Who regulates landscaping work in Wisconsin
Wisconsin issues no license for landscaping as a trade. The Department of Safety and Professional Services publishes an A to Z list of every credential it grants. That list includes Landscape Architect, Dwelling Contractor, Dwelling Contractor Qualifier, Master Plumber, Utility Contractor and Cross Connection Control Assembly Tester. It contains no entry for landscaper, landscape contractor, hardscape contractor or irrigation contractor. You can plant, grade, build a retaining wall, lay a paver patio and install edging without holding any state credential for that work. The work is still regulated, just from four other directions. Chapter 443 of the statutes protects the landscape architect title, so the design side carries a credential even though the install side does not. Chapter 145 defines plumbing broadly enough to reach piping tied into a water distribution system, which is where sprinkler work lives. Chapter 94 licenses anyone applying pesticides for hire and anyone selling nursery stock. Chapter ATCP 110 of the administrative code, administered by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, names landscaping in its definition of home improvement and governs the contract you sign with a homeowner. For a contractor going to market, the result is concrete. You cannot advertise a Wisconsin landscaping license, because the state does not issue one. You can advertise the pesticide applicator license, the plumbing license and the nursery license you actually hold, plus your insurance and your dwelling contractor certificate. A customer can check each of those.
Sourcesdsps.wi.gov 1docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 2
The landscape architect title is protected, the field work is not
Chapter 443 creates the Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Registered Interior Designers. Section 443.02(2) says no person may practice landscape architecture in this state unless duly registered, exempt under s. 443.14, or holding a permit under s. 443.10(1)(d). Section 443.02(3) reaches your words as well as your work. No person may offer to practice landscape architecture, use any title or description tending to convey the impression that he or she is a landscape architect, or advertise to furnish landscape architectural services, unless registered. Read that before you write website copy. Section 443.01(3r) defines the protected practice: conceptual land planning and conceptual design for integrated land development, based on analysis of environmental characteristics, operational requirements, land use or commensurate land values. It covers allocating land or water resources, writing criteria for a land planning program, preparing a master plan for land use, producing a graphic land area, grading, drainage, planting or land construction plan, and planning a road or bridge for the aesthetic requirements of its site. That is a planning and design description. It is not a description of setting block, spreading mulch or running a trencher. The line Wisconsin draws runs between the design document and the field crew, and only the design document side carries a credential. The definition then writes the carve-outs in itself, so the registration duty never attaches to the excluded work. Paragraph (g) of s. 443.01(3r) excludes work performed on property by an individual who owns or has control over the property, and work performed by a person hired by an individual who owns or has control of the property. A landscaping company working under contract with the owner of the site sits inside that exclusion. Paragraph (f) excludes a person working under the supervision of a licensed landscape architect, or an employee of one, unless that person assumes responsible charge, design, or supervision. Paragraphs (a) through (e) carve out registered architects, professional engineers, professional land surveyors, regional, park and urban planners, and natural resource professionals. The exclusions free the work, not the words. You can be fully exempt from the practice requirement and still break s. 443.02(3) by calling the result landscape architecture in a brochure.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov 1docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 2
How a person becomes a registered landscape architect
If you want the registration, s. 443.035 sets two routes. The first is a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in landscape architecture from a curriculum approved by the landscape architect section, plus at least 2 years of practical experience in landscape architecture satisfactory to the section. The second is a specific record of at least 7 years of training and experience in the practice, including at least 2 years of approved landscape architecture courses and 4 years of practical experience. Chapter A-E 9 of the administrative code fills in the detail. A-E 9.04 accepts bachelor's or master's degrees granted by a college or university accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board of the American Society of Landscape Architects, or a degree the section determines to be equivalent, with an official transcript evaluation for international degrees. A-E 9.03(1)(b) requires that the qualifying experience be obtained after the education requirement is complete. A-E 9.03(2) lists the areas that count, including project development and management, professional practice, site analysis, preliminary design and design development, and names setting irrigation requirements and grading plans among them. On the exam, s. 443.09(4m) bars registration without passing a written examination or written and oral examinations conducted or approved by the landscape architect section, and A-E 9.05(1) names the Landscape Architect Registration Examination prepared by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards, or an equivalent the section approves. Section 443.09(1) allows responsible charge of landscape architectural teaching to be construed as experience.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov 1docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 2docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 3
Landscape architect fees, renewal dates and continuing education
The Department of Safety and Professional Services publishes one fee table for all business and health credentials. Landscape Architect carries an initial fee of $68 and a renewal fee of $68, and renews by July 31 of even-numbered years. Architect, Professional Engineer and Professional Land Surveyor sit at $68 as well, and Wisconsin Registered Interior Designer at $59, which tells you the design credentials are priced alike. The same table states that all business and health credentials incur a $25 late fee if renewed after the expiration date. Continuing education is the heavier obligation. The department's landscape architect page requires 24 hours of continuing education every two years, of which at least 16 hours must be in health, safety, and welfare topics and at least 2 hours in professional conduct and ethics. The two-year reporting period runs from August 1 of an even-numbered year through July 31 of the next even-numbered year. If the renewal is the first one after the credential was issued, no continuing education is required for it. Approved hours can come from professional landscape architecture organizations, colleges and universities, state or federal training programs, and other technical or professional organizations. There is a retired status. Section 443.015(1m) lets a holder who is at least 65 or who has held the credential for 20 years certify retirement, pay half the usual renewal fee, skip continuing education, and keep using the title with "Ret." after it, but not practice.
Sourcesdsps.wi.gov 1dsps.wi.gov 2docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 3
The penalty for using the title without the registration
Section 443.18(1)(a) is specific. A person who practices or offers to practice landscape architecture in this state, or who uses the term landscape architect as part of a business name or title, or who in any way represents himself or herself as a landscape architect, without being registered or exempted under the chapter or holding an unexpired permit under s. 443.10(1)(d), may be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500, or imprisoned for not more than 3 months, or both. The same penalty covers presenting another registrant's certificate as your own, giving false or forged evidence to the examining board, impersonating another registrant, and using an expired or revoked certificate. Section 443.18(1)(b) puts enforcement in ordinary hands: all duly constituted officers of the law of this state or any political subdivision shall enforce the chapter and prosecute violators. Section 443.18(2) adds an injunction route when the examining board learns that someone is practicing or offering to practice without registration. The criminal number is small, but it is not the real exposure. A false claim of credentials in an advertisement also runs into s. 100.18(1) on fraudulent representations and into ATCP 110.02(4)(d), and ATCP 110 is enforced partly by private suit. A person who suffers a monetary loss from a violation of that chapter may sue the violator directly under s. 100.20(5) and recover twice the amount of the loss, together with costs and reasonable attorney fees.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov 1docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 2docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 3
Sprinkler piping is plumbing under Wisconsin law
Irrigation is where a landscaping company most often crosses into licensed territory. Section 145.01(10)(a)1 defines plumbing as all piping, fixtures, appliances, equipment, devices, and appurtenances in connection with water supply systems, water distribution systems, wastewater drainage systems, reclaimed water systems, and stormwater use systems, and it includes the installation of those items. Subdivision 5 of the same paragraph describes a system designed to prohibit cross-connection, contamination or pollution of the water supply and distribution systems. Piping that ties into a building's potable water distribution system sits inside that definition on its face. Section 145.06(1)(a) then says no person may engage in or work at plumbing in the state unless licensed to do so by the department, and no person may act as a plumbing apprentice or pipe layer unless registered. Section 145.06(2) adds that no person shall install plumbing unless a licensed master plumber is in charge at all times, that licenses issue only to individuals and never in the name of a firm or corporation, that they are not transferable, and that it is unlawful for a master plumber to let the license be used to obtain local permits for others. The owner exemption in s. 145.06(4)(a) covers plumbing work done by a property owner in a one-family building owned and occupied as a home, except where a local ordinance requires a license. The trade fee table lists Master Plumber at a $500 credential fee plus a $20 application fee and Utility Contractor at $500 plus a $10 application fee.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov 1docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 2dsps.wi.gov 3
Backflow devices and the cross connection control tester registration
An irrigation system tapped off a potable supply needs backflow protection, and the testing of that protection is a separate registered activity in Wisconsin. Section 145.02(3)(h) directs the department to promulgate rules on the testing of cross-connection control devices, including rules identifying which types of device may be tested only by a registered cross-connection control tester and the circumstances under which devices shall be tested. Section 145.06(3m) states the restriction plainly: no person may test the performance of cross-connection control devices when the test is required by the department unless he or she is registered with the department as a cross-connection control tester. That is a narrow credential covering testing, not a general irrigation license, and it does not authorize the piping work itself. The published fee table lists Cross Connection Control Assembly Tester at a $180 credential fee plus a $15 application fee. On the renewal side the same table shows the credential valid for 4 years, renewing on the date of issuance, with 6 hours of continuing education required for renewal, a $180 renewal fee, a $25 late continuing education fee where applicable, and a $200 reinstatement fee. For a landscaping company the practical arrangement is usually a subcontract. The crew trenches and sets heads, a licensed plumber makes the connection to the water distribution system, and a registered tester certifies the backflow assembly when the test is required. Each of those credentials belongs to an individual, so get the number and the name, not a company assurance.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov 1dsps.wi.gov 2
Pesticide applicator licensing for spray and fertilizer work
Spraying for hire is licensed, and the trigger is wider than people expect. Section 94.705(1)(a)2 says no person may use or direct the use of any pesticide as a commercial applicator unless the person is both certified as a commercial applicator in the applicable pesticide use category and licensed as an individual commercial applicator under s. 94.704. Not restricted-use pesticides only. Any pesticide. Section 94.705(1)(d) requires a written examination for commercial applicator certification, and s. 94.705(1)(b) makes certification valid for 5 years from issuance or renewal. Section 94.705(1)(c) requires a certified commercial applicator to pass a written examination again for the next 5 years. The individual license under s. 94.704(1) expires December 31 annually, is not transferable, and must be carried on your person at all times while you are acting as an individual commercial applicator. Its fee under s. 94.704(3)(a) is $40 plus a $10 agricultural chemical cleanup surcharge, waived for a government or educational employee acting within the scope of employment and for an individual eligible for the veterans fee waiver program under s. 45.44. The business needs its own license. Section 94.703(1) bars any commercial application business from operating without one, expiring December 31 annually, and s. 94.703(3)(a) sets a $70 license fee plus a $20 cleanup surcharge for each business location, with an added $25 surcharge if the applicant manufactures or distributes bulk pesticides. Section 94.703(2)(c) requires the business application to list the name and s. 94.704 license number of every employee it employs to use pesticides.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov 1docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 2docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 3
What a pesticide violation costs, and who answers for the crew
Section 94.71(1)(a)1 sets the baseline. A person who violates ss. 94.67 to 94.71, or any rule or order issued under them, shall forfeit not less than $100 nor more than $500 for a first violation, and not less than $200 nor more than $1,000 for any subsequent violation within 5 years. Subdivision 2 raises the stakes for the commercial side. A commercial applicator, dealer or distributor who knowingly violates those sections or the rules or orders under them may be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year in the county jail or both. Other persons, including private applicators, who knowingly violate face not more than $1,000 or 30 days or both. The clause that matters most to an owner is s. 94.71(1)(b): certified applicators shall be responsible for the acts of persons who are their employees or who act under their supervision and are engaged in the use or application of pesticides. The certification is personal, and so is the liability for what the crew sprays. Section 94.71(2) also gives the department seizure power, letting it order that a pesticide not be sold or moved pending analysis for up to 60 days. For a landscaping company that means two things. The certified and licensed applicator has to be a real supervisor, not a name on a filing. And the drift complaint from a neighbor lands on that person.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov
Nursery dealer and nursery grower licensing when you sell plants
Selling plant material is licensed separately by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Section 94.10(1)(d) defines a nursery dealer as a person who sells, offers for sale, or distributes nursery stock from one or more locations in this state, excluding an employee of a licensee and a licensed nursery grower selling only stock the grower grew. Section 94.10(1)(f) defines nursery stock as plants and plant parts that can be propagated or grown, and excludes seeds, sod, cranberry cuttings, annuals, and cut Christmas trees. So a company that buys trees and shrubs and resells them as part of an installation is reselling nursery stock, while one that lays sod and plants annuals is not. Section 94.10(2)(a) requires an annual nursery dealer license, expiring February 20 and not transferable. The fee in s. 94.10(2)(c) scales with annual purchases: $30 at no more than $5,000; $50 above $5,000 through $20,000; $100 above $20,000 through $100,000; $150 above $100,000 through $200,000; $200 above $200,000 through $500,000; $300 above $500,000 through $2,000,000; $400 above $2,000,000 through $3,000,000; and above $3,000,000, annual purchases times 0.0005. Section 94.10(2)(f) exempts a person selling only at retail whose total sales from all locations during the license year do not exceed $250. Operating unlicensed costs extra: s. 94.10(2)(d) adds a surcharge equal to the fee if you operated as a dealer without a license within 365 days before applying. Grower fees in s. 94.10(3)(c) run from $40 to $1,200 by annual sales.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov
Your residential landscaping contract is a home improvement contract
This is the rule most Wisconsin landscaping companies underestimate. ATCP 110.01(2) defines home improvement to include the construction, installation, replacement, improvement, or repair of driveways, sidewalks, swimming pools, terraces, patios, landscaping, fences, porches, garages, basements and basement waterproofing. Landscaping is named. Hardscape elements are named. The definition excludes the construction of a new residence and the major renovation of an existing structure, which ATCP 110.01(2m) defines as a contract priced above the assessed value of the existing structure. ATCP 110.01(4) makes clear that a home improvement contract can be oral or written. ATCP 110.05(1) then requires writing in two situations: when the contract calls for any payment by the buyer before you finish, and when you initiated it by face-to-face, mail or telephone solicitation away from your regular place of business, or by handbills or circulars left at residences. Since almost every landscaping job takes a deposit, almost every job needs a written contract. ATCP 110.05(2) says the writing must be signed by all parties and set out your name and address plus the name and address of the representative who negotiated it, a description of the work and of the principal products and materials including make, size, capacity, model and model year where applicable, the type, grade, quality, size or quantity of principal materials, the total price including finance charges, the hourly labor rate on time and materials jobs, the dates work begins and is completed, any security interest, and any warranty. ATCP 110.05(3) requires you to hand the buyer a copy before you start work or take any payment.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov 1docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 2
Permits before the first shovel, and the inspection paperwork
ATCP 110.03 puts the permit duty on the contractor, not the homeowner. Before the buyer enters into a home improvement contract, the seller shall inform the buyer of all building or construction permits that are required for the home improvement. Subsection (1) then prohibits starting work under the contract until all required state and local permits have been issued. Subsection (4) applies the same rule subproject by subproject: where a contract includes subprojects, you may not start work on any subproject requiring a state or local permit until the permits for that subproject have been issued. For landscaping and hardscaping this reaches retaining walls above the height your municipality regulates, decks and porches, pools, grading and erosion control work, and any drainage tie-in. Subsection (2) handles the closeout. Where midpoint or final inspections are required under state law or local ordinance, copies of the inspection certificates shall be furnished to the buyer when construction is completed, before final payment is due or before you ask the buyer to sign a completion slip. Subsection (3) covers the common case where the inspector issues no document. You may give the buyer a summary of the inspection containing the inspector's name, the date of the inspection, and an inspection number or some other way to identify the inspection in the state or local building inspection database. Treat those three paragraphs as a document checklist. Permit list before signing, permits in hand before mobilizing, inspection record to the customer before the final invoice.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov
The dwelling contractor certificate and the insurance floor behind it
Wisconsin has no landscaping license, but it does gate building permits. Section 101.654(1)(a) says no person may obtain a building permit unless the person annually obtains from the department a certificate of financial responsibility, completes the continuing education required under sub. (1m), and furnishes proof of that education to the permit issuer. Paragraph (b) exempts an owner of a dwelling who resides or will reside in it and applies for a permit to work on that dwelling. Paragraph (c)2 exempts the continuing education for a person who already holds a current department occupational license, if the permit work is work for which that person is licensed. The education requirement under s. 101.654(1m)(b)1 is at least 12 hours every 2 years relevant to the person's professional area of expertise, including at least 4 hours on construction laws and codes and contracts, liability, and risk management. The financial responsibility proof under s. 101.654(2)(a) is either a bond of not less than $5,000 endorsed by a surety company authorized to do business in this state, or a general liability policy insuring the applicant for at least $250,000 per occurrence for bodily injury or death of others or damage to the property of others. Section 101.654(2m) adds that an applicant using a bond of less than $25,000 must agree not to work on a dwelling whose estimated cost of completion exceeds the bond amount. The fee table lists Dwelling Contractor at a $25 credential fee plus a $15 application fee, valid one year, and Dwelling Contractor Qualifier at $30 plus $15, valid two years with 12 continuing education hours.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov 1dsps.wi.gov 2
The city and county layer, and what Madison actually licenses
Wisconsin pushes the operational layer down to the municipality, and ATCP 110.03(1) makes that the contractor's problem by barring work until all required state and local permits have been issued. So the city question is never whether a landscaping license exists there, it is which permits the job pulls. Madison is a useful test. The City of Madison Clerk's Office publishes its full list of licenses and permits, and it runs through clerk licenses, health licenses, scrap and recycling, secondhand dealer, transportation and paratransit, alcohol licensing and entertainment licenses. There is no landscaping license and no general contractor license on it. What that page does tell a landscaping company is operational: all license applications require a copy of your state seller's permit identification certificate, and unless otherwise specified all licenses expire June 30. The seller's permit matters because landscaping services are taxable in Wisconsin, so the state registration comes first and the city asks to see it. Expect the real municipal items to be zoning and setback review, an erosion control or land disturbance permit for grading, a right of way or street excavation permit when you work in the terrace or cross a sidewalk, and a building permit for walls, decks and pools that exceed local thresholds. Those are issued by engineering and building inspection departments rather than by a licensing board, which is why they rarely show up on a license list. Confirm the permit set with the municipality before you quote, because the thresholds differ city to city.
Sourcescityofmadison.com 1docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 2docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 3
Advertising, license claims and what you may call yourself
Wisconsin gives a landscaping contractor no license number to print on a truck, so there is no state display rule for this trade. What there is instead is a strict accuracy rule, and it has teeth. ATCP 110.02(4)(d) prohibits a seller from misrepresenting that the seller is licensed, bonded, or insured, and adds a positive duty: if the seller represents that the seller is licensed, bonded, or insured, the seller shall provide the buyer with a written statement specifically describing the type of license, bond, or insurance that the seller possesses. A banner reading "licensed and insured" therefore commits you to handing over a written description of exactly which license and which policy. Name the real ones. Pesticide applicator license number under s. 94.704. Nursery dealer license. Dwelling contractor certificate. The plumbing license held by the individual who makes your irrigation connections. Section 443.02(3) bars you from advertising to furnish landscape architectural services or using any title tending to convey the impression that you are a landscape architect unless you are registered. Section 100.18(1) bars any advertisement, announcement, statement or representation placed before the public that contains an untrue, deceptive or misleading assertion of fact, in any medium. ATCP 110.02 also prohibits the model home or advertising job lure, bait selling, and misrepresenting that materials meet or exceed municipal, state or federal standards or are approved or recommended by a government agency. Keep the claims to credentials you can produce on request.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov 1docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 2docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 3docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 4
Digging, sales tax, workers compensation and how a customer checks you
Four duties apply to nearly every Wisconsin landscaping job. First, the one-call notice. Section 182.0175(1)(b) defines excavation as any operation in which earth, rock or other material in or on the ground is moved, removed or displaced by any tools, equipment or explosives, and it names grading, trenching, digging, ditching, drilling, augering, scraping, and cable or pipe plowing. Section 182.0175(2)(am)1 requires advance notice not less than 3 working days before the start of nonemergency excavation. Paragraph (am)4 requires a repeat notice if marks are destroyed or covered, if work does not start within 10 days of the scheduled start, or if work is interrupted more than 10 days. Subdivision (as)1 requires an estimated minimum clearance of 18 inches between a marking for an unexposed facility and the cutting edge of power equipment. Second, sales tax. Section 77.52(2)(a)20 taxes the sale of landscaping and lawn maintenance services, including landscape planning and counseling, lawn and garden services such as planting, mowing, spraying and fertilizing, and shrub and tree services. Third, workers compensation. Section 102.04(1)(b)1 makes every person who at any time employs 3 or more employees an employer under chapter 102, and subdivision 2 pulls in a person with fewer than 3 employees who paid wages of $500 or more in any calendar quarter. Fourth, verification. The eSLA public look-up tool searches trades credentials, and the department's credential verification page gives the request routes for business and professional licenses.
Sourcesdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov 1docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 2docs.legis.wisconsin.gov 3esla.wi.gov 4dsps.wi.gov 5