check it with the Department before relying on it, and a firm that quotes a category should be able to say where the name comes from.
The sources reviewed for this site do not include the Department’s own current list of categories. This guide does not invent one. It sets out the names that the reviewed guide gives and the questions to ask about them.
What do the structural categories suggest?
The reviewed guide names 7A Structural Pests, 7B Vertebrate Pests, 7C Fumigation and 7D Wood-Destroying Pests. Each name suggests a kind of work, but the scope of each is set by the Department, and the guide does not describe that scope in full.
A structural pest category would usually be expected to cover the work done inside and around buildings, such as insects and similar pests in a home or a business. A vertebrate pest category would be expected to cover animals with backbones, such as rodents. A fumigation category would cover the sealed-space treatment of a building or a load, which is a different method with its own safety rules. A wood-destroying category would cover the inspection and treatment of wood damage from insects and fungi.
Those descriptions are the guide’s and the reader’s expectations. They are not statements of what the Department’s categories cover. A caller who needs to know whether a technician may do a particular job should ask the Department, and should not rely on the name of a category alone.
Why does it matter which category the technician holds?
It matters because the licence is the authority to apply the product, and a product may be restricted to a category. A technician who holds the wrong category for a job is not authorised to do it, even if the technician is licensed for something else.
A caller who books a rodent job should ask whether the technician holds the category that covers rodents, and a caller who books a termite or a wood job should ask about the wood-destroying category. A firm that cannot say which category applies to the work has not answered the question, and the caller should ask again.
A firm may hold licences in more than one category, held by different people. The caller should ask which person holds which category, and whether the person attending the visit holds the one the job needs. The report should record the category used, where the product label names one.
How do I verify a category with the Department?
Ask the Department of Agriculture to confirm the category names and the scope of each, and ask it to confirm the category held by the named technician. Give the name and the licence number exactly as the technician gave them.
The Department’s own website and telephone line are the route for a check. Ask for the current list of categories under the Pesticide Control Act, and for the scope of the category that the job needs. Ask whether the named person holds it, and whether the licence is current.
Keep a note of the answer with the date and the name of the person who gave it. A note of the check, filed with the report, shows the caller did the work before the visit, and it gives the next technician a record to compare against.
What about a firm that uses more than one licensed person?
A firm may operate under one or more licensed applicators, and the caller is entitled to know which of them is on the job and which category that person holds. The firm should say so in writing before the visit.
A firm with several technicians may hold licences in different categories, and not every technician will hold the same one. The caller should ask which technician will attend and what category that person holds, and should be told if the attending technician changes.
The firm carries its own obligations for its licences, permits and insurance. A caller who relies on a licence held by someone the caller has not met should ask the firm to explain who holds the licence and how the firm supervises the work.
What should the homeowner write down?
Write down the category named, the person who holds it, the Department’s confirmation, the date checked and the scope the Department gave. File the note with the report.
A short note with five items is enough: the category, the person, the licence number, the date and the result of the check. If the category is not confirmed, the note should say so, and the work should not start until it is.
The note is the record that the caller did the check, and it is the record the next technician will look for. It is the simplest protection the caller has, and it costs only a few minutes.
What is the limit of this guide?
This guide does not state the category any business holds, does not describe the Department’s application process or fees, and does not list every category the Department may issue. Those points are for the Department and for the firm.
The guide describes what to verify and how. It does not decide whether a particular firm is licensed for a particular job, because that is for the Department to say and for the firm to show. This site does not hold the licences of any firm and does not claim to.
A caller who finds a difference between this guide and the Department’s own answer should follow the Department’s answer. The guide is a list of questions to ask, not an authority on the categories.
How do the categories relate to the product label?
A product label names the uses the product may be applied to and sometimes the category of applicator who may apply it. The licence category and the label together decide whether a particular application is allowed, so the technician must check both before applying.
The label is the legal instruction for the product. It sets the place, the amount, the method and the re-entry time, and in some cases it names the category of applicator. A technician who holds the right category but applies the product outside the label is not following the rules, and a technician who holds the wrong category cannot apply the product at all.
A caller can ask to see the label before the visit. The label is the document the technician works from, and it is the best check on whether the planned product matches the job. Keep a copy with the report.
What should a caller ask if a firm uses different categories for different jobs?
Ask which category applies to each job on the booking, which person holds it, and whether that person will attend. A firm that works in several categories should be able to match each job to a category in writing.
A firm may use one person for an inspection and another for a treatment, and each may hold a different category. The booking should say which category applies to the inspection and which to the treatment, so the caller knows whose licence covers each part of the visit.
If the firm cannot match the jobs to categories, the caller should ask for the answer in writing before the visit. An answer that depends on who is free on the day is not an answer the caller can check.
What questions should a caller put to the Department?
Ask the Department for the current category names, the scope of the category the job needs, whether a named person holds it, whether the licence is current and how a complaint about the work is made. Write the answers down with the date.
The questions are short, and each one has a checkable answer. The Department can confirm the category names and the scope of each, and it can confirm the status of a named licence. Asking for the complaint route at the same time means the caller knows where to go if the work is not right.
A written answer from the Department is the most reliable record. If the answer is given by phone, ask for the name of the person who gave it and the date, and note both in the file.
How should a category be recorded in the report?
The report records the category of the person who applied each product, the licence number and the date it was checked. Where the label names a category, the report says so and states whether the applicator held it.
A category entry in the report should match the category the Department confirmed, not the one a website or a brochure claimed. A caller who finds a mismatch should ask the firm for an explanation and check the Department’s answer before any further work.
The entry should also say which person applied each product, because a firm may have more than one licensed person and the application may be split between them on the same visit.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 7A category enough for a termite job?
This guide cannot say. The names are to be confirmed with the Department, and the scope of each category has to be checked. Ask the firm which category it relies on for the termite work and check that with the Department.
Does the category show how good the technician is?
No. A category shows the kind of work the licence authorises. It does not show the quality of the inspection, the sealing or the report.
Can I ask for the category in writing?
Yes. Ask for the category, the person and the licence number in writing before the visit. A firm that is operating properly will send them.
What if the firm names a category that is not in this guide?
Check it with the Department. This guide does not list every category the Department may issue, and a category that is not listed here is not wrong because it is missing from this page.
Who should I ask if the Department’s answer is unclear?
Ask the Department to clarify the answer in writing. A written answer from the Department is more reliable than a summary from a website, including this one.
Sources
This guide is general information for Sandoval County homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.