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How do I check a lawn care contractor in Florida myself?

Start by asking which yard tasks the bidder proposes, because mowing, fertilizer, weed treatment and sprinkler connections point to different optional records: the FDACS applicator search for fertilizer or pesticide work, the DBPR search for a sprinkler line tied to drinking water, and the DFS workers' compensation coverage and exemption records.

Source: FDACS pest control program page, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida Statutes 2026, s. 482.1562, fertilizer certification, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DBPR Online Services licence search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DBPR examples of work needing a licence, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DFS Division of Workers' Compensation, proof of coverage, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DFS Division of Workers' Compensation, exemptions, read 14 October 2026.

Researched by the InstaBids editorial team. Last checked: 14 October 2026

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Key facts

Which public records can I look up for a lawn care contractor?

Use a different optional record for each task on your written scope: the FDACS database for anyone proposing fertilizer or pesticide applications, the DBPR search for a sprinkler connection to drinking water, and the DFS coverage search for the business that employs the mowing crew. Note the date beside each result.

Source: FDACS pest control program page, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DBPR Online Services licence search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DBPR examples of work needing a licence, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DFS Division of Workers' Compensation, proof of coverage, read 14 October 2026.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, read 14 October 2026, describes its pest control database this way: “Search for licensed applicators, dealers, pest control companies, available and completed CEU classes, earned CEUs and exam scores.”

Source: FDACS pest control program page, read 14 October 2026.

A crew that only mows, edges and blows clippings off the driveway may appear in neither the FDACS nor the DBPR database, and a blank licence result there says nothing about that company. Keep those two lookups for the fertilizer, weed-treatment or sprinkler lines, where a named record answers a real question.

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How do I read the state licence record?

Start with the fertilizer line, because section 482.1562 of the 2026 Florida Statutes covers commercial fertilizer certification and an exemption for some yard workers, both quoted in full below. Sprinkler connections fall under a separate DBPR passage, and neither passage mentions the mowing line on your written scope.

Source: Florida Statutes 2026, s. 482.1562, fertilizer certification, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DBPR examples of work needing a licence, read 14 October 2026.

Section 482.1562(2), read 14 October 2026, states: “Beginning January 1, 2014, any person applying commercial fertilizer to an urban landscape must be certified under this section.” Subsection (9) of the same section states: “Yard workers who apply fertilizer only to individual residential properties using fertilizer and equipment provided by the residential property owner or resident are exempt from the requirements of this section.” Ask whose fertilizer and whose spreader the crew would use, and write the answer on that line item.

Source: Florida Statutes 2026, s. 482.1562, fertilizer certification, read 14 October 2026.

If a bidder names a fertilizer certificate, you can look up that person in the FDACS database described above, and keep the result with the fertilizer line rather than the mowing line.

Sprinkler work has two halves on DBPR's unlicensed activity page, read 14 October 2026. Under Needs a DBPR License it lists “Perform plumbing work or irrigation installation that requires the contractor to connect lines to potable (drinking) water for compensation.” Under Does not need a DBPR License it lists “Install or repair irrigation systems that have a backflow preventer connected to a potable (drinking) water supply regardless of compensation.” Ask which description fits the sprinkler line the bidder would touch.

Source: DBPR examples of work needing a licence, read 14 October 2026.

If the answer is a new connection to drinking water, you can open the DBPR Online Services search for that one task and keep the result beside the sprinkler line.

Source: DBPR Online Services licence search, read 14 October 2026.

Does the county also keep a record?

Possibly, as a local business tax receipt rather than a contractor card, when the lawn care business sells its services in Palm Beach County. Ask the bidder, if you want one, for a copy of its receipt and keep it with your written scope; the county Tax Collector's own wording below explains what the receipt means.

Source: Palm Beach County Tax Collector, local business tax, read 14 October 2026.

The Palm Beach County Tax Collector's local business tax page, read 14 October 2026, states: “Any person selling merchandise or services in Palm Beach County must have a local business tax receipt. This requirement includes one-person and home-based businesses.”

Source: Palm Beach County Tax Collector, local business tax, read 14 October 2026.

Ask which local government issued any receipt the bidder shows you, and compare the business name on it with the name on your agreement. Treat the receipt as a separate question from the fertilizer, weed-treatment and sprinkler records in the section above.

How can I check workers' compensation coverage?

Use the optional DFS Proof of Coverage search for whichever business pays the people running mowers, string trimmers and blowers in your yard, and write the search date on your written scope so the result stays a dated snapshot.

The DFS Proof of Coverage page, read 14 October 2026, states: “The information contained herein is a representative reflection of selected information reported by the insurance carrier and maintained by the Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers' Compensation.” It adds: “Coverage for client companies may not be reflected in the Proof of Coverage Database due to the lag time that may occur in reporting client company information from the employee leasing company, to the insurance company and finally to the Division.”

Source: DFS Division of Workers' Compensation, proof of coverage, read 14 October 2026.

Ask who employs the weekly mowing crew, who sends the person on a seasonal fertilizer round and who repairs a broken sprinkler head. Each employer name the bidder gives you is a separate search.

A one-person mowing business may show an exemption instead. DFS's exemption page, read 14 October 2026, says: “Upon issuance of an exemption, the officer or member is not considered an employee of the business and may not recover workers' compensation benefits. Exemptions are issued to officers of a corporation and members of limited liability companies - not to the business.” Keep the named officer or member with that result, and ask separately about anyone who helps on mowing day.

Source: DFS Division of Workers' Compensation, exemptions, read 14 October 2026.

What should I ask for in writing about insurance?

Ask, only if you want it, for a certificate of insurance from each business on your written scope, showing your name and the yard address. Treat the request as optional, and send any question about what a certificate covers to the company that issued it rather than guessing from the form.

Note on your scope which areas sit near windows, cars or pool screens, where a mower or trimmer could throw debris, and ask the bidder how its crew handles those edges. A mowing company that hands a fertilizer round or a sprinkler repair to another firm should name that firm, so any certificate you collect belongs to the business doing that line.

How do I describe the lawn care job before checking anyone?

Describe each turf area, the edging lines along walks and beds, any hedges, the visit pattern you expect and where clippings and yard debris go. Add a photograph of each area and of the gate the mower must pass through, so every bidder answers the same written scope.

Keep treatments off the mowing line. Section 482.1562(7) of the 2026 Florida Statutes, read 14 October 2026, states for fertilizer certification: “Certification under this section does not authorize: (a) The application of pesticides to turf or ornamentals, including pesticide fertilizer mixtures; (b) The operation of a pest control business; or (c) The application of pesticides or fertilizers by unlicensed or uncertified personnel under the supervision of the certified person.” If a bidder proposes a weed-and-feed product, ask who would apply it and under which record.

Source: Florida Statutes 2026, s. 482.1562, fertilizer certification, read 14 October 2026.

Section 482.156(4) of the same statutes, on its limited certification, read the same day, states: “Certification under this section does not authorize: (a) Application of pesticides to turf; (b) Operation of a pest control business; or (c) The application of pesticides by unlicensed or uncertified personnel under the supervision of the certified person.” Ask where any weed spraying would happen and who would apply it.

Source: Florida Statutes 2026, s. 482.156, maintenance personnel certification, read 14 October 2026.

Give tree work its own line. DBPR's License Assist brochure, read 14 October 2026, answers its question about examples of work that do not require a state license with a list that includes “Tree trimming and removal”.

Source: DBPR License Assist Program brochure, read 14 October 2026.

Settle four either-or choices on the scope first:

  1. Mowing and edging only, or mowing plus fertilizer applied by the crew.
  2. Fertilizer and spreader supplied by you, or by the business.
  3. Weed treatment on the lawn left out, or quoted as its own line by whoever would apply it.
  4. Clippings and debris hauled away, or piled where you choose.

What should my request include?

Photograph each turf area, the edging lines, any beds or hedges and the gate the mowers use, then add a written scope that lists mowing, edging, trimming, debris removal and any fertilizer or sprinkler item as its own line. Name the visit pattern you want, and invite each bidder to say what its response leaves out.

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What should I do before I sign?

Read the lawn care agreement for the visit pattern, the start date, how a missed or rain-delayed visit is made up and the payment schedule. Then confirm whose fertilizer and spreader any application uses, and that the business named on the agreement matches any business you looked up.

Ask for a written change order if the job grows from routine mowing into an overgrown cleanup, a hedge reshaping or a sprinkler repair, and settle the revised line items before the crew continues. File the signed agreement with your yard photographs and any dated lookups.

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Sources for the facts on this page

Sources checked: 14 October 2026.

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