STATE LICENSE
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Landscape and lawn-care businesses are not licensed as such. Two state licenses attach to specific work: applying pesticides — herbicides, insecticides, fungicides — to the lands of another for hire requires a DANR commercial applicator license with the core exam and Category 4 Ornamental & Turf (SDCL 38-21-17), and installing underground irrigation connected to potable water requires a State Plumbing Commission underground irrigation license (ARSD 20:53:08:02).
Taxes split by task. DOR treats mowing, seeding, sod, planting, pruning, spraying, and landscape design as sales-taxable services requiring a sales tax license, while hardscape — patios, retaining walls, driveways, sprinkler systems, artificial turf — is a realty improvement under the 2% contractor's excise tax. On mixed jobs, 25% or more excise-taxable work lets CET apply to the whole contract.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
Pesticide applicator licensing and plumbing-side irrigation licensing are statewide. Cities may require their own business licenses and permits for retaining walls, fences, or irrigation backflow, and municipal sales tax applies where services are performed. Contractors post their CET license number with building permits (SDCL 10-46A-12.1).
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every South Dakota 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.
DANR does not allow supervisory applications — each person applying pesticides for hire must hold their own commercial applicator license.
Connecting landscape irrigation to potable water is underground irrigation installation under Plumbing Commission rules.
If 25% or more of a mixed job is excise-taxable hardscape, DOR allows CET on the whole contract; under 25%, sales tax on the whole contract.
A practical sequence for a new landscaping contractor in South Dakota. 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.
Engaging in or advertising the business of applying pesticides to the lands of another without a DANR commercial applicator license.
Doing licensed plumbing work without a State Plumbing Commission license, or otherwise violating SDCL ch. 36-25, is a crime; the commission may seek an injunction instead.
Engaging in business subject to the contractor's excise tax without obtaining the license is a crime; so is failing to file returns or pay the tax within 60 days of the due date.
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: Pesticide license expiration date: SDCL 38-21-17.1 says March 31 of the second year after issuance, while DANR's applicator page says recertify and renew by the last day of February in the year of expiration — statute controls; the conflict is unresolved · DANR certification exam fees and the number of recertification credits required · Whether the SDCL 36-25-17 public water/sewer trigger limits the underground irrigation license to systems on public water (the irrigation rule itself refers to 'the local source of potable water') · That DOR charges no fee to issue a contractor's excise tax license — SDCL 10-46A-16 says a license is valid 'without further payment of fees' and the January 2026 CET guide lists no fee, but neither states expressly that issuance is free
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.