State guide · IDALS
Iowa pesticide application records
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) requires commercial applicators (office records of application activity) to keep a record of every pesticide applied. The rule: Iowa Admin. Code r. 21-45.26(3); Iowa Code ch. 206. This guide lists what the record must contain, when it is due, how long to keep it, and what SprayDocs checks before the PDF leaves your phone.
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At a glance
- Complete the record
- The rule we reviewed names no completion deadline.
- Keep it for
- At least 3 years from the application.
- Who keeps it
- Commercial applicators (office records of application activity).
- Official form
- None mandated — the rule lists the elements the record must contain. SprayDocs exports its own layout with the citations printed on it.
- Filed with the state?
- No routine use reporting; records are furnished to the secretary on written request. A separate annual retail sales-dollar report (from 2026) is a fee-related sales report, not use reporting.
- Copies
- No standing copy deadline in the rule we reviewed; copies owed on request are described under filing. Federal law still requires a customer copy within 30 days for restricted-use applications.
What the record must contain
The elements below are required on every Iowa record. SprayDocs shows exactly these inputs for a Iowa record and will not produce the PDF while a required one is blank.
Always on the record
Required in every state, including Iowa.
- Date of the application
- Firm name, address and phone number
- Responsible commercial applicator and license number
- Name of each applicator who made the application
- Customer name and the address of the treated site
- Trade name of each product applied
- Type of site or property treated
Iowa adds
- Start timeThe time the application began, for each treatment.
- Stop timeThe time the application ended, for each treatment.
- Area treatedHow much area was treated (square feet, acres, linear feet…).
- Amount applied / total mix volumeThe total amount of mix or product applied to the site.
- Application methodHow the pesticide was applied — ground, aerial, or chemigation.
- EPA registration numberThe EPA registration number printed on each product label.
- Mix rate / concentrationThe mix rate or concentration of each product in the tank.
- TemperatureAir temperature at the site during the application.
- Wind direction / velocityWind direction and speed at the site during the application.
- Certification numberThe applicator’s certification number, when the state issues one separately from the license.
Who must keep it, and for which jobs
Who: Commercial applicators (office records of application activity).
Which jobs: Every pesticide applied.
Is anything filed with the state?
No routine use reporting; records are furnished to the secretary on written request. A separate annual retail sales-dollar report (from 2026) is a fee-related sales report, not use reporting.
Copies of the record
No standing copy deadline in the rule we reviewed; copies owed on request are described under filing. Federal law still requires a customer copy within 30 days for restricted-use applications.
Restricted-use products in every state: federal law (7 U.S.C. 136i-1) requires commercial applicators to keep the record 2 years and give the customer a copy within 30 days. SprayDocs flags this on any record with a restricted-use line.
What SprayDocs checks before the PDF
Validation runs on your phone as you type. Blocking items stop the export; reminders do not.
- Every required element above is checked for a blank: 10 state-specific inputs plus the elements common to all states.
- A stop time before the start time blocks; an application date in the future is flagged.
- A product marked restricted-use requires its EPA registration number and shows the federal 2-year / 30-day reminder.
- Text that the PDF fonts cannot print (an emoji, say) is cleaned rather than allowed to blank a field.
Sources
The rule text SprayDocs was built against, and where to read it. The SprayDocs research ledger is dated August 4, 2026 and each state’s configuration was checked against it as the state was built; confidence for Iowa: high.
- Iowa Admin. Code r. 21-45.26(3)
- Iowa Code ch. 206
- legis.iowa.gov — https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/ACO/rule/21.45.26.pdf
- legis.iowa.gov — https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-07-2026.21.45.pdf
Retention, deadline and filing facts on this page come from the rule cited above. Rules change; when in doubt, read the rule or ask IDALS.
Fill out the Iowa record
SprayDocs opens with exactly the Iowa inputs above, checks them as you type, and produces a PDF (usually one page) laid out around the rule, with the citations printed on it — all on your phone. The app runs in English or Spanish. Filling it out needs no account; a free account downloads the PDF and keeps a synced copy; the Pro plan adds the crew.
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