How to get a North Carolina landscape contractor license

Check you need the landscape license before you apply

Apply once your install work at a single address reaches $30,000 in a 12-month window, or when you want the title for bids. Below that line the license is optional.

The exemption in G.S. 89D-13 adds up labor, material and other items at a given job site across any consecutive 12 months. Pull last season's invoices and total them by address. That shows whether you are near the line.

The detail on what counts, and where hardscape meets the general contractor line, is in the landscape contractor license page.

$30,000The landscape contractor licensing exemption covers job sites where all contracts in any consecutive 12-month period total less than $30,000. — NC Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board, G.S. 89D-13, retrieved 2026-09-27

What goes in the landscape license application

The application needs proof of business identification and five reference letters. Three references are personal and two are professional.

You must be at least 18 and of good moral character. Those are the board's words. The reference letters are how it checks the second one.

Ask for the letters early. Suppliers, nursery reps and past general contractors make good professional references. Chasing two slow letters is the most common way an application sits idle.

5 lettersThe board requires applicants to be at least 18, provide business identification, and include five letters of reference, three personal and two professional. — NC Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board, retrieved 2026-09-27

Application and exam fees for the landscape license

Expect $75 to apply and $150 for each exam attempt. The $100 license fee comes after you pass.

The board lists the application fee as non-refundable and one-time. The exam fee applies to every attempt, so a retake costs another $150.

Those figures sit under the statutory maximums in G.S. 89D-21. The statute allows up to $100 to apply and $250 to sit the exam. The board charges less than the ceiling today. All three boards' fees are compared in the licensing cost table.

$150 per attemptThe board charges a $75 non-refundable application fee and $150 per exam attempt. — NC Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board FAQ, retrieved 2026-09-27

$250 maximumG.S. 89D-21 caps the application fee at $100 and the examination fee at $250. — NC Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board, G.S. 89D-21, retrieved 2026-09-27

The landscape exam has three sections

You pass three sections: Landscape Design, General Knowledge and Plant Identification. The clock gives you one year from application approval.

Landscape Design is multiple choice on reading plans. General Knowledge covers horticulture, construction and North Carolina business and licensing law. Plant Identification is photo-based and covers plants and pests.

One shortcut exists. Holders of the NC Nursery and Landscape Association's Certified Plant Professional Plant ID credential may skip the plant ID section.

1 yearThe exam has Landscape Design, General Knowledge and Plant Identification sections, and must be passed within one year of the application being approved. — NC Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board, retrieved 2026-09-27

Post the $10,000 surety compliance bond

Before the license issues, you file an original, signed $10,000 NC Landscape Contractor's Surety Compliance Bond. An irrevocable letter of credit also works.

The bond protects customers, not you. The board says it guards homeowners against dishonest or incompetent conduct. Each licensed person needs one unless they are named on the company's bond.

The $10,000 is the bond's face value, not what you pay. A surety company sets the premium, so get a quote before you budget. What a bond costs and how it differs from insurance is in bonds and insurance.

$10,000Applicants must submit an original, signed $10,000 NC Landscape Contractor's Surety Compliance Bond or an irrevocable letter of credit. — NC Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board, retrieved 2026-09-27

The company license comes after your own

Your individual license comes first. If the business is an LLC, a corporation or uses a trade name, a $100 company license follows.

The board's FAQ lays this out. A sole proprietor under a personal name needs only the individual license. Everyone else files for the corporate license.

One exception is listed. A DBA registered with the county Register of Deeds, with written notice to the board, can avoid it. Form the entity first, since the company license names it. The setup guide covers that order.

$100The corporate landscape license costs $100 and requires an individual license first; an LLC, corporation, partnership or trade name needs one. — NC Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board FAQ, retrieved 2026-09-27

Set up for renewal on day one

The license renews every year by July 31. Seven hours of board-approved continuing education are due with each renewal.

At least three hours must be technical landscape credits and two must be business credits. The hours count from August 1 to July 31.

Put the date in the calendar the day the license arrives. A late renewal adds a $25 fee. The full cycle is in renewals and continuing education.

7 hoursLandscape contractors must complete seven hours of board-approved continuing education each year, earned between August 1 and July 31. — NC Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board, retrieved 2026-09-27

$25A renewal not postmarked by July 31 incurs a $25 late fee. — NC Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board FAQ, retrieved 2026-09-27

Questions