Louisiana Landscaping License: What Applies and What Does Not

Does a landscaping business need a license in Louisiana?

Louisiana issues 3 license classes for landscapers.

Louisiana licenses landscape horticulture through the Horticulture Commission of Louisiana, which sits within the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and this is a landscaping credential rather than a pesticide credential. R.S. 3:3804(C) bars receiving fees for a regulated profession at any contract value, and R.S. 3:3808(D) sets the landscape horticulturist's scope as implementing a licensed landscape architect's plans, carrying out measures for interior and exterior beautification through the use of nursery stock, and selling or leasing nursery stock and executing measures for its maintenance, so plain lawn mowing sits outside it. An LLC is not required to hold the license itself, because 3804(C) is also satisfied where the company has a regular employee who holds one or where the work is done under a licensee's direct supervision.

The license attaches to qualified individuals. Louisiana does not require the landscaping business itself to hold one.

This records what Louisiana publishes, not a determination about your business. Scope, thresholds and local requirements are set by the issuing body, so confirm with them before you bid or file.

Verified 2026-09-03 against the primary source listed under Sources.

What the LLC has to do first

Pesticide and herbicide application is licensed separately from landscaping itself in most states, and that license is usually the one a general landscaping business actually needs.

The entity filing is separate from anything the license requires. In Louisiana it is made with the Louisiana Secretary of State. File directly with the state here. The order matters wherever the license is issued to the company rather than to a person: the entity has to exist before an application can name it.

Forming an LLC as a landscaping business in Louisiana covers the filing itself, step by step.

Insurance Louisiana landscapers are asked to show

Landscaping work damages what it is next to: irrigation lines, fences, windows and parked cars. General liability is the cover for that, and commercial clients ask for the certificate before the first visit.

We do not publish Louisiana premium figures for this trade, so nothing here is a quote. Our business insurance guide for landscapers covers what each policy does and does not pay for.