Glyphosate is not a restricted use pesticide under federal law. The EPA maintains a list of 28 active ingredients classified as restricted use pesticides, and glyphosate is not among them. This means glyphosate is classified as a “general use” pesticide, which anyone can purchase and apply without a certified applicator license at the federal level.
What “Restricted Use” Actually Means
The EPA divides pesticides into two categories: general use and restricted use. Restricted use pesticides (RUPs) are products the agency has determined could cause harm to the environment or the applicator, even when used as directed. Federal law requires that anyone applying a restricted use pesticide be certified as either a private or commercial applicator, or work under the direct supervision of one. Private applicators are typically farmers applying pesticides on land they own or rent. Commercial applicators cover everyone else, from lawn care companies to mosquito control districts.
General use pesticides like glyphosate carry no such certification requirement at the federal level. You can walk into a store, buy a glyphosate product, and apply it on your property without any license or training. The product label is your legal guide: it specifies where and how the product can be used, and violating those instructions is a federal offense regardless of the pesticide’s classification.
Why Some People Think It’s Restricted
Confusion around glyphosate’s status often stems from two things: high-profile lawsuits linking it to cancer, and the fact that major retailers have quietly changed what they sell. Bayer, the company that acquired Roundup, has transitioned its residential lawn and garden products away from glyphosate entirely. Roundup-branded products at big box stores now typically contain different active ingredients like triclopyr, diquat, or fluazifop instead of glyphosate. The switch was a business decision to reduce litigation risk, not a regulatory mandate.
Glyphosate-based products are still manufactured and sold for agricultural and professional use. If you specifically want a glyphosate formulation, agricultural supply stores still carry them. But the disappearance of glyphosate from familiar retail shelves has led many homeowners to assume it was banned or restricted.
State Rules Go Further Than Federal Law
While the federal government treats glyphosate as general use, several states have added their own layers of regulation. New York provides the most detailed example. Since 2022, state law makes it unlawful for any state department, agency, or public benefit corporation to apply glyphosate on state property, with narrow exceptions. Those exceptions include maintaining critical infrastructure, ensuring roadside safety, controlling invasive species, managing pests of significant public health importance, and protecting critical native plant species.
Even when one of those exceptions applies, the agency must document three things before spraying: that the application falls under the permitted uses, that there will be no actual or significant threat of direct human exposure, and that no effective alternatives to glyphosate exist. State entities must also report their glyphosate usage, including product names, amounts applied, and locations, to the Department of Environmental Conservation by January 15 each year. That data gets published publicly by April 1.
New York’s law applies specifically to state property and state agencies. It does not prevent private landowners or businesses from using glyphosate. Other states and municipalities have their own patchwork of rules ranging from disclosure requirements to outright bans on public land. If you’re unsure what applies where you live, your state’s department of agriculture or cooperative extension office can clarify local restrictions.
The EPA’s Ongoing Review
Glyphosate is currently undergoing registration review, a process the EPA uses to re-evaluate pesticides on a regular cycle to ensure they still meet safety standards. The deadline for final decisions on pesticides registered before October 2007 (which includes glyphosate) has been extended to October 1, 2026, after Congress provided a four-year extension in the 2023 federal budget. The EPA updates its review schedule quarterly.
Registration review does not necessarily mean a pesticide’s classification will change. It could result in new label requirements, use restrictions, or no changes at all. Until the review is complete, glyphosate’s current general use classification remains in effect.
What This Means for Home and Farm Use
If you’re a homeowner looking for glyphosate, you likely won’t find it under the Roundup name at most major retailers anymore. The residential versions have been reformulated with different active ingredients. You can still purchase glyphosate products at farm supply stores or through online retailers that carry professional and agricultural formulations. No federal license is required.
If you’re a farmer or commercial applicator, glyphosate products remain widely available and unchanged. Because glyphosate is not a restricted use pesticide, no special certification is needed specifically for glyphosate, though many states require commercial applicators to hold a general pesticide license regardless of which products they use. Always check your state’s requirements, as they frequently exceed federal minimums.