Certified Beekeeper Testing

To become a Certified Beekeeper

Individuals should be functioning as a competent hobby beekeeper with emerging skills and knowledge for functioning at the sideline level or serving as an industry leader and ambassador.

Requirements:

• Must have had at least one year beekeeping experience prior to sitting for exams.

• Must pass a written and practical test.

• The practical test has an indoor and a outdoor section. Both sections include being able to: describe the parts of a beehive; light and properly use a smoker; recognize the various stages of brood, different castes of bees, and find or at least describe the queen; differentiate between brood, pollen, capped honey; recognize common diseases and disorders; recognize common insects - honey bee worker, drone & queen, bumble bee, carpenter bee, cicada killer, European hornet & flower fly; recognize propolis and describe its functions; and describe the layout of a brood nest, i.e., placement of honey, pollen and brood.

• Understand the basics of pollinator conservation (new for testing in 2026)

The written test includes material drawn from First Lessons in Beekeeping.

The official text for the program is the 2007 edition of First Lessons in Beekeeping, Dadant & Sons. Candidates are also encouraged to read Dewey Caron’s Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping, and Mark Winston’s The Biology of the Honey Bee. UGA Master Beekeeper Study Guides are to be used as a supplementary guide for studying purposes and are not to replace the recommended books.