Glossary

This glossary defines the terms used in the PRL Documentation set.

Aquatic Anti-fouling Paint Applicator: Someone who is certified in the commercial application of general-use aquatic anti-foulant paints.  Anti-fouling applicators are issued an identification number that starts with the letter "B" followed by 7 digits.  See the NYSDEC website for more information.

Business Registration Number: Business registration numbers are issued by the NYSDEC to registered businesses.  The identification number is 5 digits in length.

Certification Identification Number:The certification ID is issued by the NYSDEC to a commercial applicator, technician, or anti-fouling paint applicator. (Private applicators are also issued certification IDs but are not required to submit PRL Reports.)  The number is printed on the applicator's ID card and the certification certificate.  The certification ID number begins with “C”, “T”, or “B”, followed by 7 digits.

Certified Applicator: A pesticide applicator licensed by the state of New York.  This includes commercial applicators, technicians, anti-fouling paint applicators, and private applicators.  Note that private applicators are not required to submit PRL Reports.

Commercial Permit Number: Commercial sales permit numbers are issued by the NYSDEC to commercial permittees; they consist of an “R” followed by 5 digits (e.g. R00001).

Commercial Pesticide Applicator: Someone who is fully certified to make applications in the state of New York.  Commercial applicators are issued an identification number that starts with the letter "C" followed by 7 digits.  See the NYSDEC website for more information.

Control Center (also known as Control Center): The main window of the  Option A, B, and C software.  Your contact and identification information is entered here.  You can open a reporting form to enter pesticide data⁷, upload your report, change the report year, edit your list of products⁷, change the Report Root, and access the program documentation.

Commercial Pesticide Apprentice: Uncertified pesticide applicator working under the direct supervision of a commercial pesticide applicator.  Apprentices do not have an identification number issued by the DEC.  See the NYSDEC website for more information.

Commercial Pesticide Technician: Someone who is certified to make some types of applications in the state of New York.  Technicians are issued an identification number that starts with the letter "T" followed by 7 digits.  See the NYSDEC website for more information.

Commercial Sales Permittee: Anyone who sells restricted-use pesticides must hold a commercial sales permit issued by the NYSDEC.  Sales permittees are issued a commercial permit number.  See the NYSDEC website for more information.

Compliant Report:  A PRL report file has a "compliant” format if it is either:

• A text file formatted according to the Text File Specifications.  This includes Option A files, third-party software files, or manually-created files that have been validated with our software.
• A Microsoft Excel .xls file created from one of the Excel workbooks provided by the Service Bureau.  This includes  Options B, D, and O files.

In addition, the file name should follow the naming conventions shown for text files or Excel files, as applicable. The critical parts of the file name are the prefix and extension.

In both cases, we know how the data is laid out in the file, so we are able to automatically extract the data for storage in a database. Files that are “not compliant” will no longer be accepted starting with the 2023 reporting year.

A PRL Report Submission is “compliant” if all of the files in the submission are compliant.

Confirmation of Receipt Email: The email message sent by the Pesticide Reporting Service Bureau which indicates that your report submission has been received.  It contains a list of the files we received, your submission number, and a preliminary assessment of whether your report meets our specifications.  For reports submitted via the web and the PRL reporting software, the email is sent immediately.  Please retain this email as proof that your report was received.

Form 25 (also known as Form 44-15-25): Form 25 is used by commercial permittees to report a summary of all sales of restricted-use pesticides sold from their establishment to New York purchasers throughout the year. The same form is used for sales to resellers (other commercial permittees) or for sales for end use by commercial applicators, technicians, and anti-fouling paint applicators.  Each container size of each product sold should be reported on a separate line of the form.

See the record layout for the data items to include on this form.  If you have manually created a text file or use third-party software that creates text files, see the Text File Specifications.

Form Title: "Annual Report for Restricted Pesticides Sales"

Form 26 (also known as Form 44-15-26):  Form 26 is used to report all pesticide applications made by commercial applicators, technicians, anti-fouling paint applicators and apprentices during the reporting year.  Each pesticide application should be reported on a separate line of the form.  Fully certified applicators who supervise apprentices must report applications made by those apprentices. 

See the record layout for the data items to include on this form.  If you have manually created a text file or use third-party software that creates text files, see the Text File Specifications.

Form Title: "Applicator/Technician Pesticide Annual Report"

Form 26A (also known as Form 44-15-26A): Form 26A is used to submit a list of certified applicators employed by a registered pesticide business or agency or by a non-registered business making pesticide applications (such as a golf course, cemetery, greenhouse, etc.).  All certified applicators who worked for the business during any part of the report year, even if they made no applications, should be included on the form.  Please do not include pesticide apprentices or those who are not certified or are only provisionally certified. 

See the record layout for the data items to include on this form.  If you have manually created a text file or use third-party software that creates text files, see the Text File Specifications.

Form Title: "List of Commercial Applicators and Technicians"

Form 27 (also known as Form 44-15-27): Form 27 is used by commercial permittees to report all sales of restricted-use pesticides or general-use agricultural pesticides to certified private applicators in New York State.  Each pesticide sale should be reported on a separate line of the form. 

See the record layout for the data items to include on this form. If you have manually created a text file or use third-party software that creates text files, see the Text File Specifications.

Form Title: "Annual Report for Pesticide Sales to Certified Private Applicators"

Form Types: The PRL Service Bureau and the DEC have developed four form types that capture all the data required to be reported under the PRL.  All reports submitted to the PRL Service Bureau and the DEC must conform to the record layouts of these forms or the Text File Specifications.  The four form types are

• Form 25: "Annual Report for Restricted Pesticides Sales"
• Form 26: "Applicator/Technician Pesticide Annual Report"
• Form 26A: "List of Commercial Applicators and Technicians"
• Form 27: "Annual Report for Pesticide Sales to Certified Private Applicators" 
  

Identity File: The identity.txt contains the identity and contact information that you enter into our reporting software and some third-party software products.  You can also create it yourself.  Our software stores the file in the report folder.

Installation Folder: The default installation folder for all of our software options is: C:\Program Files\NYSPRL. This location is modifiable during installation.  Please note that your report files are not stored here; they are in the report folder.  There is no reason for you to access this folder.  While the blank  Option B templates are stored here, it is simpler to use the Blank Form button on the Control Center to open a new form.

Macro: A set of Visual Basic for Applications commands used by the  Option B application to add functionality to the Excel workbooks.

Private Pesticide Applicator: Someone who makes private applications of restricted-use pesticides for purposes of producing an agricultural commodity in the State of New York.  Private applicators are issued an identification number that starts with the letter "P" followed by 7 digits.  Private applicators are NOT required to file a PRL report.  See the NYSDEC website for more information.

Pesticide Reporting Law: The PRL requires the annual submission of reports detailing pesticide activities for the prior calendar year. Commercial applicators, technicians, anti-fouling paint applicators and commercial sales permittees (including importers, manufacturers and compounders) are required to submit the annual reports by February 1 of each year,.  See the NYSDEC website for more information.

Pesticide Reporting Service Bureau: The group at Cornell University that has been contracted by the NYSDEC to process the annual PRL reports, provide telephone and email support to the businesses and applicators, create and maintain the PRL websites, and create and maintain the various pesticide reporting options.  Questions not directly related to your PRL report such as questions about your certification or business registration should be directed to the NYSDEC.  We can be  contacted by phone or email.

Registered Pesticide Business: Pesticide businesses or agencies registered with the state of New York to make commercial pesticide applications.  Registered businesses are issued a 5-digit identification number. See the NYSDEC website for more information.

Report Acceptance Email: The email message sent by the Pesticide Reporting Service Bureau after your report has been accepted.  Typically this email is sent out within about one week of submission.  The message contains a list of the applicators from your report who have been credited with reporting for the year.  For pesticide sales businesses it will contain the sales permit numbers credited with reporting.  If you do not receive this email, please contact us.  You will not be credited with reporting for the year until your report has been accepted.

Report Folder (also known as Data Directory): The default folder for storing report files that you save and the identity.txt file containing the information entered on the Control Center.  The folder name is PRLyyyy (where “yyyy” is the report year, for ex. PRL2014) and it is created by the PRL Reporting Software Options A, B, and C.  A separate report folder is created for each report year.  You may store your files in another location, but the identity.txt is always saved in the report folder.  We strongly recommend saving to the current report folder, which is the default location used by our software.

The report folder is created by the PRL Reporting Software as a sub-folder of the Report Root, one report folder for each report year.

The PRL Reporting Software displays the current location for the report folder in the upper right corner of the Control Center.

For example, if you create reports for the 2014 report year and have not changed the Report Root location, the default report folder location is C:\PRL2014.

Report Root Folder: The Report Root folder is a location on your computer where all of your NYS PRL files should be saved.  It contains a report folder for each report year, The default setting for the Report Root is your C:\ drive.  The Report Root folder can be changed during installation or by using the Change Report Root menu item on the Tools menu of the Control Center.  For example if you set the Report Root folder to C:\PRL, and you create reports for 2011 and 2012, the C:\PRL folder will contain two sub-folders: PRL2011 and PRL2012.

Report Year: The year in which the pesticide applications or sales that you are reporting occurred.  This may be the previous calendar year.

Special Local Need Registration: Pesticide product registrations issued by the DEC, per FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act), for the following purposes:

To meet an existing or imminent pest problem within New York State for which the Department has determined that an appropriate pesticide product is not sufficiently available which is registered by the USEPA and the Department
or

To allow for the limited registration and use of a product for which the full federally labeled use would result in unacceptable impacts on human health or the environment.

SLN Number: The number used to identify a Special Local Need registration.  The format is SLN NY-nnnnnn (where n = numeric digit) (e.g. SLN NY-120001).

Submission Number (also known as Processing Number): A 6-digit number issued by the Pesticide Reporting Service Bureau, which identifies a particular report submission.  This number is on the page displayed when you finish uploading your report via our website or using our  Option A, B, C, or D (installed version) software.  It is also included in all email messages regarding your submission sent by the Pesticide Reporting Service Bureau.