STATE LICENSE
ConditionalMontana Department of Labor & Industry — …
Mowing and garden maintenance carry no state license in Montana. Building improvements attached to real estate — retaining walls, patios, irrigation, and other hardscape — is construction under MCA 37-45-102, so a landscaping business with employees doing that work needs DLI's $70 Construction Contractor License.
Weed and lawn chemical work is separately regulated: MCA 80-8-203 makes it unlawful to apply pesticides for another without a pesticide applicator's license from the Department of Agriculture, issued after a written exam in the relevant category. The department lists the license at $85 a year, and employees applying under a licensed applicator are licensed as operators.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
MCA 37-45-204 makes the state construction contractor provisions exclusive: a city or county may not require or issue registrations, licenses, or bonds for the same or a similar purpose, though it may levy a general, nondiscriminatory business license fee on all businesses and may regulate contractors the chapter does not cover. Building codes are enforced by cities and counties certified by DLI's Building Codes Program; everywhere else, the state program issues permits and inspects.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Montana 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.
Montana has no trade-specific landscaping license. The only state credential is the general Construction Contractor License, which carries no exam, experience, bond, or insurance minimum beyond workers' comp.
Weed control and lawn treatments for hire require a commercial applicator license; unlicensed application is a major violation carrying civil penalties up to $2,500 (MCA 80-8-306(5)).
A practical sequence for a new landscaping contractor in Montana. 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.
DLI may issue a cease-and-desist order to anyone practicing a Title 37 occupation without the required license, then enforce it in district court; officers and members who knowingly take part are personally liable.
Fraud, misclassifying workers without an ICEC, or failing workers' comp, unemployment, or wage law triggers program sanctions plus a chapter-specific penalty.
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: Length of the Construction Contractor License term: DLI says it renews on the anniversary of issuance with the window opening 60 days before expiration, but does not state whether the term is one year or two (the repealed registration's term was not re-confirmed) · How the no-employee exemption in MCA 37-45-104(24) applies to corporations and manager-managed LLCs: DLI's FAQ says those entities need a CCL 'regardless of employee count,' while the statute exempts an 'independent contractor who has no employees' — the rule text reconciling them was not retrieved · Text of ARM Chapter 24.227 (rules.mt.gov not retrieved); the $70 fee and 30-day change-notice rule come from DLI's checklist and FAQ summaries of it · MCA 37-45-204 still refers to 'registered' construction contractors after the 2025 recodification; that the local-licensing bar applies equally to CCL licensees is presumed, not confirmed · Whether DLI treats softscape-only landscape installation (planting, sod) as construction requiring the CCL
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.