Structural Pest Control Board demos new WDO reporting system; go‑live delayed, blackout dates pause filing requirements

The Structural Pest Control Board held an online town‑hall demonstration of its new WDO activity reporting system, but staff said the system’s official launch is delayed and no firm go‑live date is set.

Melissa, a board staff member who opened the session, told attendees: "Please note that we've entered blackout dates through the month of November. So these dates will not count towards your 10 day filing requirement going back to when we first turned the old system off." The board said staff are actively resolving issues and will email users as soon as a go‑live date is confirmed.

The demonstration, led by Ronnie (WDO demonstrator), walked through the Connect login and the green WDO activity button that will appear on a user's dashboard only after the system is turned on. Ronnie said, "The new system accepts the same file download as the old system," confirming that text‑file exports from termite programs remain compatible; vendors may need to adjust automation for direct uploads.

Ronnie also demonstrated the unsubmitted activity queue, the ability to add inspectors (license number required, name optional), and the process for adding activities individually or by uploading a text file. "The system is built to identify duplicate activities so that your company is not submitting the same activity more than once," Ronnie said, showing how the interface flags duplicates and incomplete records (a question mark) and prevents them from being bulk‑selected until corrected. Users may edit an entry, delete it, or override a duplicate flag when two legitimate records apply to the same property and date.

On payments, the demonstrator showed the Add Funds workflow and said the system accepts Visa, Mastercard and Discover but does not accept American Express or ACH. Ronnie explained a 2.3% service fee for credit‑card deposits will be passed to users because of processor charges, and noted companies may still mail checks using a deposit form. Staff confirmed that existing account balances and pending submittals from the old system were converted into the new system and "will show up on the first day that that WDO activity button shows up," so money and history should be visible on day one.

The session included a long Q&A. Licensee Dave Donatelli asked whether the WDO activity button was available now and how backlogged inspections will be handled; staff replied the button appears only after go‑live and that they will allow time for users to file backlogs. A caller who uses VTRW asked whether automatic exports will still work; Ronnie confirmed compatibility but said vendors may need to reconfigure automatic uploads. A question about properties with multiple structures drew the response that if unit identifiers are absent the system may flag entries as duplicates, but users can override flags as needed.

Staff encouraged companies to register a Connect account and to use personal email addresses for licensees who may change employers; company owners may keep company emails. Ronnie pointed attendees to forms and recordings on the Structural Pest Control Board website and said the deposit form will be added to the WDO help menu. The board posted an email for assistance (pestboard@dca.ca.gov) in chat and offered to look up balances for users while the portal remains offline.

Next steps: staff said they will announce the go‑live date by email when it is confirmed and invited attendees to another town hall, scheduled for Tuesday the 18th at 02:00. "We're looking forward to getting this live just as much as you guys are," Ronnie said at the close.