Accepted File Types

Only Microsoft Excel files with an XLS or XLSX extension and text files with a TXT extension will be accepted by the PRL Service Bureau.

PDF, JPG, and other image files (e.g. files with a BMP, PNG, or TIFF extension) cannot be processed.  We cannot extract the data from image files.  Even if the image has been inserted into an accepted file type (see above), we will still be unable to extract the data and so cannot accept these files.

In the past while PDF files were never an acceptable file type as a courtesy we have accepted PDF files if the data could be extracted from the file.  Typically, this was not the case because the majority of these files are scans of paper reports or images rather than text data.  However, even when we are able to extract the data, the process is time-consuming and requires far more manual processing than other file types.  For this reason, we have decided not to accept any PDF files starting with the 2023 reporting year. 

Many third-party pesticide management applications have the ability to generate reports or export data in different file formats besides PDF.  These often include Microsoft Excel and text.  Some packages even have a PRL reporting feature that can generate a compliant PRL report.  Your pesticide management software documentation or vendor should have information on what file types can be exported or generated from your software.