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How to Start a Landscaping Business in North Carolina

Lawn care can start small — one truck, one mower, a few neighborhood clients — and grow into design-build landscaping. The key legal question is where maintenance ends and construction begins, because many states license installation work as contracting.

Reviewed November 5, 2026 · Sources linked inline

North Carolina requirements for this business

  • G.S. 89D-12 bars engaging in landscape construction or contracting without a license from the North Carolina Landscape Contractors' Licensing Board. [source]
  • G.S. 89D-13 exempts landscape work when the price of all contracts for a given job site over any consecutive 12-month period is less than $30,000. [source]
  • Lawn mowing, turf edging, and debris removal, and turf management or lawn care such as fertilization, aeration, and weed control, are exempt from landscape contractor licensing under G.S. 89D-13. [source]
  • A landscape contractor license does not authorize irrigation contracting, plumbing, electrical contracting, or landscape architecture, which have separate licensing. [source]
  • NCDOR's chart treats mowing, planting lawns, shrubs, and trees, and pruning trees as capital improvements, but repairing or installing landscape lights is a taxable service. [source]

Statewide steps for every North Carolina business — forming an LLC or registering a business name with the State of North Carolina — are on our state licensing directory.

FirstBizGuide is not a government agency: any license or registration fees are paid directly to the agency named in each source. These are the North Carolina facts we have verified so far, not a complete list. City and county rules vary — check with your local government before opening.

Startup costs

We haven't found a reliable published cost range for this business, so we don't show one. Costs vary widely by market, equipment and whether you buy new or used. Plug your own quotes into the worksheet:

Open a landscaping & lawn care cost worksheet →

SBA 7(a) loans in this industry

Landscaping Services (NAICS 561730): 2,941 loans approved in FY2024–FY2026. Median loan $107,900; middle half $45,000–$300,000.

Loan size is not startup cost — these loans also fund acquisitions, real estate and working capital. Full breakdown and caveats →

How much competition is there?

Census industry: Landscaping Services (NAICS 561730)

In North Carolina: 4,361 employer establishments (2023) and 24,341 businesses without employees (2024). Nationwide: 117,969 employer establishments (2023) and 537,970 businesses without employees (2024).

See counts for your county → Counts aren't a measure of saturation — see the caveats on the tool page.

Equipment and supplies

  • Commercial or prosumer mower sized to your typical lot
  • String trimmer, edger and backpack blower
  • Trailer with secure tool storage
  • Hand tools: rakes, shovels, pruners, loppers
  • Safety gear: eye and ear protection, gloves, boots
  • Scheduling and invoicing software

Licenses and registration

  • Register your business entity or DBA with the state.
  • Check whether planting, irrigation, hardscape or grading work requires a contractor license in your state.
  • Pesticide or herbicide application commonly requires a separate state applicator license.
  • Most cities require a local business license; home-based operators should check zoning rules for parking trailers and equipment at home.
  • Get a free Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS if you will hire employees or form an LLC or corporation. Beware of sites that charge for this. [source]
  • Register an LLC or corporation with your state's business registration office (sole proprietors usually register a trade name/DBA instead). [source]

Insurance to consider

  • General liability (property damage from flying debris is a common claim)
  • Commercial auto for work vehicles — personal policies often exclude business use
  • Inland marine / equipment coverage for mowers and trailers
  • Workers' compensation once you hire (rules vary by state)

Get quotes from several carriers or an independent agent; coverage needs depend on your contracts, state and staff.

Financing options

  • SBA 7(a) loans — the SBA's main guaranteed loan program, made through participating lenders. [source]
  • SBA Microloans — smaller loans delivered through nonprofit intermediary lenders. [source]
  • SBA Lender Match — a free tool that connects you with interested SBA lenders. [source]
  • Free counseling from your local SBDC or SCORE chapter can help you build the business plan lenders ask for. [source]

Estimate payments with the loan calculator, then check runway with the cash flow projection.

Ongoing operating expenses

  • Fuel
  • Equipment maintenance and replacement
  • Insurance premiums
  • Dump and green-waste fees
  • Labor and payroll taxes
  • Marketing
  • Software subscriptions

Use the break-even calculator to see how many jobs or sales cover them.

Common mistakes

  • Pricing by the hour without tracking drive time between jobs
  • Doing installation work that requires a contractor license
  • Skipping commercial auto coverage
  • Taking every job instead of building dense routes in a few neighborhoods

Finding customers

  • Route density: market door-to-door around existing clients
  • Google Business Profile with before/after photos
  • Neighborhood apps and HOA newsletters
  • Recurring maintenance contracts priced monthly
  • Referral discounts

Startup checklist

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Compare with other businesses

Sources