UGA Certified Beekeeper Testing

FBC will host UGA Certified Beekeeping exam.

Certified Beekeeper Exam

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 includes 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 (new for testing in 2026)
  • 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 study guides are geared to help you study. Material in those guides have been drawn from First Lessons in Beekeeping. 

The official program text is the 2007 edition of First Lessons in Beekeeping (Dadant & Sons). Here is the link for the Certified Study Guide, https://bjb211.github.io/bee-study-guide/. Candidates are also encouraged to read Dewey Caron's Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping, and Mark Winston's The Biology of the Honey Bee. If you have any questions please contact Jennifer Berry at jbee@uga.edu. 

NOTE: The Practical portion of the Certified Beekeeper Exam has two parts - each takes approximately 15 minutes: [1] an outdoor exam where you will demonstrate your skills in lighting (and keeping lit) a smoker and working a beehive, and [2] an indoor exam where you will identify certain beekeeping tools & equipment.