Louisiana · Landscaping licensing · official-source guide
The Horticulture Commission of Louisiana, inside the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, licenses landscaping at state level. Plant and sod installation needs a Landscape Horticulturist license. Design for a fee needs a Landscape Architect license. Irrigation needs a Landscape Irrigation Contractor license. Each takes a passing exam score of 70 percent and expires every January 31.
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-10-12. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Louisiana licenses this trade at state level, not city level. The Horticulture Commission of Louisiana sits inside the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and R.S. 3:3804 gives it authority over five regulated professions that touch landscaping work: arborist, landscape horticulturist, landscape architect, utility arborist and landscape irrigation contractor. The same statute puts nursery stock dealer, cut flower dealer and floral dealer into a second group it calls regulated occupations, which take permits instead of licenses. R.S. 3:3804(C) is the sentence that controls what a contractor may do. No person may receive fees, directly or indirectly, for engaging in a regulated profession, advertise as engaged in one, or solicit business in one, unless that person holds the license, has a regular employee who holds it, or works under the direct supervision of a holder. Advertising alone can be the violation, before a single shrub goes in the ground. One local carve out matters. R.S. 3:3804(E) preempts local regulation of arborists, so a parish or a municipality cannot pass its own arborist licensing ordinance. It may only ask the commissioner to amend the state rules for a specific local problem. A second state agency enters on bigger jobs. LDAF states that for projects not in a home that cost $50,000 or more, a license from the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors is also required. The Horticulture Commission takes exam applications by mail at 5825 Florida Blvd., Suite 1003, Baton Rouge, and answers at (225) 952-8100.
This is the license most Louisiana planting and sod crews need. LDAF requires a Landscape Horticulturalist License of anyone who recommends and executes measures for interior and exterior beautification through nursery stock, or who sells or leases and maintains nursery stock. The license authorizes bed preparation, plant installation, sod installation, pruning, fertilizing, maintenance work and operating a nursery. LDAF's own work table sends plant installation, grass sodding, bush pruning, mulching and fertilizing to this license. Getting it is an exam, not an apprenticeship. You mail a complete application with payment to the Horticulture Commission, pay the $150 exam fee, sit the exam within 60 days of submitting the application, pass at 70 percent or higher, then pay the $125 license fee. LDAF names the study text as The Louisiana Manual for the Environmental Horticulture Industry, April 2014 edition. The limit on the license is design. It does not authorize you to draw landscape designs for a fee. You may prepare drawings that show where nursery stock goes, and R.S. 3:3808(D)(4) requires each such drawing to carry your name, the words Landscape Horticulturist and your license number, with no fee charged for the drawing. R.S. 3:3808(D)(3) also limits sale or lease of nursery stock to one place of business and requires the license on display during the hours nursery stock is sold. Plain yard work sits outside all of this. LDAF states that cutting lawns, edging and hand weeding beds is not regulated by the department and does not require a license.
Louisiana does not put landscape architects under its architects board. The Horticulture Commission licenses them. LDAF requires a Landscape Architect License of anyone who prepares landscape design plans, landscape grading and drainage plans, landscape irrigation plans, planting plans, and related landscape construction details and specifications for a fee. R.S. 3:3808(E) describes the scope as consultation, investigation, research, general development and detailed design plans, specifications, and responsible supervision of work on landscape areas. Title protection comes from R.S. 3:3804(C), which bars receiving fees for a regulated profession, advertising as engaged in it, or soliciting business in it without the license. So a planting contractor cannot market design services or call the work landscape architecture. R.S. 3:3808(E)(3) runs the other way too: the license does not let a holder practice architecture, engineering or land surveying. Eligibility has an experience floor. LDAF prefers an LAAB or LAAC accredited degree and runs an approval process for applicants without one, and requires at least one year of practical experience under the direct supervision of a licensed landscape architect, landscape horticulturist, engineer, architect, or a licensed professional with a design or contracting firm. You then pass the Landscape Architect Registration Examination through CLARB, and the Louisiana Landscape Architect Examination, a multiple choice state section taken on a computer at the LDAF main office in Baton Rouge year round. The Louisiana State Section exam fee is $200, and $100 to retake. R.S. 3:3808(E)(6) and (E)(7) give each licensee a permanent registration number and require a seal on all drawings and specifications prepared by or under the licensee's direct supervision.
Irrigation is its own license in Louisiana, and it is broad. R.S. 3:3808(Q)(1) says the license authorizes the holder to construct, install, connect, repair, maintain, improve or alter any portion of a landscape irrigation system, including the required wiring within that system, and to install and connect the system to the required power supply and to a public or private water supply system. LDAF uses the same wording on its licensing page and sends lawn irrigation work to this license. The route in matches the other horticulture licenses: mail a complete application with payment, pay the $150 exam fee, take the exam within 60 days of applying, pass at 70 percent or higher, and pay the $125 annual license fee. LDAF names the Smart Technology Reference Manual and the Turf Irrigation Manual as review material, and the exam itself is built from questions submitted by the Louisiana Irrigation Association and the department under R.S. 3:3807(B)(7). Three compliance conditions ride with this license and they affect how you sell work. You must enter into a written contract with the property owner specifying the services to be performed and the sum to be paid. You must carry a certificate of liability insurance showing $25,000 per person for bodily injury and $50,000 per person for property damage. You must attend a continuing education seminar every three years to renew. R.S. 3:3808(Q)(3) also requires you to request and be issued any permits the local governing authority needs.
The irrigation license does not by itself let you touch the potable water connection. R.S. 3:3808(Q)(4) requires a licensed landscape irrigation contractor to obtain a water supply protection specialist endorsement from the State Plumbing Board before connecting to a public or private water supply system. The statute directs the plumbing board to issue that endorsement to any licensed landscape irrigation contractor who completes the training the board requires under R.S. 37:1368(H)(1), and says no plumber license, at either grade, is required. LDAF repeats the endorsement requirement at the top of its compliance list for this license. R.S. 3:3808(Q)(5) then fixes who installs the device. Backflow prevention devices must be installed in accordance with Part XIV of the Louisiana State Sanitary Code by a person holding the water supply protection specialist endorsement. That is the clause that keeps an unendorsed crew off the point of connection even when the rest of the system is theirs to build. Local rules stack on top rather than being replaced. R.S. 3:3809 states that the horticulture chapter does not supersede local ordinances adopted by local governing authorities regarding the installation of backflow prevention devices, so a parish or city water system can require its own testing, reporting or device type. R.S. 3:3808(Q)(6) adds that the license does not authorize electrical or plumbing services for which another regulatory board requires a license, and does not stop a licensed electrician or plumber from doing the work needed to keep a system running.
Tree work is carved out of the planting license. LDAF requires an Arborist License of anyone who makes recommendations or executes tree surgery type work, which it lists as tree removal, pruning, trimming, cabling, fertilization and cavity work. A separate Utility Arborist License covers recommending or executing removal of trees or portions of trees along utility rights of way, and R.S. 3:3807(B)(1) makes the utility exam a separate exam on utility tree work. The entry path is the same shape as the other horticulture licenses: pay the $150 exam fee, pass at 70 percent or higher, and pay the $125 annual license fee. LDAF names the International Society of Arboriculture Arborists' Certification Study Guide, third or fourth edition, as the reference material, and notes the third edition is being phased out. Staying licensed takes three things. You attend a continuing education seminar annually, offered through the LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Arborist Association. You show proof of current and sufficient general liability and workers compensation insurance, if applicable. You enter into a written contract with property owners specifying the work to be done and the sum to be paid. Two further points matter to a landscaping company. R.S. 3:3809 exempts a landowner or homeowner working on his own property, land clearing operations, forestry operations and certain utility emergency work from the utility arborist license. LDAF also notes that contractors holding the LSLBC classifications Earthwork, Drainage, and Levees, or Clearing, Grubbing, and Snagging, may clear trees and brush on properties without further licensure.
Fertilizing is inside the horticulture license, but pesticide application is licensed separately by LDAF. The department certifies and licenses two families of business: Commercial Pesticide Certification for application anywhere that is not in or on a building or structure, and Structural Pest Control for pests inside structures. A landscaping company spraying turf, beds or ornamentals falls in the first family. The business license you need for ground work is a Ground Owner Operator License. LDAF lists the requirements as a $200 fee for Louisiana residents, meaning those based in Louisiana for at least 90 days, or $500 for non residents, a $50 equipment registration fee, proof of liability insurance of not less than $25,000, and a description of all mechanically powered pesticide equipment. Aerial and drone application takes an Aerial Owner Operator License at the same fees with liability insurance of not less than $50,000. Selling restricted use pesticides takes an RUP Dealer License at $200 for residents and $500 for non residents. Making pesticide recommendations for a fee takes an Agricultural Consultant License. The people doing the spraying need their own card. Anyone who applies pesticides must obtain Commercial Pesticide Applicator Certification by passing the General Standards exam plus at least one category exam. LDAF charges a $50 exam fee and states that General Standards is free. Renewal of the applicator certification card is $20 a year, and applicators must be recertified every three years and track pesticides used. An applicator licensed in another state may apply for an exam waiver. The business must employ at least one certified applicator and register its spray equipment annually at $50.
Sourcesldaf.la.gov
R.S. 3:3807(A) requires every applicant for a professional license to pass an examination before the license issues, and makes the commission responsible for preparing, administering and grading it and for setting the passing score. LDAF publishes that score as 70 percent or higher for the horticulture exams. The statute also fixes who writes the questions: the Louisiana Nursery and Landscape Association, the LSU AgCenter and the department for the horticulturist exam, the Louisiana Irrigation Association and the department for the irrigation exam, and the Louisiana Arborist Association plus the two agricultural centers for the arborist exams. Scheduling changed recently. LDAF ended testing in its district offices on October 15, 2025. Since November 2025 it offers in person testing only at the LDAF main office in Baton Rouge, plus remote testing through an online vendor that charges its own additional fee for each exam. Applications must be complete and mailed with correct payment before an exam is scheduled, and the exam must be taken within 60 days of submitting the application. Reciprocity is narrow. LDAF states plainly that it does not offer reciprocity for landscape architects licensed in another state and that you must take the local Louisiana Landscape Architect Examination. R.S. 3:3807(E) matches that: the commission may agree to credit a CLARB approved national examination passed elsewhere, but the applicant still has to pass the Louisiana exam. The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors runs a separate reciprocity process with its own request form for its contractor licenses.
Every horticulture license and permit in Louisiana dies on the same date. R.S. 3:3808(N) states that each license and permit expires on January thirty first of each year, and LDAF repeats it. That is a calendar date, not an anniversary, so a license bought in December is renewed weeks later. The published fees are small and flat. LDAF lists the annual license fee at $125 for the landscape horticulturist, landscape irrigation contractor, landscape architect, arborist and utility arborist licenses, and says annual license and inspection fees range from $125 to $175. Exam fees are $150 for the horticulturist, irrigation and arborist exams, and $200 for the Louisiana landscape architect state section, with a $100 retake. Nursery Stock Dealer Permits are $175 per outlet per year. A Nursery Grower Permit is $100 a year for an area greater than 2,500 square feet or a greenhouse greater than 200 square feet, and $50 a year for a home yard under those sizes, with matching inspection fees of $100 and $50 per location, and certificate tags at 10 cents each. Continuing education differs by license. Landscape architects need a minimum of 8 credit hours annually, may carry a maximum of 4 hours into the next year, and log them with LDAF, with a credit hour defined as at least 50 minutes of instruction. Landscape irrigation contractors attend a seminar every three years. Arborists and utility arborists attend one annually. R.S. 3:3807(D) lets a license lapsed up to three years be restored on completing renewal requirements, with a delayed renewal fee capped at three times the normal renewal fee.
Louisiana attaches insurance and contract duties to the specific license, not to landscaping in general. The landscape irrigation contractor must hold a certificate of liability insurance showing $25,000 per person for bodily injury and $50,000 per person for property damage, and must have a written contract with the property owner that specifies the services and the sum to be paid. Arborists and utility arborists must show proof of current and sufficient general liability and workers compensation insurance, if applicable, under R.S. 3:3808(A)(2) and (P)(2), and must also contract in writing with the property owner. LDAF publishes no liability insurance minimum for the landscape horticulturist license, so a planting only company carries whatever its customers, lenders and general contractors demand rather than a state floor. The numbers get larger once the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors is involved. Its published licensing requirements call for proof of general liability insurance with a minimum amount of $100,000 and proof of workers compensation coverage for a residential license and for home improvement registration, and a financial statement showing a minimum of $50,000 net worth current within 12 months of application for residential and commercial licenses. R.S. 37:2159 then dictates contract contents for work that requires LSLBC licensure or registration. The agreement must include the full names, addresses and license number of the contractor, a description of the work, the total amount to be paid, the signatures of all parties, and current certificates of insurance proving workers compensation coverage and the amount of liability coverage. Every party gets a copy at signing.
Sourcesldaf.la.gov 1assets.ctfassets.net 2lslbc.gov 3lslbc.gov 4
Holding the horticulture license is not always enough. LDAF states that for projects not in a home that cost $50,000 or more, a license from the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors is also required, and it maps the classifications by project type. For buildings, apartment complexes, houses used primarily for commercial purposes, parks and campuses you need one or more of Building Construction; Landscaping, Grading, and Beautification; Recreation and Sporting Facilities and Golf Courses; or Seeding, Sodding, Load and Soil Stabilization, Erosion Control, Sheet Piling. For highway, street and bridge work the list is Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction; Landscaping, Grading, and Beautification; or the seeding and sodding classification. For heavy construction such as industrial plants, oilfields, railroads and waterways, LDAF names Heavy Construction; Landscaping, Grading, and Beautification; Industrial Plants; Oil Refineries; Coastal Restoration and Habitat Enhancement; or the seeding and sodding classification. For municipal and public works construction it names Municipal and Public Works Construction; Landscaping, Grading, and Beautification; or Electrical Transmission Lines. The board's own thresholds are worth reading alongside that. LSLBC requires a commercial license for commercial projects with a value of $50,000 or more including labor and materials, and for subcontractors and specialty trades on those projects. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing projects need a license above $10,000. Asbestos, hazardous waste, lead based paint abatement and underground storage tank work need a license at a value of one dollar or more. LSLBC fees are capped by R.S. 37:2156 at a $50 examination fee, a $100 license fee, a $100 renewal fee and a $50 delinquent fee, with a surcharge of up to $400 for a contractor not domiciled in Louisiana.
Residential landscaping that crosses into construction pulls in a second credential. LSLBC defines home improvement as reconstruction, alteration, renovation, repair, modernization, conversion, improvement, removal or demolition, or construction of an addition to a preexisting residential structure, or to structures adjacent to that residence, where the project value is $7,500 or more. Retaining walls, patios, decks and drainage work attached to a house can land inside that definition. The board splits the band. Home improvement projects with a value exceeding $7,500 but not in excess of $50,000 must be bid or performed by a home improvement registrant or a licensed contractor. Registration requires proof of general liability insurance with a minimum amount of $100,000 and proof of workers compensation coverage. The statutory home improvement fee is capped at $50 under R.S. 37:2156. Above that band you need the full license. LSLBC states that residential construction or home improvement projects of $50,000 or more, or requiring any structural work, must be bid and performed by a licensed Residential Building Contractor. That application adds a financial statement showing a minimum of $50,000 net worth current within 12 months, completion of the Business and Law course, and a passing score on the trade exam if applicable. Residential swimming pool work needs that specialty classification once labor and materials exceed $7,500. R.S. 37:2156 also sets license terms: licenses expire on the anniversary of original issue, renew in one, two or three year terms, allow 15 days after expiration to file without penalty, and stop being renewable one year after expiration.
Louisiana ties advertising to the license in two separate statutes, and both bite before any work starts. R.S. 3:3804(C) bars receiving fees for a regulated profession, advertising as engaged in it, or soliciting business in it without the license. R.S. 37:2156 series provisions for the contractors board use the same construction, barring any person who advertises, solicits, undertakes, offers or submits a price, bid, quote or estimate for covered work without the required license and classification. The listed grounds for LSLBC discipline include advertising, soliciting or otherwise attempting to obtain work in a regulated area without authority from the board. Three display duties are concrete. R.S. 3:3808(D)(4) requires every placement drawing a landscape horticulturist prepares to carry the preparer's name, the words Landscape Horticulturist and the license number, and bars using such a drawing to solicit bids for materials or services the commission regulates. R.S. 3:3808(E)(7) requires a landscape architect to affix a seal to all drawings and specifications prepared by or under direct supervision. R.S. 3:3808(D)(3) requires a landscape horticulturist license to be on display at all times during the hours nursery stock is sold. On public work the license number goes on the envelope. The contractors statute requires a bidder to display the license number on the bid envelope, or to submit an authentic digital signature with the license number on an electronic bid, and a bid without it is automatically rejected, returned marked Rejected, and not read. Residential and home improvement contractors must also furnish their name, license number, classification and insurance certificates in writing on request.
The two boards punish differently, and a landscaping company can be exposed to both. The Horticulture Commission acts by civil penalty. R.S. 3:3810.2 lets it assess up to $500 for each violation of the chapter or its rules where the person has no prior adjudicated violation, up to $1,000 for each violation where there is one prior finding, and up to $1,500 for each violation where there are two or more prior findings. It may also assess the cost of the adjudicatory proceeding, including the cost of the investigation. Findings and penalties can be imposed only by ruling of the commission, and failing to timely pay any fee, penalty or cost is itself a listed violation. The contractors board carries criminal exposure. R.S. 37:2163 makes a violation a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 per day of violation, or three months in prison, or both. An unlicensed person who violates that section and causes harm or damage to another in excess of $300 faces, on conviction, a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $5,000, or imprisonment with or without hard labor for not less than six months and not more than five years, or both. The district attorney where the violation occurred prosecutes. R.S. 37:2164 adds a civil penalty of up to 10 percent of the total contract or the value of the work bid or performed, or up to $10,000 where a value cannot be determined, plus administrative costs and attorney fees, payable within 90 days, and the board may issue a cease and desist order and seek an injunction.
State licensing does not replace the local business tax registration, and the three largest Louisiana metros each run their own. New Orleans requires an Occupational License to conduct any business in Orleans Parish. You apply through the city One Stop site, a zoning inspection may be required depending on the business, and the city points applicants to City Code Chapter 30. Before applying you confirm the use is allowed at the location, confirm the location has a certificate of occupancy for the proposed use, and file a name reservation with the Louisiana Secretary of State. A temporary occupational license is generated for download, with an amended return form due inside the first 40 days. East Baton Rouge Parish collects an occupational license tax through the Finance Department Revenue Division. New businesses must obtain the license one month before opening. The filing fee with the business registration application is $50 for businesses that open between January 1 and June 30 and $25 for those that open July 1 through December 31. A temporary certificate is mailed to post at the place of business, and gross receipts for the first 30 days set any additional tax due. Renewal is due January 1 and delinquent March 1, with a 5 percent penalty for each 30 days to a 25 percent maximum and 15 percent annual interest. Shreveport requires an annual business license for all businesses inside the corporate limits, with the tax paid before business starts. For contractors the minimum tax is $50 and the maximum is $750. The city notes that the license is a receipt for taxes paid, not an authorization to do business.
Louisiana gives a homeowner two different places to look, and they work differently. For the horticulture licenses, LDAF publishes lists rather than a live search. Its licensed and certified professionals page carries separate rosters of licensed landscape horticulturists, licensed landscape architects, licensed arborists and licensed utility arborists, each dated to the month LDAF compiled it. The same page carries lists of licensed ground owner operator pesticide companies, aerial owner operator companies, restricted use pesticide dealers and agricultural consultants. Because the rosters are periodic snapshots, a customer checking a very recent license may need to call the Horticulture Commission at (225) 952-8100 instead. For contractor licensing the board runs a searchable database. The LSLBC contractor search page offers lookup by contractor name, license number, city or town, parish, type of contractor and qualifying party, plus an advanced search, and states that only currently licensed or registered contractors appear in results. R.S. 37:2158 requires board staff to produce and publish the names, addresses, contact information and license information of all current licensees. The board also warns that the pages are provided as a courtesy and may not reflect recent changes. Two more checks are useful to point a customer toward. R.S. 3:3808(O) requires a license holder to present the license on demand of any authorized agent of the Horticulture Commission, and R.S. 37:2159 entitles the party contracting for residential construction or home improvement to the contractor's name, license number, classification and current insurance certificates in writing on request.
These are common details other guides publish about Louisiana, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Yes. The Horticulture Commission of Louisiana, inside the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, regulates arborists, landscape horticulturists, landscape architects, utility arborists and landscape irrigation contractors under R.S. 3:3804. Taking fees for that work, advertising it, or soliciting it without the right license is the violation.
The Landscape Horticulturalist License. LDAF says it authorizes bed preparation, plant installation, sod installation, pruning, fertilizing, maintenance and operating a nursery. You mail an application, pay the $150 exam fee, pass at 70 percent or higher, and pay the $125 license fee.
No. LDAF states that yard work, which it defines as cutting lawns, edging and hand weeding beds, is not regulated by the department and does not require a license. Once you start installing plants, sod or irrigation, or pruning trees for a fee, a license applies.
Only a licensed landscape architect. LDAF requires the Landscape Architect License for preparing design plans, grading and drainage plans, irrigation plans, planting plans and construction details for a fee. A landscape horticulturist may prepare placement drawings but may charge no fee for them.
Not on its own. LDAF states it does not offer reciprocity and that you must take the local Louisiana Landscape Architect Examination. R.S. 3:3807(E) allows credit for a CLARB approved national exam passed elsewhere, but the Louisiana state section still has to be passed.
A Landscape Irrigation Contractor License. R.S. 3:3808(Q) covers constructing, installing, connecting, repairing, maintaining, improving or altering any portion of a landscape irrigation system including its wiring. LDAF charges a $150 exam fee and a $125 annual license fee, with a passing score of 70 percent.
No, but you need an endorsement. R.S. 3:3808(Q)(4) requires a water supply protection specialist endorsement from the State Plumbing Board before connecting to a public or private water supply, and says no plumber license at either grade is required. Backflow devices must be installed by an endorsement holder.
LDAF requires a certificate of liability insurance showing $25,000 per person for bodily injury and $50,000 per person for property damage, plus a written contract with the property owner specifying the services and the sum to be paid. A continuing education seminar every three years keeps the license current.
LDAF states that for projects not in a home costing $50,000 or more, an LSLBC license is also required, in classifications such as Landscaping, Grading, and Beautification. LSLBC separately requires a commercial license on commercial projects valued at $50,000 or more including labor and materials.
LSLBC requires a home improvement registrant or licensed contractor on home improvement projects exceeding $7,500 but not more than $50,000. Registration takes proof of general liability insurance of at least $100,000 and workers compensation coverage. At $50,000 or more, or with structural work, a Residential Building Contractor license is required.
The Horticulture Commission may assess a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation, rising to $1,000 and then $1,500 for repeat findings, plus proceeding costs. Contractor board violations are a misdemeanor under R.S. 37:2163 carrying a fine of up to $500 per day of violation, three months in prison, or both.
LDAF publishes dated rosters of licensed landscape horticulturists, landscape architects, arborists and utility arborists on its licensed and certified professionals page. Contractor licenses are searchable by name, license number, city, parish or type on the LSLBC contractor search, which shows only currently licensed or registered contractors.
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