BeeWhere

California law requires all beekeepers to register their honey bee hive locations with their local Agricultural Commissioner's office within 30 days of establishing the apiary. Registrations are being processed through the BeeWhere program. Learn more about the BeeWhere program here.

Click here for the Step-by-Step Registration Guide.

All colony locations are kept strictly confidential and accessible only to the San Mateo County's Agricultural Commissioner's office.  Currently we are waiving the $10 registration fee for Apiary Registrations.  Registrations must be renewed before January 1st for the following year.

Updating Registration

You must UPDATE your registration information on BeeWhere within 72 hours if you:

• change the number of colonies at one of your apiary locations
• relocate your colony to a DIFFERENT area in the SAME county
• relocate your colony to a DIFFERENT county
• relocate your colony to a DIFFERENT state

Related Documents

BeeWhere Flyer

Step-by-Step BeeWhere Registration Guide

Required Apiary Markings

Unless your apiary is at your residence, apiaries are required to be marked.

Required information:

1) Name of the owner or person responsible for the apiary

2) Address (city and state)

3) Phone number

Markings can be placed on a sign at the entrance of the apiary or mark one hive per pallet. The markings must be in a dark color on a contrasting color background with letters no less than one inch in height.

Pesticide Use Reporting for Beekeepers

If you sell your honey, and you purchase or use pesticides, including miticides, for your hive, you must obtain an Operator ID Number and report the use. California law requires the reporting of all pesticides, including miticides, used in food production. Failure to report your pesticide use may result in civil fines being levied.

Obtaining an Operator ID

Please contact our office at (650) 363-4700 to request an Operator ID number from a district biologist. Operator IDs are valid for one year and must be renewed annually if pesticides are being applied in San Mateo County. Your operator ID documentation must be kept for two years.

Submitting Pesticide Use Reports

Pesticide use reports (PURs) must be submitted by the beekeeper to San Mateo County by the 10^th day of the following month of when the pesticide application was made.  For example, June applications must be reported by July 10^th. PURs can be submitted online at calagpermits.org. Login information for CalAgPermits will be given to you after you obtain an operator ID from our department. 

Please see our Beekeeper PUR Submission Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to submit pesticide use reports on CalAgPermits. 

Pesticide Use Requirements

All provisions on the pesticide label must be closely followed. The label is the law. A copy of the registered label must be available on hand or electronically when working with pesticides at the apiary.

Beekeepers who apply pesticides themselves are exempt from worker protection safety regulations. However, they must comply with all label requirements.

Requirements for Beekeepers with Employees

Beekeepers who have employees are subject to a much wider range of pesticide regulations. These include record keeping, postings, training, personal protective equipment, and pesticide storage. Please contact your district biologist for a full list of requirements as an agricultural producer with employees. 

Questions?

For any questions about pesticide use reporting or pesticide requirements when working with honey bees, please contact our office at (650) 363-4700.

Grower/Pesticide Applicator Responsibilities - BeeChecks

If pesticides toxic to bees are applied to blossoming plants, it is the grower/pesticide applicator's responsibility to notify beekeepers with hives within a 1 mile radius of the application site, with 2 days notice. Contact information for beekeepers with nearby hives can be found using the BeeWhere program by doing a BeeCheck.  Please view the BeeCheck Quick Start Guide for more information.  Please note that colony locations are not revealed during this process, only contact information for the beekeeper with colonies within one mile of the application site is provided.

Notifications must include the date, time, application site, crop acreage, method of application, pesticide, and pesticide dosage.

Swarm Removal

Our department does not remove bee swarms.  If you have a swarm of HONEY BEES in your yard that you would like removed, please check this list of local beekeepers put together by the Beekeepers' Guild of San Mateo County - swarm removal list.  If they are ground nesting yellowjackets, please contact San Mateo County Mosquito & Vector Control District and Request Service.

American Fouldbrood (AFB)

American Foulbrood was confirmed in San Mateo County in 2019.  This highly contagious and destructive honey bee brood disease has no cure and is easily spread.  Click here for more information.