How to check a landscaper's license in Suffolk or Nassau

What New York State and federal rules say

• A landscaper who applies any pesticide commercially must hold certification from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
• DEC requires a Business Registration for any business that offers, advertises or makes pesticide applications for hire, under rules in 6 NYCRR Part 325.
• DEC certification category 3A covers the maintenance and production of ornamental and shade trees, shrubs, flowers and turf, and category 3B covers turf, golf courses and disease control for aesthetic purposes.

In Suffolk County

• Suffolk's home improvement law includes landscaping and arboriculture, which it defines as tree sprayers, pruners, stump removers and all other tree services. Businesses the law regulates need a county license unless exempt.
• Suffolk Consumer Affairs names landscapers, and arborists too, when it lists the work home improvement covers.
• Suffolk requires all licensed landscapers to take a fertilizer turf management course on the proper use of fertilizers and lawn care practices, and the class is needed one time only.
• Suffolk prohibits applying any fertilizer between November 1 and April 1, and violators may be fined up to $1000.

1. 1Step 1Check a landscaper's Suffolk license with a Home Improvement License search in the License and Complaint Violation Look Up.
2. 2Step 2Suffolk's licensing page gives (631) 853-4600, the Consumer Affairs line, for verifying a landscaper's license.
3. 3Step 3For pesticide work, DEC's New York State Pesticide Administration Database (NYSPAD) lets the public search business registrations and certified applicators, as the DEC business and agency page explains.

In Nassau County

• Nassau's code treats gardening and landscaping as home improvement when the landscaper uses their own equipment in the business and their own vehicle to carry it, and a home improvement business needs a county license.
• Landscaping and shrub or tree pruning share one work category on Nassau's home improvement license application.

1. 1Step 1Nassau's Valid Business License Search checks a landscaper's county license, and the county says its database is updated daily.
2. 2Step 2For a landscaper who applies pesticides in Nassau, NYSPAD, the state pesticide database described on the DEC business and agency page, covers business registrations and applicators.

Towns with a license of their own

• Town of Shelter Island: Shelter Island's notice to contractors says every contractor or subcontractor working on the island, landscapers included, needs a town license.

Beyond the license

• Ask for a certificate of insurance sent to you by the insurer, naming you as the certificate holder.
• Ask who files the permit and books the inspections, and get it in the contract.
• Get the price, the scope, the start and finish dates and the payment schedule in a written contract.