Nursery and landscape licensing

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If you recommend and execute measures for interior and exterior beautification through the use of nursery stock or sell or lease and maintain nursery stock, you are required to have a Landscape Horticulturalist License. This license authorizes you in:

• Bed preparation

• Plant installation

• Sod installation

• Pruning

• Fertilizing

• Landscape maintenance

• Operating a nursery

It does not authorize you to draw landscape designs for a fee, though you may prepare drawings to indicate the placement of nursery stock. You must have your name, the words “Landscape Horticulturist,” and your license number on all drawings.

Yard work (cutting lawns, edging, and hand-weeding beds) is not regulated by our department and does not require a license.

Prepare for the exam

1. Learn what to expect for the exam: Landscape Horticulturalist exam content information .

2. Prepare using the book, " The Louisiana Manual for the Environmental Horticulture Industry " by the Louisiana Nursery & Landscape Association, April 2014 Edition.

Take the exam and pay fees

1. Apply to schedule your exam .

   • The exam is in person, and you can choose from several location across Louisiana.

   • Mail your application with payment to: Horticulture Commission, 5825 Florida Blvd., Suite 1003, Baton Rouge, LA 70806.

   • You must take your exam within 90 days of submitting your application.

2. Upon receiving your application, the Horticulture Commission will call you to schedule your exam

3. Pay the $114 exam fee.

4. Pass the exam at 70% or higher.

5. Pay the $100 license fee.

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If you construct, install, connect, repair, maintain, improve or alter any portion of a landscape irrigation system, including the required wiring for that system, you need a Landscape Irrigation Contractor License.

Prepare for the exam

1. Learn what to expect for the exam:  Landscape Irrigation Contractor exam content information .

2. Prepare by reviewing: Smart Technology Reference Manual and Turf Irrigation Manual .

Take the exam and pay fees

1. Apply to schedule your exam .

   • The exam is in person, and you can choose from several location across Louisiana.

   • Mail your application with payment to: Horticulture Commission, 5825 Florida Blvd., Suite 1003, Baton Rouge, LA 70806.

   • You must take your exam within 90 days of submitting your application.

2. Upon receiving your application, the Horticulture Commission will call you to schedule your exam

3. Pay the $114 exam fee.

4. Pass the exam at 70% or higher.

5. Pay the $100 license fee.

Stay compliant

To stay in compliance once licensed, you must:

• Obtain a water supply protection specialist endorsement from the State Plumbing Board before connecting to a public or private water supply system

• Enter into a written contract with the property owner specifying the landscape irrigation services to be performed and the sum to be paid for the services

• Have a Certificate of Liability Insurance -$25,000 per person for bodily injury and $50,000 per person for property damage

• Attend a continuing education seminar every three years for renewal of license. See Louisiana Irrigation Association – Events or the Louisiana Nursery and Lanscape Association - Events , for recertification classes.

• Pay your $100 annual license fee

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If you prepare landscape design plans, landscape grading and drainage plans, landscape irrigation plans, planting plans, and related landscape construction details and specifications for a fee, you need a Landscape Architect License.

1. Check your eligibility

• An LAAB/LAAC accredited degree is preferred. If you don't have one, you need to go through an approval process before registering for exams. See the eligibility process .

• You must have 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.

2. Prepare for and take the national exam

• Register for the Landscape Architect Registration Exam (LARE) through the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) .

3. Prepare for the Louisiana exam

• Learn what to expect for the exam: Landscape Architect exam content information .

• 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design : pages 44-49, 98-103, 117-119, 127-133, 149-158, 228-252

• Best Practices Manual for Development in Coastal Louisiana : chapters 3 and 4

• Center for Planning Excellence, Rising Above: Retain, Detain - Then Drain

• Environmental Finance Center, What is Green Infrastructure?

• FEMA Coastal Construction Manual : pages 2-9, 3-6, and G-1

• FEMA Coastal Hazards and Considerations : pages 2-13, 2-14, and 2-15

• FEMA Decks, Pools, and Accessory Structures Fact Sheet

• FEMA Lowest Floor Elevation Fact Sheet

• FEMA Summary of Coastal Construction Requirements and Recommendations : pages 1-4

• FEMA Selecting a Lot & Siting the Building

• Green Infrastructure Opportunities that Arise During Municipal Operations : pages 2, 3, 4, and 10

• Title 3 - Horticulture Commission Law

• Title 7 - Horticulture Commission Rules and Regulations

• Louisiana Plant Hardiness Zone Map

• Identification, Selection, and Use of Southern Plants: For Landscape Design (4 ^th  Revised Edition) Odenwald, Neil, and Turner, James

4. Take the Louisiana exam

• The exam fee for the Louisiana State Section is $200. If you are retaking the exam, it's $100.

• Once you've passed all sections of the LARE (or an exam approved by the CLARB), you can make an appointment for the Louisiana Landscape Architect Examination (LLAE)

• LLAE is a multiple-choice exam covering subject areas unique to Louisiana, including local rules and regulations and specific plants unique to our area. Use the resources above to prepare.

• You'll take the LLAE on a computer at the LDAF main office in Baton Rouge; it is administered year-round.

• We do not offer reciprocity if you were licensed in another state. You must take the local LLAE.

• Apply to take the Louisiana Landscape Architect Exam (LLAE) .

Stay compliant

To stay in compliance once licensed, you must:

• Obtain a minimum of 8 credit hours of continuing education annually for license renewal. If you get more than 8 credit hours during a calendar year, you may carry over a maximum of 4 credit hours to the next year. A credit hour contains at least 50 minutes of actual instruction or education. Fill out your continuing education log .

• Pay your $100 annual license fee.

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If you are a grower, you must have a Nursery Certificate Permit (also called a Grower's Permit) to sell nursery stock, cut flowers, and bulbs that you grow.

After a successful inspection for any major insects or diseases, we will issue your permit. No exam is required.

Fees

• $100 per year for NC1: Area greater than 2,500 square feet and/or greenhouse greater than 200 square feet

• $25 per year for NC2: Home Yard (less than 2,500 sq. ft.) and/or greenhouse less than 200 square feet

If you want to sell nursery stock you have grown or purchased from a single location, you need either a Grower’s Permit or a Nursery Stock Dealer Permit, not both. If you grow the majority of your stock, you may operate under a Nursery Grower’s Permit. However, if you grow and sell at one location and also sell from other locations, you need a single Grower’s Permit plus a Nursery Stock Dealer Permit for each additional location.

Nursery tags

Your nursery stock must be accompanied by certificate permit tags (attached to each bundle or container). This applies to nursery stock sent out of state. Tags are 10 cents each. Allow at least 3 weeks for delivery.  Order nursery tags .

Nursery inspections

Nursery stock is inspected at the grower level to ensure the stock is free from injurious insects and diseases. We also perform inspections for crop and plant pests that are not known to exist in Louisiana as part of an early detection program. All nurseries that ship material out of state are required to undergo annual inspections. Fees:

• Greater that 2500 square feet: $100/location

• Under 2500 square feet: $25/location

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If you sell nursery stock, you need a Nursery Stock Dealer Permit. A Louisiana State Sales Tax number, issued by the Louisiana Department of Revenue and Taxation is required prior to getting a permit.

Each location requires a permit. No exam is required. Fee is $150 per outlet per year.

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For landscape contracting jobs, you might wonder what license(s) are needed for what type of work. Many contractors will need multiple licenses, and this at-a-glance comparison tells you what you might need.

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. There are different classifications of licensure depending on the project details.

For buildings , apartment complexes , houses used primarily for commercial purposes , parks , and campuses , you need any one or more of the below:

• Building Construction

• Landscaping, Grading, and Beautification

• Recreation and Sporting Facilities and Golf Courses (can only do landscaping, irrigation, arborist work for these types of facilities)

• Seeding, Sodding, Load and Soil Stabilization, Erosion Control, Sheet Piling (for grass seeding and sodding work)

For highway , street , and bridge construction , you need any one or more of the below:

• Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction

• Landscaping, Grading, and Beautification

• Seeding, Sodding, Load & Soil Stabilization, Erosion Control, Sheet Piling (for grass seeding and sodding work)

For heavy construction (i.e., industrial plants, oilfields, railroads, waterways), any one or more of the below:

• Heavy Construction

• Landscaping, Grading, and Beautification

• Industrial Plants (for landscaping, irrigation, arborist work inside an industrial plant)

• Oil Refineries (for landscaping, irrigation, arborist work inside an oil refinery)

• Coastal Restoration and Habitat Enhancement (for landscaping, irrigation, arborist work related to such projects)

• Seeding, Sodding, Load & Soil Stabilization, Erosion Control, Sheet Piling (for grass seeding and sodding work)

For municipal and public works construction (water, gas, sewer, stormwater distribution pipelines and treatment plants), any one or more of the below:

• Municipal and Public Works Construction

• Landscaping, Grading, and Beautification

• Electrical Transmission Lines (for landscaping, irrigation, arborist work related to such projects)

Please note: Contractors holding Earthwork, Drainage, and Levees, or Clearing, Grubbing, and Snagging may clear trees and brush on properties without further licensure.

Contact info

Horticulture Commission

(225) 952-8100
horticulture@ldaf.state.la.us Copy to Clipboard

Louisiana Licensing Board for Contractors

(225) 765-2301
info@lslbc.louisiana.gov Copy to Clipboard