Field guide

How to Hire a Landscaper: 10 Checks Before You Sign

Published Nov 2, 2026 · VettedLandscapers editorial

Short answer

Get at least three written estimates for the same scope. Check the state license that fits the work, get a current certificate of insurance, and sign a contract that spells out the work, the dates and the payments. Keep the deposit small and pay as the work gets done. If subcontractors or suppliers are involved, collect lien waivers as you pay. And before anyone digs, make sure someone has called 811.

We read landscaping company websites to build this directory. Of the 390 we've read so far, 90 say the company is licensed and 77 say it's insured. Only 3 print a license or certification number. A claim on a website is a place to start, not proof, so the checking is up to you. Here are the ten checks, in the order you'll need them.

Websites read

390

Say licensed

of 390

Say insured

of 390

Print a number

of 390

1. Match the company to the job

A crew that mows well may never have built a retaining wall, and a design-build firm may not want your weekly mowing. Settle what the job is first (design, installation, maintenance or tree work), then call companies that do that kind of work. Our listings tag the work each company's own website describes. Who does what explains how landscape architects, designers, design-build firms, maintenance crews and arborists differ.

2. Check the license that fits the work

No single "landscaping license" covers everything in our five states. What a company needs depends on the work, the price and the state. The FTC's advice is to "check with your state or county government to confirm a contractor's license." Here's where to look.

Alabama. The Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) licenses businesses that offer landscape design, setting of landscape plants, tree surgery, and ornamental and turf pest control, each as its own category. Alabama's home builder law covers improvements to a home over $10,000, and it defines an improvement to include site-built enhancements detached from the house. It doesn't name patios or walls, so for a big hardscape job, ask the Home Builders Licensure Board. The Licensing Board for General Contractors says its license applies to jobs of $100,000 or more. See our Alabama license guide.
Tennessee. In nine counties (Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby), residential jobs over $3,000 and under $25,000 need a state home improvement license, and the state's definition of home improvement names landscaping and fences. Jobs of $25,000 and up need a contractor license; "BC-29 Landscaping" is one of its classifications. A company that sprays lawns needs a pest control charter from the Department of Agriculture. See our Tennessee license guide.
Georgia. The state contractor board lists "Landscape and Irrigation," fencing, masonry and grading as specialty work that doesn't need a residential or general contractor license, but it warns that work beyond that scope may. A company that sprays lawns needs a pesticide contractor license from the Department of Agriculture for each location. See our Georgia license guide.
Mississippi. Paid landscaping and planting needs a Landscape Horticulturist License from the Department of Agriculture and Commerce; mowing-only businesses don't need it and may not put "landscape" in their name. Spraying needs a separate pest or weed control license. Improvements to an existing home over $10,000 can need a residential remodeler license from the State Board of Contractors. See our Mississippi license guide.
Florida. Florida's contractor law has no license category for landscape installation, and landscape design (planting plans) isn't a licensed profession. The state does license the chemicals: a company that applies insecticides, herbicides or fungicides for hire, including weed-and-feed, needs a pest control business license from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), and for-hire fertilizer applicators need FDACS's fertilizer certification. Counties set some rules of their own, such as Escambia's permit for retaining walls over 24 inches. See our Florida license guide.

Anyone who calls themselves a "landscape architect" must hold that license in all five states. If a company says it's "licensed," ask which license, in what business name, and check it.

3. Get a current certificate of insurance

The FTC says to "ask for copies of insurance certificates, and make sure they're current." Our own advice: ask the company's insurance agent to send the certificate to you directly, then check that the business name matches your contract, the policy dates cover your job and general liability is listed.

If the company has employees, ask about workers' compensation too. Tennessee's consumer brochure tells homeowners to "make sure the contractor is insured to cover workers' compensation, damage and general liability insurance." The state rules on who must carry it differ:

State	Workers' comp required at
Alabama	5 or more employees (new-home builders at any size)
Tennessee	5 or more employees; construction services providers must also cover themselves, with exceptions
Georgia	3 or more employees
Mississippi	5 or more employees
Florida	4 or more employees, or 1 or more in the construction industry

From each state's workers' compensation statute. Whether a landscaping company counts as "construction" depends on how its work is classified.

4. Get written estimates for the same scope

The FTC: "Get multiple estimates," and "don't automatically choose the lowest bidder." Georgia's Attorney General adds the part that makes estimates comparable: get them "from several companies for identical project specifications." Tennessee's brochure says "it's best to get at least three bids."

Identical specifications means writing down what you want before the first visit. For landscaping that usually means:

Every plant by name, container size and count, not "foundation shrubs."
Square footage and material for patios and walks, and the depth of the gravel base.
Wall height and length, block type and drainage behind the wall.
Square footage of sod and the grass variety, plus soil prep.
Haul-off of old plants, sod and soil, and final cleanup.
Any plant warranty: how long, what it covers and who waters.

Our landscaping cost guide shows how each of these is priced.

5. Read the contract before you sign

The FTC says a contract should include the contractor's "name, address, phone number, and license number," "an estimated start and completion date," any promises made in conversation, "the cost of labor and materials," and, if you signed at home, "a written statement of your right to cancel the contract within three business days." It also says to "make sure all blank spaces are filled in." The FTC's older guide adds the payment schedule, who gets the permits, how change orders are handled, a detailed materials list, and warranties.

Two of our states spell some of this out in law:

Tennessee requires home improvement contracts in those nine counties to be in writing and to include the contractor's license number, the work and materials, approximate start and finish dates and the price. Each must carry the notice "Do not sign this contract if blank. You are entitled to a copy of the contract at the time you sign."
Florida requires any direct contract over $2,500 on a home of one to four units to include the state's construction lien law notice, covered in check 7.

6. Keep the deposit small and pay as the work gets done

Every consumer agency we checked says the same thing in different words:

FTC: "Don't pay the full amount for the project up front," and "never make the final payment until the work is done and you're satisfied with it." It notes that "some states actually limit the amount of money a contractor can ask for as a down payment."
Tennessee: "Never pay more than one-third down and do not let the payments get ahead of the work." Also: "Do not pay with cash."
Mississippi's Board of Contractors: "Any down payment required before work begins should be minimal," and "never pay for something that has not been completed."
Georgia's Attorney General: "Consider setting payment terms in conjunction with completed stages of the job."

The FTC's storm-repair advice adds: "Pay by credit card or check," and never by wire transfer, gift card, payment app, cryptocurrency or cash. On a landscaping job, sensible stages are delivery of materials, completion of the hardscape, and a final payment after a walk-through.

7. Collect lien waivers if subs or suppliers are involved

If your landscaper doesn't pay a subcontractor or the stone yard, the FTC's 2014 contractor guide warns that "laws in your state might allow them to file a mechanic's lien against your home." Its fix is to ask "the contractor, and every subcontractor and supplier, for a lien release or lien waiver." How much risk you carry depends on the state:

Alabama: a sub's or supplier's lien is generally limited to what you still owe the contractor, unless a supplier notified you in writing before delivering materials.
Tennessee: on an owner-occupied home of one to four units, only the prime contractor, the company you hired, has lien rights.
Georgia: waivers must substantially follow the state's statutory form. A signed waiver becomes conclusive 90 days after the date stated on it unless the signer files an affidavit of nonpayment first.
Mississippi: on a single-family home, payments you made before receiving a pre-lien notice are a defense. The notice must come at least 10 days before a lien is filed.
Florida: for jobs over $2,500, the owner records a Notice of Commencement. Subs and suppliers you didn't hire serve a "Notice to Owner," and the state form warns they can file liens "even if you have made payment in full." Get a written release from each one before you pay.

8. Make sure someone calls 811

811 is the free national call-before-you-dig line; utilities then mark their lines with paint or flags. State law puts the duty to call on the excavator, so if you hire the digging, ask for the ticket number before the crew starts.

State	Notice before digging
Alabama	At least 2 and no more than 10 working days
Tennessee	At least 3 and no more than 10 working days
Georgia	At least 3 business days, per Georgia 811 (the law covers digging with powered equipment)
Mississippi	At least 3 and no more than 10 working days
Florida	At least 2 full business days

Don't count on 811 for private lines. Mississippi 811, for one, says utilities "will only mark lines from the street to the meter," and lines past that are the owner's to locate. Show the crew where your sprinkler pipes and lighting cable run.

9. Sort out permits and HOA rules first

The FTC lists "Scammers ask you to get any required building permits" as a warning sign; its older guide says "a competent contractor will get all the necessary permits before starting work." Mississippi's Board of Contractors says permits "should be displayed by the contractor while the work is being done." The usual landscaping triggers:

Retaining walls. Rules are local. Forbes notes that "most places require a permit for walls four feet and higher," but some go lower: Escambia County, Florida, requires a permit and a licensed contractor above 24 inches, and engineered drawings above 36.
Tree removal. Atlanta requires a permit application to remove a private tree 6 inches in diameter or larger (12 for pines), according to Trees Atlanta. Florida, by contrast, bars local governments from requiring a permit to remove a tree on a single-family lot when the owner has a certified arborist's or licensed landscape architect's documentation that it poses an unacceptable risk.
HOA covenants. Read them before you plan a big change out front. In Florida, HOA documents can't ban Florida-friendly landscaping.

10. Check references and older work

Georgia's Attorney General says to ask "for references of customers who had projects similar to yours." Mississippi's board says to "ask your contractor for three references in writing." Ask to see a job that's a few years old, too. Plants that were going to fail and patios that were going to settle have done it by then.

Red flags

The FTC's list of home improvement scam signs fits landscaping well:

They knock on your door because they're "in the area."
They have materials "left over from a previous job."
They pressure you for an immediate decision.
They want everything up front, or cash only.
They ask you to get the permits.
They suggest a lender they know.

After storms, the FTC adds: "Be skeptical of anyone promising immediate clean-up or repairs," and "if they won't give you copies of their license, insurance, or a contract in writing, that's a red flag."

Signed at your door? You may have three days

The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule lets you cancel many sales made at your home for $25 or more (or at a temporary location such as a fairground or convention center, for $130 or more) until midnight of the third business day. Saturdays count as business days. The seller must tell you about the right at the time of sale and give you two copies of a cancellation form, and must refund your money within 10 business days of a valid cancellation. The rule doesn't cover sales made entirely online or by phone, sales you finished negotiating at the seller's place of business, or purchases needed to meet an emergency. Mississippi has its own three-day right for credit sales solicited at your home.

If something goes wrong

Licensing boards can discipline a license, but they generally can't get your money back: Tennessee's contractor board says its "jurisdiction is limited to seeking discipline against a Respondent's license," and Mississippi's says an investigation "does not guarantee restitution." For money disputes, the state consumer offices are the next stop:

Alabama: the Attorney General's Consumer Interest Division. The number it gives for price-gouging complaints is 1-800-392-5658.
Tennessee: the Attorney General's Division of Consumer Affairs, which runs an informal mediation program.
Georgia: the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at consumer.georgia.gov, (404) 651-8600.
Mississippi: the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, which takes complaints online.
Florida: the Division of Consumer Services at FDACS, which takes complaints and sends each to the agency in charge.

Next: what landscaping costs, and who does what.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Rules and prices change; check with the agency or business before you rely on them. Spot something wrong? Tell us.

How to Hire a Landscaper: 10 Checks Before You Sign

1. Match the company to the job

2. Check the license that fits the work

3. Get a current certificate of insurance

4. Get written estimates for the same scope

5. Read the contract before you sign

6. Keep the deposit small and pay as the work gets done

7. Collect lien waivers if subs or suppliers are involved

8. Make sure someone calls 811

9. Sort out permits and HOA rules first

10. Check references and older work

Red flags

Signed at your door? You may have three days

If something goes wrong

Sources

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