A lawn care crew's mower and trimmer on a cut lawn, How to Start a Lawn Care Business in Nevada

How to Start a Lawn Care Business in Nevada

Last verified: November 5, 2026

A lawn care company in Nevada has two licensing questions that most guides skip: whether your work counts as contracting under the Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB), and whether anything you spray needs a state pesticide license. Settle both before your first bid. The rest, which is the LLC, the state business license, the city license and insurance, is paperwork, and this page lists every state fee we could verify.

This guide is for recurring maintenance: mowing, edging, blowing and routine care. If you also plan to install sod, irrigation, rock or plants, read our guide to starting a landscaping business in Nevada first, because that work runs into the C-10 landscape contractor classification.

Disclaimer: This content is informational only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Consult a Nevada attorney and licensed CPA for specific guidance on your situation.

Step 1: Decide What You Will Sell

Our recommendation: start with recurring maintenance and add services one at a time. Each add-on changes your licensing. Weed spraying brings in the pesticide rules in Step 3, and installing plants, irrigation or rock brings in the contractor rules in Step 2. A crew that only mows, edges and blows has the lightest compliance load, which is our reasoning from the statutes below and not an agency statement.

Equipment prices are market prices, not set by any agency, so we do not print ranges here. Get written quotes for a commercial mower, a trimmer, a blower and a trailer or truck rack before you pick a launch date, and put general liability and commercial auto quotes in the same budget.

Step 2: Ask the Contractors Board Whether Your Work Needs a License

Nevada law defines a contractor as anyone who builds, alters, repairs, adds to or improves a structure or improvement, or bids to do so (NRS 624.020). The NSCB landscape classification, C-10, covers installing landscapes and also lets a license holder "plant and maintain gardens, lawns, shrubs, vines, bushes, trees and other vegetation" (NAC 624.280). Neither text says in plain words whether a recurring mow-and-edge route is contracting.

Our reading, which is reasoning and not an NSCB ruling: a routine mow, edge and blow visit is maintenance, not construction. Because the C-10 text names maintaining lawns, do not assume. Ask the Board in writing before you bid: email the completed NSCB License Determination Request Form to [email protected]. The form says an answer applies only to the facts you describe, and that staff determinations are not legal opinions. Describe the work the way you will sell it, including any planting, irrigation repair or rock, and write the description yourself (the form asks you not to use AI).

The statute also exempts small jobs. Work to repair or maintain property worth less than $1,000, labor and materials included, is outside the contractor law (NRS 624.031(6)), unless among other conditions a building permit is required, the work is plumbing, electrical or heating and air work, it is part of a larger project worth $500 or more, or you hold a contractor license. Ask the NSCB how that limit applies to a recurring contract, because the statute does not say whether a season of weekly visits counts as one job.

Contracting or bidding without a license is unlawful (NRS 624.700), and a city or county can add its own requirements (the NSCB form cites NRS 624.035). If the Board tells you a license is required, the experience, exam and bond requirements are in our landscaping guide and our Nevada contractor license guide. See the Board's license classifications for the full list.

Step 3: Settle the Pesticide Question Before You Advertise Weed Control

Weed killer is a pesticide under Nevada law. The definition names herbicides and any substance meant to control a weed, which the statute defines as a plant growing where it is not wanted (NRS 555.267 and 555.269). A person who does pest control for hire or profit needs an applicator license from the Director of the Nevada Department of Agriculture, and the business needs a pest control business license (NRS 555.280).

There is a narrow exemption for lawn crews. A gardener who applies pesticides of EPA toxicity class III or IV with hand-powered equipment to a lawn or garden, as an incidental part of routine care for a homeowner, and who does not advertise or hold out as being in the pesticide or pest control business, does not need the license (NRS 555.277(2)). Restricted-use pesticides still require a certificate.

Our reading of that text: a powered backpack sprayer, a truck-mounted tank, a "weed control" line on your website, or spraying an HOA or commercial property (the exemption names a homeowner) falls outside it. Either stay inside the exemption or get licensed before you offer the service. Confirm your case with the Nevada Department of Agriculture; we could not read its pesticide licensing page from our server, so no license fee is printed here.

Step 4: Form Your LLC and Register With the State

A sole proprietorship needs no formation filing, but you carry personal liability for anything the crew damages. An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts, with a limit: it does not shield you from your own negligence, and insurance, not the LLC, pays for the cracked window. File the articles of organization through the Secretary of State's SilverFlume business portal, which forwards to the state's ORION system. The company name must include a word such as "Limited-Liability Company" or an abbreviation such as LLC or L.L.C. (NRS 86.171). The articles list the organizers and the initial managers or members (NRS 86.161) plus a registered agent with a physical Nevada address. Registered agent services set their own prices, and the state does not.

ItemCostSource and notes
Articles of organization$75NRS 86.561
Initial list of managers or members$150NRS 86.263; filed with the articles
State business license (LLC)$200 per yearNRS 76.100; Secretary of State FAQ (snapshot of October 14, 2026) says $100 penalty if late
First-year state total for an LLC$425$75 plus $150 plus $200
Each later year$350$150 annual list plus $200 license
Fictitious firm name certificate (DBA)$25 in Clark CountyClark County Clerk fee schedule; other counties set their own fee, so ask the clerk
Sales tax permit (only if you sell goods)$15 per locationNevada Department of Taxation
NSCB contractor license (only if the Board says you need one)Set by the Board; not printed hereNevada State Contractors Board
Pesticide applicator and business licenses (only if you spray)Not verified; confirm with the agencyNRS 555.280

The annual list is due by the last day of the month in which your LLC's anniversary falls (NRS 86.263(2)). Missing it puts the company in default with a $75 penalty added to the fee (NRS 86.272), and reinstatement costs $300 plus the back fees and penalties (NRS 86.276). Put the date in your calendar when the articles are filed.

Nevada law lets the Secretary of State charge up to $125 for service within 24 hours, up to $500 within 2 hours and up to $1,000 within 1 hour (NRS 225.140); check the options and current prices in ORION before you pay for speed. If you would rather not file yourself, compare LLC formation services in Nevada, and see our full Nevada LLC guide.

A DBA is needed only if you sell under a name other than your legal one. It is filed with the county clerk (NRS 602.010), and a county may let certificates expire after 5 years (NRS 602.035).

Step 5: Get Your EIN and Handle Taxes

Apply for your EIN on the IRS EIN page. It is free, and you need it for a business bank account and to hire. Skip paid look-alike sites.

The Department of Taxation states a base state sales tax rate of 6.85%, and local rates add to it, so use the Department of Taxation rate publications for the county where you work instead of a number from a guide. A sales tax permit is for sellers of goods. Whether you collect tax on mulch, plants or fertilizer that you bill separately depends on how you structure the sale, so call the Department at (866) 962-3707 before your first invoice.

As an owner you pay self-employment tax of 15.3%, made up of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare (IRS: self-employment tax). Whether an S-corporation election saves you money depends on your profit, so ask a CPA. Nevada's Commerce Tax applies only above $4,000,000 in Nevada gross revenue per fiscal year, so a lawn crew will not file one.

Step 6: Get Your City or County Business License

Clark County has 6 licensing jurisdictions, each with its own agency: unincorporated Clark County, Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Boulder City and Mesquite. Your primary business location decides which one licenses you, and a Las Vegas mailing address can sit in unincorporated Clark County. The county also says that if you are based in a city but travel into the county to work, a Clark County license may be required in addition to your city license (Clark County: business license guide). A crew that mows across the valley should expect to check more than one office.

Other starting points are the City of Las Vegas business license page, the City of Reno business license guide, the City of Sparks business licenses page and the Washoe County business license page. We did not verify local license fees, so ask each office for the fee and any zoning conditions. If you run the business from your house or garage, read our guide to home-based business rules in Nevada too.

Step 7: Cover Insurance and Your First Employee

Buy general liability insurance before your first bid, because a mower throwing a rock into a window is your cost. If you drive a work truck, ask your agent about commercial auto cover: a personal auto policy typically excludes business use. Our Nevada business insurance guide explains the coverage types, and we do not print premiums because they depend on your claims history and crew.

The first employee triggers workers' compensation (NRS 616A to 616D; see our Nevada workers' compensation guide), unemployment insurance registration with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation and quarterly Modified Business Tax filings. The Modified Business Tax is 1.17% of quarterly wages above $50,000, and employers file every quarter even when nothing is due.

For planning, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 9,980 landscaping and groundskeeping workers in Nevada in 2025, with a median annual wage of $38,820 and a mean of $43,520 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, SOC 37-3011, retrieved through the BLS public data API). That median is about $18.66 an hour over 2,080 hours (our arithmetic). Four employees at the median would put roughly $38,820 of wages into a quarter, under the $50,000 line, so a small crew likely owes no Modified Business Tax but still files. Your price per visit has to cover that wage plus employer costs, fuel and drive time.

Step 8: Price Jobs and Plan Around Water Rules

We do not print going rates per lawn because no agency publishes them and we could not source one. Build your price from the wage above, drive time between stops, equipment cost and insurance, then test it on your first five bids. Many Nevada operators win on route density, which is why a tight service area beats a wide one (our reasoning, not a sourced statistic).

In Southern Nevada, water law shapes the commercial side of the market. A 2021 Nevada law will prohibit using Colorado River water delivered by Southern Nevada Water Authority member agencies to irrigate nonfunctional grass beginning in 2027. It applies to commercial, multi-family, government and other properties, and not to grass at single-family homes (SNWA: laws and ordinances). Our reading: if you plan to build a route on HOA streetscapes and commercial turf in the Las Vegas valley, ask each property manager about conversion plans before you sign a multi-year contract. Residential lawn routes are not covered by that law.

Mistakes to Avoid

1. Spraying under the homeowner exemption for other clients. The exemption in NRS 555.277(2) is written for routine care of a homeowner's lawn and for crews that do not advertise pest control.

2. Adding installs to the price list before asking the NSCB. Planting, irrigation and rock are C-10 territory, and bidding without a license is unlawful under NRS 624.700.

3. Treating the $1,000 exemption as settled. Get the NSCB's answer in writing, especially for a contract that bundles many visits.

4. Missing the annual list. Default adds a $75 penalty, and reinstatement costs $300 plus back fees.

5. Using a personal auto policy for the work truck. Ask your agent in writing whether business use is covered.

6. Hiring before payroll is set up. Register for unemployment insurance and workers' compensation before the first payday.

Sources

Keep exploring: related Nevada guides