STATE LICENSE
ConditionalTexas Commission on Environmental Quality…
Mowing, planting, hardscape and lawn care need no Texas state license. The Office of the Governor's statutory permits guide lists a full 'Landscaping – Lawn Care' entry, and the only occupational licenses in it are the irrigation licenses, the pesticide applicator license, and landscape architecture — a separate design profession.
Irrigation is the surprise. Occupations Code § 1903.251 requires a TCEQ license for anyone who sells, designs, installs, maintains, alters, repairs, services or consults on an irrigation system, or connects one to any water supply. TCEQ states it flatly: 'A person may not sell, design, install, maintain, alter, repair, service or inspect an irrigation system—or consult in these activities—in this state, unless the person is licensed by the TCEQ.' Installing an irrigation system without that license is a Class C misdemeanor. The license costs $111, runs three years, requires no education or work experience, and requires the Basic Irrigator Licensing Course plus a six-hour exam passed at 70 percent in each section.
Pesticides are the second trap, and Texas draws the line lower than most states. TDA's guidance is explicit: applicators who want to apply any pesticide — regardless of classification and including general-use — to ornamental plants, trees, lawns or weeds for hire must be licensed. The categories are 3(A) Landscape Maintenance and 5 Vegetation Management on the agricultural side, or Lawn and Ornamental and Weed Control on the structural side. Applicators who apply only fertilizer do not need a TDA license.
Two exemptions run your way. Landscapers are expressly exempt from the electrical licensing act for low-voltage exterior lighting and holiday lighting, and irrigation installers are exempt for irrigation control systems — Occupations Code § 1305.003(a)(13). And a TSBPE-licensed plumber needs no separate irrigation license to work on a lawn irrigation system (§ 1301.056).
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
Landscaping splits the local layer down the middle. Pesticides are preempted: Agriculture Code § 76.101(d) bars cities, counties and other political subdivisions from adopting any ordinance or rule regarding pesticide sale or use. Irrigation is the reverse — 30 Tex. Admin. Code § 344.24 lets any city, county, water district or public water supplier adopt a landscape irrigation program by ordinance so long as it is at least as stringent as the state rules, and requires municipalities of 20,000 or more to verify the irrigator's license and issue a permit before a system is installed inside the city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Everything else — business registration, hardscape and drainage permits — is ordinary local practice.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Texas 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 September 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
TDA states that applicators who apply only fertilizer do not need to be licensed by the department. Add any pesticide — including a general-use product — to a lawn for hire, and the license is required.
Planting, mowing, trimming, edging, pruning, spraying, fertilizing and tree maintenance are taxable landscaping and lawn care services. A self-employed individual with no employees or partners and gross receipts of $5,000 or less over the most recent four quarters is exempt — until the threshold is crossed.
Landscape Irrigators need 24 hours of continuing education per three-year renewal (Irrigation Technicians 16 hours), and pesticide applicators recertify every year with five CEUs, at least one each from two of laws and regulations, integrated pest management, and drift minimization.
A practical sequence for a new landscaping contractor in Texas. 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.
Unless exempt under § 1903.002, installing an irrigation system without a TCEQ license is a criminal offense.
TDA may assess an administrative penalty for violations of the pesticide chapter or the structural pest control chapter, treating each day as a separate violation.
Offenses under the pesticide chapter escalate on repeat conviction, and the most serious category carries felony exposure.
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 September 2026.
Pending verification: The current TDA commercial applicator license fee — form PA-401 states $200 but carries a 2016 revision date, and the 4 Tex. Admin. Code ch. 7 fee rules did not render on the Texas Administrative Code portal · The exact TDA applicator license term as stated in rule; the statute defers to a period set by department rule and TDA's guidance says recertify every year · The administrative penalty amount TCEQ may assess for unlicensed irrigation work — neither Occupations Code ch. 1903 nor Water Code ch. 37 contains a penalty provision, and Water Code ch. 7 was not reviewed
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.