STATE LICENSE
ConditionalArkansas Contractors Licensing Board / Re…
Mowing and routine yard maintenance carry no state license. Landscape construction is licensed by job: over $2,000 on an existing one-to-four-unit home requires a Home Improvement license with the 'Landscaping, Irrigation, Lawn Sprinkler, Streams' specialty, and non-single-family work of $50,000 or more requires an ACLB commercial license. ACLB's 'Landscaping with Planting' commercial specialty requires a separate Arkansas trade certification, for which ACLB lists the Department of Agriculture's number.
Applying herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides to lawns, turf, shrubs, or shade trees for pay is pest control under Ark. Code Ann. § 17-37-101 et seq. and requires a Department of Agriculture License Holder license with a licensed operator in classification 4 (Tree and Turf) or 5 (Weed Control).
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
Contractor licensing is state-level through the ACLB and its Residential Contractors Committee; cities and counties issue building permits and inspect. ACLB's application guidance states Arkansas's state-adopted building codes are mandatory statewide minimums, applying even where no local permit or inspection is required.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Arkansas county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of October 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
For-hire weed control or turf pest treatment is licensed pest control: $100 exam per class, $150+/yr operator license, and a License Holder business license.
ACLB marks 'Landscaping with Planting' as a specialty requiring an Arkansas trade certification.
Mowing and routine maintenance with no pesticide use is not contracting or pest control.
A practical sequence for a new landscaping contractor in Arkansas. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
Bidding or performing work of $50,000 or more (labor and materials) without a license or registration in the proper classification is a crime, and the Board may also assess a civil penalty after a hearing.
Acting as a residential building or home improvement contractor without the required Residential Contractors Committee license is a crime and draws a per-day civil penalty.
A contractor who works in violation of the licensing law cannot sue to enforce the contract; on residential work quantum meruit is barred too, while a commercial violator may seek unjust enrichment only after paying fines and applying for a license.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on October 2026.
Pending verification: Restricted commercial license ceiling: the 10/2026 application limits Restricted (compiled-financial-statement) licensees to projects under $750,000, while Ark. Code Ann. § 17-25-304(a)(2) as compiled in April 2026 allows a compiled statement for single projects under $1,500,000 — the statute is reported here; the conflict is unresolved · Which Department of Agriculture certification satisfies ACLB's 'Landscaping with Planting' trade-certificate requirement, and its fee · Whether Arkansas requires a separate state license for lawn irrigation system installers · Whether a Home Improvement Specialty applicant must pass the Business & Law exam (the 1/2025 application checklist lists no exam step, while the remodeler and builder applications require it) · Actual annual renewal fee charged by ACLB (statute caps it at $100 per year, Ark. Code Ann. §§ 17-25-303(b), 17-25-512; the fee in use was not published on the pages retrieved) · Whether the Contractors Licensing Board or Residential Contractors Committee imposes any continuing-education requirement (none found in the April 2026 statute compilations or current applications)
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.