Contractor Licensing and Insurance for Montana Landscapers

Did Montana replace contractor registration with a license?

Yes, according to the Department of Labor & Industry. Its Construction Contractor License page says House Bill 239 from the 2025 legislative session moved Montana from a basic registration framework to an official licensing program, that licensing is required starting January 1, 2026, and that contractors with an active registration as of December 31, 2025 were converted to the new license. So the word you will hear now is license, though older articles and some contractors still say registration.

We read the Department's pages on 2 November 2026. Programs change; check the Department's site before relying on any detail here.

Who needs a construction contractor license?

The Department's definition covers a person, firm or corporation that, in the pursuit of an independent business, offers to undertake, undertakes or bids to construct, alter, repair, add to, improve, move, wreck or demolish for another a building, road, excavation or other structure, project, development or improvement attached to real estate. It also covers someone who, to do that kind of work on their own property, employs members of more than one trade on a single job or permit.

The Department's FAQ, revised in May 2026, says the license specifically targets contractors with employees, as well as corporations and manager-managed LLCs regardless of employee count. The main license page also says, in another section, that all construction contractors with employees must register, so the pages are not perfectly consistent in wording. Exemptions are referenced in the statute but not listed on the page.

Does landscaping count as construction?

The Department's pages do not mention landscaping one way or the other. Some landscape work looks a lot like the definition: retaining walls, patios, fences and excavation are improvements attached to real estate. Mowing and fertilizing a lawn do not obviously fit. We are not going to tell you where the line is, because the Department does not say. If it matters for a project you are hiring for, ask the company what license it holds and, if you need certainty, ask the Department directly at (406) 444-6880.

Why does the license matter to a homeowner?

Because of who pays if a worker is hurt. The Department's FAQ quotes the statute that limits liability: a person who engages a construction contractor that is licensed on the date of the contract is not liable as an employer for workers' compensation coverage, unemployment insurance, or wages and fringe benefits for the licensed contractor, its employees, or subcontractors engaged to fulfill the contract. The FAQ also says the licensing system enforces state laws that require contractors to maintain workers' compensation and unemployment coverage for their employees.

In practice, if you hire a licensed contractor in writing, you have that statutory protection. If you hire someone who is not licensed and should be, you may not. This is the most useful reason to check.

What is an independent contractor exemption certificate?

The ICEC is a separate Department program. Its page says a person working as an independent contractor must have either an independent contractor exemption certificate or self-elected coverage under a Montana workers' compensation policy. To qualify, the worker must be free from the hiring party's control both under the contract and in fact, and must be engaged in an independently established business. The page says no test is required to obtain one, and that transferring a certificate or misrepresenting status are violations.

An exemption certificate covers one person's choice about their own coverage. It says nothing about anyone else on the crew. A company with employees needs workers' compensation for them.

What does the Department tell people hiring a contractor?

Its guidance on hiring an independent contractor says to ask for proof of the exemption certificate and verify it is in good standing through the state Licensee Lookup, to get references and contact them, and to check periodically that the contractor still holds a valid certificate or workers' compensation coverage. It recommends a written contract that states the work to be performed and the materials, start and completion dates, payment based on the completed work, and liability for failing to complete it.

The same page warns hiring parties not to control the method and means of how an independent contractor performs the work, since control can create an employer relationship.

How do you look up a contractor's license?

The Department's Construction Contractor License page links to its Licensee Lookup System, a public search, and to a free license verification request. Search by the company name and by the owner's name, since a license may be held by either. Check that the license is active and, ideally, that the name matches the name on your contract and on the insurance certificate.

What about weed spraying and fertilizer?

That is a different agency. The Montana Department of Agriculture says any person in the business of applying pesticides must obtain an applicator's license from the department. Herbicides used for lawn weeds are pesticides. Commercial applicators must pass a core exam and category exams with a score of 80 percent or higher, carry liability insurance, and maintain application records for two years. The department lists ornamental and turf pest control, covering trees, shrubs, flowers and turf, as its own category.

The department also says licenses expire each December 31 and must be renewed before pesticides are applied. If a landscaper offers weed control, ask for the license and the category. HJ is licensed for fertilizer, weed and pesticide application; see our fertilizer and weed control service.

What insurance should a landscaper carry?

The Department's construction contractor pages we read do not set a liability insurance requirement for landscapers, so do not assume a license means a company is insured. Ask for a certificate of general liability insurance, sent by the company's insurance agent, with current dates. General liability is about damage the work does to your property and to other people; workers' compensation is about injuries to the people doing the work. You want to see both, or an exemption certificate for a true solo operator.

The Department of Agriculture does require commercial pesticide applicators to carry liability insurance, and says license holders without current insurance are noncompliant.

Is there anything else to check before digging?

Yes: utilities. Montana law requires notice through the one-call center before excavation, and the owners of underground lines then have two business days to locate and mark them. Montana811 notes that private underground lines may not be located through its system. A contractor who builds walls, patios or fences should call in locates as a matter of routine and should have a plan for private lines such as sprinklers.

What if the company is a one-person operation?

Plenty of good landscapers are solo owner-operators, and the rules account for that. Under the Department's description, a true independent contractor working alone needs either an exemption certificate or self-elected workers' compensation coverage, and the construction contractor license is aimed at contractors with employees and at corporations and manager-managed LLCs. If a solo operator brings a helper, the picture changes, because that helper is either an employee who needs coverage or an independent contractor who needs their own certificate. Ask who will be on site, not just who you are hiring.

How does this fit into choosing a company?

Paperwork is the minimum, not the whole decision. Once a company passes these checks, compare scopes and ask how they build. Our guide to choosing a landscaping company covers the rest of the process, and our tree service guide to insurance and licensing for tree work covers the same questions for arborists.

Check us the same way

Ask us for our paperwork. We will provide it and put the scope in writing before work starts on landscaping design and installation, retaining walls, custom fencing or a lawn program. Estimates are free across Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley. For more planning and hiring guides, see the Montana Landscaping, Lawn & Irrigation Guide.

Call HJ Property Care & Tree Service at (406) 215-7319 or request a free estimate and we will walk the property with you and put the scope in writing.

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