Licensed and insured landscape contractors in Salt Lake City

For most installation and construction work, yes. A business that contracts to build landscapes, retaining walls, patios, or sprinkler systems in Utah generally needs a DOPL contractor license, most often the S330 Landscape and Recreation classification, and the current DOPL contractor application asks for a general liability certificate and workers compensation evidence or a waiver. Small contracts fall under Utah’s handyman exemption thresholds, and the current exemption list names lawn aeration, fertilizing, power raking, and dethatching as work that needs no license at any value. Confirm which applies to your job.

Licensed usually means the business holds a Utah DOPL contractor license in a classification that covers the work, most often S330 for landscaping, retaining walls, patios, and irrigation. Insured usually means the business carries general liability and, if it has employees, workers compensation, often with commercial auto and equipment coverage. A license does not guarantee quality or insurance; it means the business met DOPL’s requirements when it was issued and has kept it renewed. The lookup and the certificate are the evidence.

S330, the Landscape and Recreation Contractor classification, names retaining walls, patios, pergolas, decking, and incidental concrete or excavation, and its irrigation clause is the only plumbing an S330 licensee may self-perform, subject to backflow conditions. Standalone concrete flatwork and paving are S260 work, and built-in-place pools moved to general contractor classifications in 2026. Some landscape companies hold a B100 general contractor license instead. Redoubt’s S330 guide covers the scope in detail.

Search the business name in Utah DOPL’s licensee search. The license belongs to the business entity, so search the legal name on the estimate, not the crew’s name or a brand nickname. The result should show an Active contractor license in a classification that covers the work, such as S330 or B100. A city business license or a pesticide applicator license is a different credential. Some companies on this list display a contractor license number on their own websites, which makes the search faster.

Ask for a certificate of insurance, often called a COI, issued by the company’s insurance agency. It shows the insured’s legal name, the carrier, policy numbers, effective and expiration dates, and limits. Check that the named insured matches the licensed business, that the dates cover your project, and that general liability is listed. Ask whether the company carries workers compensation or holds a Labor Commission waiver. For certainty, call the agency on the certificate.

It depends on what failed and why. General liability can respond when a contractor’s work damages other property, such as a broken irrigation line that floods a basement, subject to the policy’s terms and exclusions. It generally does not pay to rebuild the contractor’s own defective work, and completed-operations coverage matters for problems that show up after the crew leaves. Ask how the company handles warranty work and get its answer in writing before the job.

Self-reported means the company’s own website states it is licensed and insured and Redoubt has not yet checked the business in DOPL’s license lookup or reviewed its certificate of insurance. Verified means Redoubt did both and recorded each date. A displayed license number is something the company published, not a Redoubt check. A verified label describes what the lookup and the documents showed on those dates and does not guarantee the license or policies are still in force today.

A one-person landscape business with no employees does not necessarily need a workers compensation policy. The current DOPL contractor application accepts either a workers compensation certificate or a Workers Compensation Coverage Waiver from the Utah Labor Commission, which decides eligibility. The waiver is not insurance, has a one-year term, and becomes invalid once the business hires, and DOPL requires written notice before a new employee works. Helpers and 1099 labor do not settle the question.

An S330 license renews on a two-year term. The current rule requires six hours of continuing education per term, and a landscape contractor who installs backflow prevention devices under the irrigation clause must make at least two of those hours backflow-installation CE. General liability must cover the licensed scope for the entire duration of licensure and a Labor Commission waiver runs only one year, so keep both current and confirm the details with DOPL.

Send Redoubt a current certificate of insurance showing general liability, plus workers compensation if you have employees, and the legal name your DOPL contractor license is issued under. Landscape contractors serving Salt Lake County that install or build, whose license shows Active in DOPL’s lookup, and whose documents check out are listed as verified with both dates. Mowing-only services are not listed. There is no fee. If you need general liability or a DOPL-ready certificate first, Redoubt quotes both; start on the landscape contractor insurance page.