CDFA - County Relations Office (2024)

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Licensing Exams For
COUNTY AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER
COUNTY SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

All examinations will be offered online except for the Commissioner/Sealer/Deputy Oral Examinations. Candidates wishing to take an examination on paper must contact the County Licensing Program to request a reasonable accommodation and be approved by CDFA.

Application and Fees

Applications must be filed electronically at: https://apps1.cdfa.ca.gov/countylicensingexam/. A fee of $75.00 will be charged for the administration of each exam. Fees for all exams must be remitted with the electronic application via credit or debit card. Refunds will be issued to candidates not meeting minimum qualifications.

Candidates successfully passing the written exam will be automatically registered to take the next scheduled oral exam without additional fees. Candidates that have failed in a previous attempt to pass the oral exam must re-apply and pay an additional $75.00 fee to register for an oral exam. Candidates that have passed the written exam will be given up to five (5) attempts to pass the oral portion of the exam, within three years of taking the written portion of the exam, before being required to re-take the written exam.

Examination Registration Period

Exam Locations

Exams will typically be administered at the office of the Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures in each respective county.

• Candidates employed by a County will take their exam(s) in their employing county.
• Candidates not employed by a County will take their exam(s) in the county in which they reside.
• If a candidate employed by a County wishes to take an exam outside of their employing county, approval must be obtained, prior to scheduling the exam, from both the employing County and the County in which the exam will be scheduled.
• If a candidate not employed by a County wishes to take an exam outside of their county of residence, approval must be obtained, prior to scheduling the exam, from the County in which they would like to take the exam.

Oral Exams will be scheduled regionally depending on the number of participating candidates in any given area.

Notice of Exam and Rescheduling

Candidates will receive notice of the exam location, date, and time at least twenty-one (21) days prior to the exam date. If you believe you have applied and paid fees for an upcoming exam and have not received this notice, please contact the CDFA Licensing program at 916-653-5866 or cdfa.county_exams@cdfa.ca.gov as soon as possible. Candidates unable to present an examination notice may not be allowed into the exam.

Candidates wishing to reschedule exams must notify the County Licensing Program at least fourteen (14) days before the scheduled testing date. Failure to provide this advance notice, and not appearing for an exam, will result in fee forfeiture and necessitate re-applying for the exam in a future cycle. Candidates noticing the program at least fourteen days before the scheduled testing date will be rescheduled during the current cycle or postponed to the next exam cycle at the discretion of the Licensing Program. No fee refunds will be issued to qualified candidates.

Minimum Qualifications

Candidates must meet the following criteria to be admitted to the exam:

County Agricultural Commissioner

1. Possession of a valid statewide Deputy County Agricultural Commissioner license; and
2. Four (4) years of experience in the enforcement of agricultural or weights and measures laws, at least two (2) years of which shall have included management, supervisory, or program responsibility experience; and
3. A minimum of 80 hours of instruction in management and/or supervisory practices, obtained through organized classroom training, in-service training, or accredited correspondence courses. (The 80 hours of management and/or supervisory instruction shall be in addition to the educational training which could be used to qualify for the Deputy County Agriculture Commissioner license. The courses, number of hours of instruction, and dates completed must be listed on the application or an attachment.)

County Sealer of Weights and Measures

1. Possession of a valid statewide Deputy County Sealer of Weights and Measures; and
2. Four (4) years of experience in the enforcement of agricultural or weights and measures laws, at least two (2) years of which shall have included management, supervisory, or program responsibility experience; and
3. A minimum of 80 hours of instruction in management and/or supervisory practices, obtained through organized classroom training, in-service training, or accredited correspondence courses. (The 80 hours of management and/or supervisory instruction shall be in addition to the educational training which could be used to qualify for the Deputy County Sealer of Weights and Measures license. The courses, number of hours of instruction, and dates completed must be listed on the application or an attachment.)

All first-time applicants, if they have not done so, must provide documentation proving that they qualify for the Commissioner/Sealer exam two weeks before the registration ending date to cdfa.county_exams@cdfa.ca.gov. Acceptable documentation for the work experience requirement below is a letter/e-mail your Commissioner/Sealer that cites your experience. Acceptable documentation for the instructional requirement listed below includes college transcripts and certificates of completion of instruction/training. A letter/e-mail from your Commissioner/Sealer detailing how you have met the work experience and instructional requirements is also accepted. The work experience and instructional requirements for the Commissioner/Sealer exam are:

1. Two years of work experience in management, supervisory, or program responsibility
2. 80 hours of instruction in management and/or supervisory practices, obtained through organized classroom training, in-service training or accredited correspondence courses.

Please see link below for further guidance related to submitting acceptable documentation.

Link to Advisory: Proof of Qualification

Link to Advisory: Conferences and Meetings

Examination Information and Scope

Personal calculators may be used during the exam. Other personal effects, including purses, backpacks, and cell phones will not be allowed in the exam room and should be stored in a secure location prior to arriving for testing.

The entire licensing exam will consist of separate written and oral exams – candidates must pass both components to be qualified to receive a license.

Written Examination

Written exams will consist of multiple choice questions for both the Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures candidates. Questions will test the candidate's knowledge of:

• Administration, management and supervision including personnel administration, program planning, budgeting, training, and public relations principles.
• Structure and function of county government.
• Laws and regulations relating to the management practices of County Agricultural Commissioners or County Sealers of Weights and Measures.
• Statewide policies relating to county agricultural or weights and measures programs.

Oral Examination

Candidates must achieve a rating of 70% or higher on the written portion of the exam to be admitted to the oral exam. During the oral exam, each candidate will appear before an exam panel. The panel will pose questions, pertaining to the license being tested for, designed to evaluate the candidate’s:

• Job knowledge
• Judgement
• Leadership abilities
• Understanding of program activities and issues

Licenses

Upon successful completion of both the written and oral portions of the exam, a license of eligibility will be issued to the candidate. Licenses are valid for five (5) years unless revoked.

California law requires that County Agricultural Commissioners and County Sealers of Weights and Measures possess licenses demonstrating job proficiency. While the CDFA is tasked with overseeing the testing and licensing of potential candidates, each county is responsible for hiring and determining the qualifications of its own employees. To be hired, candidates must qualify for the licenses of eligibility exams and meet all requirements of the hiring county. Counties may require additional experience or education beyond that of the licensing exam requirements.

Expiring licenses may be renewed, at the request of the license holder, without further examination if the holder is employed in any county agricultural or weights and measures position, with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, or with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. A holder of a license of eligibility who is not employed in one of the above capacities, but who otherwise meets the minimum license qualifications, may apply to renew the license prior to its expiration upon passing a requalifying exam.

Reasonable Accommodation

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to the County Licensing Program, at cdfa.county_exams@cdfa.ca.gov, four weeks before the registration period ends to request such an accommodation for your examination.

Right of Appeal

Appeals of exam results must be submitted, in writing, to the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture at 1220 N Street, Sacramento, California 95814 within thirty (30) of the mailing of the Notice of Exam Results to candidates. To be considered, appeals must include the exam title, date of exam, and basis of appeal. Written examination material will not be made available to candidates for review.

For questions or assistance regarding licensing exams, please contact the
CDFA County Licensing Program at
cdfa.county_exams@cdfa.ca.gov or 916-653-5866