Certibiocide — the French individual certificate for biocidal products
Mandatory: using professionally, buying or distributing certain types of biocidal products requires holding the matching individual certificate. The framework comes from the French order of 9 October 2013 as amended; the certificate is valid for five years.
Issued by: The French environment ministry, following training with a provider authorised by its risk-prevention directorate
Pest-control applicators and firms (rodent and insect control), disinfection and cleaning professionals, local-authority and healthcare staff, wood-treatment businesses, and distributors or sellers of professional-use biocidal products.
What this scheme covers
- C.1Three certificate categories since the reform applicable from 1 January 2024: “disinfectants”, “pests” and “other products”. There is no generic Certibiocide — you hold the one matching the products you handle.
- C.2Scopes defined by product type (PT): disinfectants cover PT2, PT3 and PT4; pest control covers rodenticides (PT14) and insecticides (PT18) among others; “other products” mainly covers wood preservation (PT8) and antifouling products (PT21).
- C.3Two separate activities: professional use (decision-makers and operators) on one side, purchasing and distribution on the other — a seller of professional disinfectants is covered just as much as an applicator.
- C.4Five years' validity, renewal to anticipate, and a national online service: certificate applications, downloads and the official list of authorised training providers all go through the ministry's Certibiocide application.
The link with Qualiopi
Certibiocide certifies a person, not an organisation: it falls outside the French national quality framework. But it is obtained through training, and the provider must be authorised by the environment ministry under the order of 23 January 2023 — then Qualiopi-certified if its sessions are to be publicly funded (CPF, sector funds).
The process, summarised
- 1.Identify the category matching your actual activity — disinfectants, pests or other products — starting from the product types (PT) shown on the labels and marketing authorisations of the products you use or sell.
- 2.Check whether you fall under professional use or distribution: the two activities do not lead to the same certificate, and one site may need both.
- 3.Pick a training provider authorised for that category, using the ministry's official list, then attend the session: length varies by category, pest control being noticeably longer than disinfectants.
- 4.Pass the knowledge check held at the end of the course, then follow the issuing of the certificate on the Certibiocide online service, from which it is downloaded.
- 5.Anticipate renewal before the five-year deadline: letting the certificate lapse means losing the right to carry out the activity until you have been through the process again.
FAQ — Certibiocide
+Are Certibiocide and Certiphyto the same thing?
No. Certiphyto covers plant protection products, under the French rural code and the agriculture ministry. Certibiocide covers biocidal products — disinfectants, rodenticides, insecticides, wood preservation — under the environment ministry. Both are individual and valid for five years, but neither replaces the other: a firm working in both fields needs both.
+Since when has the “disinfectants” Certibiocide been required?
The reform carried by the order of 9 October 2013 as amended has applied since 1 January 2024, but the deadline initially set at 1 January 2025 was pushed back a year by an order of 3 December 2024. Since 1 January 2026, the newly covered professionals — for disinfectants as well as for professional-use wood-preservation and antifouling products — must hold the matching certificate.
+Can a training provider deliver Certibiocide courses without authorisation?
No. Only providers authorised by the risk-prevention directorate, under the conditions of the order of 23 January 2023 as amended, may run the courses leading to the certificate. Authorisation lasts five years for a given certificate type, and renewal must be applied for no later than three months before it expires. A session run without authorisation leads to no certificate at all.
- Renewing Your Certibiocide: Validity, Process and Mistakes to Avoid7 min
- Becoming an Authorised Certibiocide Training Provider: Authorisation, Qualiopi, Requirements8 min
- Certibiocide: Disinfectants, Pests or Other Products — Which Category Applies to You?7 min
- Certibiocide or Certiphyto: Two Certificates Not to Be Confused7 min
- Certibiocide for Pests: What Rodent and Insect Control Firms Need to Know7 min
- Certibiocide for Disinfectants: Who Has Been Covered Since 1 January 2026?7 min
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