This certification is to provide a business and or professional with the credentials to prove thorough knowledge in landscape construction, business or design. This certification also allows for those that are working on jobs of $30,000 or more to legally have more protection by holding this professional certification.

How to become Certified:

1. Be at least 18 years of age
2. Be of good moral character
3. Submit Application and Application Fee.
4. Provide evidence of business identification. The business name or names under which the applicant is practicing must be included on the application form.
5. Include with application five (5) letters of reference (3 personal and 2 professional). Instructions for reference letters are included on the application.
6. Submit an original, signed $10,000 NC Landscape Contractor’s Surety  Compliance Bond, or an Irrevocable Letter of Credit from a financial institution with the application. Follow this link for more information: Surety Bond Requirement
7. After the above requirements are met, the applicant is required to pass an examination administered by the Board. See “Licensing Exam” section below for information about the exam. The exam fee must be submitted before the exam can be taken.  The exam must be taken and passed within one year from the date the application is approved. If approved to take the exam, you will need to show a State issued Driver’s License, or State issued ID, or a current US Passport on the day you take the exam.
8. Once the Board has notified the applicant that he/she has passed the exam, the applicant will submit a licensing fee to become officially licensed.

Exam Details:

• Landscape Design Section – multiple choice questions on interpreting a landscape plan
• General Knowledge Section – multiple choice questions on horticulture practice, landscape construction and NC business practices and licensing law
• Plant Identification Section* – identification of a wide selection of plants and pests by observing photographs and selecting the correct plant or pest from a full list of possible specimens

*Note: If you have proof of successfully completing the Certified Plant Professional Plant ID exam administered by the NC Nursery and Landscape Association, the plant ID section of the licensing exam is not required.

License Maintenance/Recertification:

All licensed landscape contractors must personally complete seven (7) hours of Board Approved Continuing Education per year. The seven (7) hours of required continuing education must be earned between August 1 and July 31 each year.  Three (3) of seven (7) CE credits must be “landscape (technical)” credits and two (2) of seven (7) must be “business” credits. The remaining two (2) may be either landscape or business. In addition, a renewal application must be submitted by August 1st.

To learn more about this certification, see their website here.

To perform irrigation construction, or contracting you must be certified through the NCICLB. The purpose of licensure is to protect the public health, safety and welfare, and to promote the efficient use of water. The new licensure law became effective on June 30, 2009.

How to become Certified

• Is at least 18 years of age.
• Is of good moral character as determined by the Board.
• Has at least three years of experience in irrigation construction or irrigation
  contracting or the educational equivalent. Two years of educational training in irrigation construction or irrigation contracting shall be the equivalent of one year of experience.
• Files with the Board and maintains a corporate surety bond executed by a company authorized to do business in this State or an irrevocable letter of credit issued by an insured institution. The surety bond or the letter of credit shall be in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The surety bond or letter of credit shall be approved by the Board as to form and shall be conditioned upon the obligor's faithfully conforming to and abiding by the provisions of this Chapter. Any person claiming to be injured by an act of a licensed irrigation contractor that constitutes a violation of this Chapter may institute an action to recover against the licensee and the surety.

Pass examination that covers efficiency of water use and conservation in the practice of irrigation construction and contracting, proper methods of irrigation construction, proper methods for irrigation installation, and basic business skills. The exam consists of (4) key areas: Water Efficiency/Conservation, Irrigation Contracting, Irrigation Construction and Basic Business Skills. This includes calculating basic business computations (ie: calculating Profit Margins, estimating, calculating job costs, calculating labor and/or material costs and areas that would assist in a licensed irrigation contractor to be profitable). All 3 sections must be passed in order to be eligible for licensure. Exam time is approximately 4 hours and costs $340 for the first exam / $240 for any subsequent try, or retake of any section(s).

Recertification Requirements:

In order to be eligible to renew for the upcoming licensing year, individual licensees are required to complete and report ten (10) hours of Board approved Continuing Education; six (6) hours of irrigation and four (4) hours of business. Renewal fee of $100 must be paid by December 31st.

To learn more, visit their website here.

The ISA Certified Arborist designation sets you apart as someone with the commitment, dedication, and knowledge to succeed. The ISA Certified Arborist program is accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) for meeting or exceeding ISO 17024 standards for certification bodies.

• Advance the knowledge and application of safe work practices in all arboricultural operations
• Improve technical competency of personnel in the tree care industry
• Create incentives for individuals to continue their professional development
• Provide the public and those ing overnment with a means to identify professionals who have demonstrated by passing a professionally-developed exam that they have thorough knowledge and skill in tree care practices

How to become Certified: 

The ISA Credentialing Council requires a candidate to have a minimum of three years of full-time experience in arboriculture or a combination of education and practical arboricultural experience. One year of full-time experience is equal to approximately 1,795 hours of work.

Acceptable experience includes the practical use of knowledge regarding pruning, fertilization, installation and establishment, diagnosis and treatment of tree problems, cabling and bracing, climbing, or other services that directly relate to arboriculture. This includes municipalities, nursery experiences, as well as other horticultural profession experience.

Comprehensive Exam:

The weight or percentages denote the amount of the exam that is devoted to each domain.

• Tree Biology (11%)

• Tree Identification and Selection (9%)
• Soil Management (7%)
• Installation and Establishment (9%)
• Pruning (14%)

Tree Biology

• Diagnosis and Treatment (9%) • Trees and Construction (9%)
• Tree Risk (11%)
• Safe Work Practices (15%)
• Urban Forestry (6%)

Recertification Requirements:

ISA Certified Arborist® certification is valid for three years. To retain certification after each three-year period, an ISA Certified Arborist® must recertify. Notify ISA promptly if your contact information changes. We are not responsible for undeliverable recertification notices.

The ISA Certification Program offers two methods of recertification. The first method is to retake and pass the certification exam again. The second option is to accumulate at least 30 continuing education units (CEUs) over the three-year certification period that are related to the 10 tested domains on the exam and pay the recertification fee. 

To learn more about this certification, see their website here.

The North Carolina Certified Plant Professional certification is a written and plant identification test that seeks to recognize proficiency in the green industry's workforce, upgrade the status of industry professionals and provide the public with a means of identifying qualified green industry professionals. This is a comprehensive exam that tests knowledge of approximately 300 plants, diseases, and insects encountered within the green industry. 

How to become Certified:

The CPP exam is a two part test. The written portion identifies knowledge and skills needed while working in a nursery or landscape operation. The Plant ID portion demonstrates knowledge of a wide selection of plant material. The Exam cost is $100 with a study manual cost of $35. Short courses are offered through NC Cooperative Extension.

To be approved, applicants meet any of the following criteria and submit two (2) completed Professional Reference Forms. - Be currently enrolled at a postsecondary education institution- Have earned an Associate or Bachelor’s Degree OR-Have two (2) years of experience in the green industry or industry-related supplier of products or services: any individual, partnership, limited liability company, association, or corporation engaged or employed in the sale, production, handling, storage, use design, planting, or maintenance of horticultural or environmental plants or accessories, including educators and other nursery and landscape professionals.

Examination includes:

• Written exam that consists of 100 multiple choice and true-false questions about proficiencies in best management practices related to landscape maintenance, plant selection, installation and other practices.
• Identification portion that requires participants to identify 125 selected plants, diseases, or insects from the designated list of 298 items. This is designed to confirm knowledge of common plant material, and problems within the landscape that green industry professionals encounter.

Exam takes approximately 2-4 hours to complete.

Recertification Requirements:

Eight (8) hours of CE within two years are required for renewal. Any course provided by the NCNLA or all courses accredited by any of the North Carolina horticulture industry boards will qualify to meet CPP education requirements.

During the renewal process, CPP recipients must list their completed CE units on the renewal form; CPP recipients may be audited to provide proof of their earned CE units. A renewal fee of $100 must be paid by January 31st of renewal year as well as renewal application.

To learn more about his certification, visit their website here.

A comprehensive certification program designed to enhance the technical skills of turfgrass professionals. It aims to improve your professional image, elevate the reputation of your business, and boost the turfgrass management industry as a whole. By obtaining the NCCTP designation, you demonstrate your expertise in turfgrass management to potential customers and industry peers.

How to become Certified:

Attend Short Course offered through NC State University and NC Cooperative Extension that covers: 

• Turfgrass Characteristics
• Establishing Turfgrass
• Soils & Nutrient Management
• Cultural Practices
• Pests & Integrated Pest Management
• Pesticides & Plant Growth Regulators
• Landscape Safety & Pesticide Use
• Calculations & Calibration
• Turfgrass Business & Economics

The NCCTP registration costs $150, the Exam Fee is $50, and the Self-Study Materials are $50. The short course is designed to prepare the applicant for the exam and paired with individual self-study. The time to prepare for the exam is approximately 3 months in total with the short course taking 2-3 days and the exam taking up to 6 hours to complete.

Recertification Requirements:

• Holding a current TCNC membership as a means of demonstrating ongoing support for the industry.
• Submitting an annual $50 renewal fee which supports for the NCCTP program and related promotional activities (designation year is July 1 to June 30, same as TCNC membership year).
• Holding a current NC Pesticide Applicator’s License.

To learn more, visit their website here.

The NC Landscape Architect certification allows you to perform master planning, site design, or structural layout for commercial, public, municipal, multi-family residential development in addition to individual residential development abilities.

Landscape architecture is defined as utilizing professional knowledge of natural, physical, and behavioral sciences to plan and design projects that touch the public sphere including:

• Creating grading, drainage, erosion control, and stormwater management plans
• Designing pedestrian and vehicular circulation systems, plazas, and outdoor public spaces
• Performing environmental mitigation, site analyses, and land-use studies for commercial developments.

To be certified you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Have good moral character
• Applicant must be a graduate of a curriculum in landscape architecture from a Landscape Architect Accreditation Board (LAAB) accredited institution. 
• Applicants must have at least four years of experience working under a licensed landscape architect.

Pass the Landscape Architect Registration Exam (L.A.R.E.)

• Exam is administered by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB).

Exam is 4 parts:

• Inventory, Analysis, and Project Management
• Planning and Design
• Construction Documentation and Administration
• Grading, Drainage, and Stormwater Management

You are given 3 hours per section to complete the exam. To see the official costs including registration, exams, and maintaining licensure visit CLARB.

To recertify you must:

• Obtain 10 contact hours of approved continuing education within the previous renewal period of July 1st-June 30th (note your first year of certification is exempt from the recertification requirement).
• CE Approvals are made individually for each activity by the education provider as well as pre-approved courses through LA CES (HSW). To see the CE database you can visit the NCBOLA website.

If you have further questions regarding the NC Landscape Architecture certification you can visit the NCBOLA website.