How to check a landscaper or lawn care company

Which states license or register landscapers and lawn care companies, where to look one up, what to ask, how to read the contract, and your right to cancel a sale made at home.

Updated November 1, 20266 checks78 official sources

Your checklist6 checks before you hire

1Check the license or registration
2Weed killer, fertilizer and other sprays
3Read the contract
4Buying at home and your right to cancel
5What to ask before work starts
6Red flags

You can check a landscaper or lawn care company before anyone starts digging or spraying. Here's what each state asks for, where to look a company up, what to ask, and what the contract should say.

Check the license or registration

Ask for the license or registration number and the name it's issued to, then look it up with the body that issued it. Make sure the name matches the business on your quote. Colorado's Attorney General, for one, suggests hiring only licensed, insured contractors with a good reputation.¹

What a landscaper needs differs a lot by state. A few states license landscape work itself, some register every contractor, some cover patios, walls and other built work with a general or home improvement license above a job size, and some leave licensing to cities and counties. A dollar figure below is the job size a rule starts at, not a price. Where the state has no license or registration, ask your city or county whether it licenses contractors.

Each state's name links to its rules page on this site, which also covers contracts, irrigation, lawn pesticides and fertilizer where we've cited the state's rule.

State	What the state asks for, and where to check
Alabama	Taking fees for landscaping and setting plants is horticultural work under Alabama law. Anyone doing it, or soliciting it, needs an annual permit from the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, and the law has the commissioner examine them (Ala. Code 2-28-1, 2-28-2, 2-28-4). The department's rules split the work into Landscape Horticulturist, for planning and design, and Landscape Planter, for setting plants, and it issues a Horticulture Professional Services License to businesses that do landscape design or set landscape plants.^2-4 Alabama's home builder law reaches repair or improvement of a home where the job costs more than $10,000, and it doesn't name landscaping.⁵
Alaska	Contractors register with the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Its Landscaping Contractor specialty covers grading, filling and leveling ground, hauling fill, gravel and topsoil, building drainage systems and ponds, hydro-seeding, and installing grass, shrubs, trees and other plants (AS 08.18.011; 12 AAC 21.370).^6-7
Arizona	A gardener doing lawn, garden, shrub and tree maintenance is among the people Arizona's contractor law doesn't require to be licensed. For anyone else, contracting without a contractor's license is unlawful unless another of the law's exemptions applies. Casual or minor jobs under $1,000 can be exempt, but not when the work needs a local building permit or is part of a larger job, or for someone who advertises without saying they aren't licensed.^8-9
Arkansas	A home improvement contractor working on a single family home, or the property and structures that go with it, needs a license from the Residential Contractors Committee. A job of $2,000 or less is exempt, unless the work is split into separate contracts under $2,000. The committee's residential specialties include landscaping, irrigation, lawn sprinklers and streams; grading and drainage; and retaining walls (Ark. Code 17-25-502, 17-25-505, 17-25-513).¹⁰ The Department of Agriculture also takes applications for a landscape contractor license and lists landscape contractors in a directory.¹¹ See the Department of Agriculture's landscape contractor directory.
California	A license from the Contractors State License Board is needed, such as its C-27 Landscaping Contractor class, which covers building, maintaining, repairing and installing landscape systems for gardens and other grounds, and preparing and grading land for them. Since January 1, 2025, a project under $1,000 can be done without a license, but not when the worker hires anyone or the work needs a building permit.^12-13 Check a license with the Contractors State License Board.
Colorado	Colorado's Attorney General tells homeowners to check with their city or county that a contractor is licensed to work in their area.¹
Connecticut	Connecticut's home improvement law names landscaping, patios, driveways and fences at a home, and leaves out tree or shrub cutting and stump grinding. Contractors register with the Commissioner of Consumer Protection for home improvement jobs over $200 (Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-419, 20-420).¹⁴ Check a registration with the Department of Consumer Protection.
Delaware	Under Delaware law, a business that furnishes labor, or labor and materials, to build, alter or repair a structure as an improvement to real property is a contractor, and a contractor needs a license from the Division of Revenue (30 Del. C. 2501, 2502).¹⁵ Check a business license with the Division of Revenue.
District of Columbia	Home improvement contractors need a business license from the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, with a $25,000 surety bond. DC law defines the home improvement business as repairing, remodeling, altering, converting or modernizing residential property, or adding to it, and leaves the details to regulations.^16-17
Florida	Work that doesn't substantially match one of the contractor categories in Florida's contractor law needs no registration with the state board, and, apart from a few cases the law sets out, cities and counties can't require a license for it. The law's examples include driveway installation, decorative stone installation, pressure washing and handyman services; it doesn't name landscaping (Fla. Stat. 489.117).¹⁸ Ask the company which license it holds, if any.
Georgia	Ask a landscaper or lawn care company which state or local license or registration it holds, if any, and check it with the office that issued it.
Hawaii	The Contractors License Board's C-27 Landscaping contractor class covers preparing land, decorative treatment and arrangement of gardens, lawns, shrubs, trees and other plants, drainage and sprinkler systems, rockscaping, ornamental pools and fountains, and ornamental walls, fences and walks. Its C-27a class covers hydro mulching.¹⁹
Idaho	Contractors register with the Idaho Contractors Board, and Idaho's law counts any improvement to real property as construction. Casual, minor jobs under $2,000 are exempt, unless they're part of a larger project or split into smaller contracts (Idaho Code 54-5203, 54-5204, 54-5205).^20-22
Illinois	Illinois's Attorney General says general contractors aren't required to be licensed or certified, though they may need a permit from the town where they work.²³
Indiana	Indiana's Attorney General says licensing requirements vary from community to community, so check with your city or county building department. It also says Indiana law requires home improvement contracts over $150 to be in writing.²⁴
Iowa	Construction contractors register with the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing if they earn at least $2,000 a year from construction. Iowa's list of construction work names fence construction and lawn sprinkler system installation, and doesn't name landscaping (Iowa Code 91C.1; 871 IAC 23.82).^25-27
Kansas	Ask a landscaper or lawn care company which state or local license or registration it holds, if any, and check it with the office that issued it.
Kentucky	Ask a landscaper or lawn care company which state or local license or registration it holds, if any, and check it with the office that issued it.
Louisiana	Anyone who recommends and carries out beautification with nursery stock, or sells or leases and maintains nursery stock, needs a Landscape Horticulturist license, which covers bed preparation, planting, sod installation, pruning, fertilizing and landscape maintenance. Yard work (cutting lawns, edging and hand-weeding beds) needs no license. No one can take fees for a regulated profession, landscape horticulture among them, without holding a license, having an employee who holds one, or working under the direct supervision of someone who does (La. R.S. 3:3804).^28-29 Louisiana's contractor law counts improvements or repairs to an existing home, or to structures next to it, as home improvement where the project is $7,500 or more.³⁰ See the department's list of licensed landscape horticulturists. Check a contractor with the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors.
Maine	Ask a landscaper or lawn care company which state or local license or registration it holds, if any, and check it with the office that issued it.
Maryland	Maryland's home improvement law names building, improving or replacing landscaping, a driveway, a fence, a deck, a porch or a swimming pool on land next to a home, and a person needs a contractor license whenever they act as a contractor in the state (Md. Code, Bus. Reg. 8-101, 8-301).^31-32 Check a license with the Maryland Home Improvement Commission.
Massachusetts	Massachusetts' home improvement contractor law covers work on an existing owner-occupied home of one to four units, and on structures next to it. It doesn't name landscaping (M.G.L. c.142A, s.1).³³
Michigan	Michigan licenses residential builders and residential maintenance and alteration contractors. Its law counts repairing, altering or improving a home, building a garage, or laying concrete on residential property as maintenance and alteration work, and doesn't name planting or lawn work. A project under $600 in all can be done without a license, unless it's part of a larger job or split up to evade the law (MCL 339.2401, 339.2403).^34-35 Check a license with Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
Minnesota	Minnesota's law defines a residential remodeler as someone who contracts to improve an existing home using two or more special skills. Those skills include excavation and grading, and masonry and concrete such as drain systems, slabs and masonry walls; planting and lawn work aren't among them (Minn. Stat. 326B.802).³⁶
Mississippi	Landscaping services and setting or replacing plants need a Landscape Horticulturist License from the Department of Agriculture and Commerce's Bureau of Plant Industry, after exams and with a surety bond, and no one may advertise, bid, contract or take a fee for that work without one. It isn't required for irrigation installation or lawn maintenance such as mowing and fertilizing, and a lawn maintenance business can't use "landscape" or "landscaping" in its name.³⁷ Find the licensed landscape horticulturist search on the department's page.
Missouri	Ask a landscaper or lawn care company which state or local license or registration it holds, if any, and check it with the office that issued it.
Montana	Construction contractors with employees need a Construction Contractor License from the Department of Labor and Industry, and the law covers building or improving anything attached to real estate, excavation included. Casual, minor jobs under $2,500 are exempt, unless they're part of a larger job or split up to get under it, and so is an independent contractor with no employees (MCA 37-45-102, 37-45-104).^38-40
Nebraska	Contractors register with the Nebraska Department of Labor before doing construction work, which the law defines as work on real property, installations included. Someone who earns less than $5,000 a year from construction isn't a contractor under the law (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2104).⁴¹ Check a registration with the Nebraska Department of Labor.
Nevada	A license from the State Contractors Board is needed. Its C-10 Landscape contracting class covers grading land, planting and maintaining gardens, lawns, shrubs and trees, drainage and landscape irrigation, hydroseeding, erosion control and decorative ponds, and, along with that work, walkways up to 200 square feet, patios up to 400 square feet, landscape retaining walls up to 3 feet and landscape lighting up to 24 volts. Repair or maintenance work under $1,000 can be exempt, but not when it needs a building permit or is part of a larger project (NRS 624.031, 624.700; NAC 624.280).^42-43 Check a license with the Nevada State Contractors Board.
New Hampshire	Ask a landscaper or lawn care company which state or local license or registration it holds, if any, and check it with the office that issued it.
New Jersey	New Jersey registers home improvement contractor businesses under N.J.S.A. 56:8-136 et seq., and a 2023 law, P.L.2023, c.237, sets up licenses from a new board for the people who do the work. The 2023 law's definition of home improvement covers improving any part of any residential property.⁴⁴ Check a registration with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
New Mexico	New Mexico's Construction Industries Licensing Act counts building, altering, repairing or installing any building or other structure, leveling or clearing land, and excavating earth as contracting, among other work (NMSA 60-13-3).⁴⁵
New York	New York's Attorney General says home improvement contractors must be licensed in New York City and in Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties.⁴⁶
North Carolina	Landscape construction or contracting needs a landscape contractor license from the North Carolina Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board. The law's definition includes installing, planting and managing gardens, lawns, shrubs and trees, landscape drainage systems, and building garden pools, retaining walls, walks and patios. Its exemptions include landscaping where all contracts at a job site come to less than $30,000 in 12 months; lawn mowing, edging and debris removal; lawn care alone, such as fertilizing, aeration and weed control; clearing and grading land; and sod, seed or plugs installed by certified sod producers (G.S. 89D-11, 89D-12, 89D-13).⁴⁷
North Dakota	When a job's cost, value or price exceeds $4,000, whoever does it must be licensed as a contractor with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State says construction includes building, repairing or altering parcels of land and structures attached to the land (N.D.C.C. ch. 43-07).^48-49
Ohio	Ohio's Attorney General says state law doesn't require home improvement contractors to be licensed, but many Ohio cities do.⁵⁰
Oklahoma	Oklahoma's Construction Industries Board says general contractors aren't currently required to have a state license; it regulates plumbing, electrical, mechanical and roofing work and inspectors. It says some home repairs and improvements need a building permit from your local government, so check with your local licensing and permit office.^51-52
Oregon	Planting lawns, shrubs and trees, landscape drainage, ornamental water features, irrigation, and fences, decks, patios, walkways, driveways and retaining walls, done for pay, take a landscape construction professional license, and the professional works for a licensed and bonded landscape contracting business. A landscape maintenance business is exempt for landscaping work where its customer gets mainly maintenance from it, the work at a site comes to $500 or less in a calendar year, and the work is casual or minor. A Construction Contractors Board licensee can also install fences, decks, arbors, driveways, walkways, retaining walls and water features (ORS 671.520, 671.530, 671.540).⁵³ Check a license with the Oregon Construction Contractors Board.
Pennsylvania	Contractors register with the Attorney General's office before doing home improvements, and the law's definition names landscaping, patios, fences and driveways, where the price agreed is more than $500. A contractor whose home improvements came to less than $5,000 in the previous tax year isn't covered. Work by a landscaper certified by the Department of Agriculture under the Plant Pest Act is outside the law too, except work such as patios, nondecorative fences, driveways, concrete walkways, retaining walls, fountains and drainage systems (73 P.S. 517.2, 517.3).^54-55 The Department of Agriculture's plant merchant certification counts landscape contractors among nursery dealers.⁵⁶ Check a registration with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
Rhode Island	Contractors need a certificate of registration from the Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board before working on a structure, and the law counts patios, walkways, fencing, driveways, retaining walls, sidewalks and stone and masonry walls among a structure's appurtenances. It names hardscape installers among the contractors it covers, in a list it says isn't complete, and doesn't name planting or lawn care. Casual, minor jobs under $500 are exempt, but not for anyone who advertises as a contractor (R.I. Gen. Laws 5-65-1, 5-65-2, 5-65-3).^57-59
South Carolina	The Residential Builders Commission's law covers repair or improvement of a home where the job costs more than $5,000, and the commission registers residential specialty contractors, masons among them, for specialized work over $500. Neither names landscaping (S.C. Code 40-59-20).^60-61
South Dakota	Ask a landscaper or lawn care company which state or local license or registration it holds, if any, and check it with the office that issued it.
Tennessee	A company that contracts directly with you for a project of $25,000 or more needs a contractor license from the Board for Licensing Contractors, whose classifications include BC-29 Landscaping and BC-30 Fencing, and specialties for hardscapes and retaining walls. In Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby counties, home jobs of $3,000 up to $24,999 need the board's Home Improvement license, which covers landscaping, fences and driveways.^62-64 Check a license with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.
Texas	Ask a landscaper or lawn care company which state or local license or registration it holds, if any, and check it with the office that issued it.
Utah	Utah's Construction Trades Licensing Act counts building, altering, repairing or improving any building, structure, excavation or other improvement to real property as a construction trade (Utah Code 58-55-102).⁶⁵ Check a license with Utah's Division of Professional Licensing.
Vermont	Contractors register with the Office of Professional Regulation before contracting with a homeowner for residential construction over $10,000, labor and materials included, and the law says residential construction includes paving. Landscaping and work on a structure that isn't attached to the home are among its exemptions. A registered contractor signs a written contract before taking a deposit or starting work estimated at over $10,000 (26 V.S.A. 5501, 5502, 5509).⁶⁶
Virginia	Jobs over $1,000 need a license from the Board for Contractors: a Class C license covers a single contract over $1,000 but under $30,000 for a contractor whose work in 12 months comes to under $250,000, and Class B starts at $30,000 a contract or $250,000 in 12 months. Its Landscape Service Contracting (LSC) specialty covers improving land by excavation, clearing, grading, landscape retaining walls or landscaping timbers, and its Home Improvement (HIC) specialty includes decks, patios, driveways and outbuildings that don't need a permit. Neither names planting or sod (Va. Code 54.1-1100; 18VAC50-22-30).^67-68 Check a license with Virginia's Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.
Washington	Contractors register with the Department of Labor and Industries, and state law also requires them to be bonded and insured. Casual, minor jobs under $500 are exempt, unless they're part of a larger job or split up to evade the law, or the person advertises as a contractor. The department's Landscaping specialty covers planting, grading, topsoil, hydroseeding, walkways, decorative wooden decks, garden walls, fences and screens up to six feet, and residential lawn sprinklers without pumps.^69-72 Check a registration with the Department of Labor and Industries.
West Virginia	West Virginia's contractor licensing law reaches residential work of $5,000 or more, but leaves out anyone who performs landscaping services for residential or commercial customers (W. Va. Code 30-42-3). Its rules' concrete contractor classification includes sidewalks, walkways and driveways.^73-74 Check a license with the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board.
Wisconsin	Wisconsin's home improvement rule names landscaping, patios, terraces, fences, driveways and sidewalks. A home improvement contract must be in writing if you pay anything before the work is finished, or if the seller started the sale at your door, by mail or phone, or with a flyer left at your home, and the written contract has to give the seller's name and address, the work and main materials, the total price, the start and finish dates and any warranty (Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 110.01, 110.05).⁷⁵
Wyoming	Some Wyoming counties, cities and towns issue contractor licenses, and a 2024 law requires those that do to recognize each other's licenses, on the conditions it sets (Wyo. Stat. 16-6-1101).⁷⁶ Ask your city or county what it requires.

Weed killer, fertilizer and other sprays

If the company will fertilize or spray for weeds, insects or disease, ask what products it uses, whether it rotates them, and whether it spot-treats a few weeds rather than the whole lawn. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension suggests asking these, and says it's illegal to use a pesticide in any way its label doesn't list.⁷⁷ Each state's rules page on this site, linked in the table above, covers lawn pesticides and fertilizer where we've cited the state's rule.

Read the contract

Get the job in writing before work starts. Ohio's Attorney General suggests at least three written estimates, and a contract signed by you and the contractor that sets out:⁵⁰

a complete description of the work, the timeframe and the materials;
that any change needs your written approval;
any guarantee, warranty or promise made out loud;
the total cost, and the terms for paying for materials and labor;
that the contractor gets any permits and inspections the job needs.

It also says the contract shouldn't ask for a large down payment, or for payment in full before the job is complete and inspected.

For lawn care, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension says most companies sell tiers of service by the number of fertilizer and pesticide applications a year, and that the services included, and any changes you agree on, should be in writing. It also says to make sure a cheap introductory price isn't followed by added services and costs you don't want, and to read the fine print.⁷⁷

Some states set their own contract rules, such as Indiana's and Wisconsin's in the table above. Each state's rules page has its contract rules where we've cited them.

Buying at home and your right to cancel

If you agree to a sale of $25 or more at your home, the Federal Trade Commission's Cooling-Off Rule usually gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel, and the seller has to tell you so in writing. A few sales are left out, such as one for a real emergency where you made the contact and gave up the right in a signed, dated statement in your own handwriting.⁷⁸

What to ask before work starts

The license or registration number, where your state or town asks for one, and the body that issued it.
Proof of insurance.
Names of customers you can call about their jobs. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension suggests asking for them.⁷⁷
For lawn care, which services the plan covers, how many visits or applications a year, and whether extra visits, such as for tough weeds or seasonal cleanups, are offered.
How you'll reach the company about a problem, and how soon someone will come out to look.
Who gets the permit, if the job needs one. Oklahoma's Construction Industries Board suggests making sure the contractor shows you the building permit before work begins.⁵²

Red flags

Colorado's Attorney General passes on the Federal Trade Commission's list of common signs of a contractor scam:¹

Going door to door for customers, especially after a hailstorm, other severe weather or a natural disaster.
Offering free or low-cost work.
High-pressure tactics.
Asking for more than 10% of the cost up front.
Requiring payment in cash, gift cards or cryptocurrency.
Refusing to pull required local permits.
Suggesting you finance the job through a lender they refer you to.

Each company on this site is listed with its phone number where it has one, so you can call two or three and compare. You can also send a request through the request form.

Licensing rules and lookups from state licensing boards, agencies, attorneys general and legislatures, advice from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, and the sales rule from the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, checked November 2026.

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