Oregon jurisdiction, license phases, and eligibility

Jurisdiction, construction, and maintenance

Oregon's Landscape Contractors Board administers landscape construction licensing under ORS 671 and OAR Chapter 808. The individual credential is the Landscape Construction Professional (LCP) license. The business credential is the landscape contracting business license. An individual license establishes qualification and the permitted phase of work; it does not by itself authorize an independent business to bid or contract.

Landscape construction includes installing lawns and plants, irrigation, drainage, landscape grading, and specified exterior features. Ordinary maintenance such as mowing, edging, weeding, refreshing mulch, adjusting sprinkler heads, and programming controllers generally does not require an LCB license. Installing or repairing an irrigation system is different from adjusting its coverage. Compressed-air irrigation winterization requires licensing. Small maintenance-related construction has narrowly defined exemptions; a contractor must satisfy every condition rather than assume that a small price makes all construction exempt.

The Construction Contractors Board regulates other construction under ORS 701. Some exterior work can fall within either board's permitted scope, while structural work, plumbing, electrical work, pesticide application, and backflow testing can require additional credentials. For a mixed project, identify each activity and the relevant authority before bidding. An LCB license does not replace a plumbing license for work beyond the LCP's permitted connection boundary or an Oregon Department of Agriculture pesticide credential.

For example, mowing a lawn and adjusting existing sprinkler arcs are maintenance. Adding a new valve, replacing buried lateral piping, and installing new turf are construction activities requiring a scope review. A contract combining a patio and an attached roof also needs a building and licensing review; the patio's classification does not resolve the roof's structural requirements. LCB licensing and maintenance FAQs explain the boundary.

The Two-Tiered Licensing Architecture

A fundamental legal concept tested on the Oregon examination is the statutory separation between individual professional qualification and the business operating entity. Oregon requires two concurrent licenses for active landscape contracting:

Business association and supervision

A landscape contracting business must have an appropriately licensed LCP associated with it and must require supervision of unlicensed employees. An LCP's phase must cover the work being performed. A Planting Only LCP cannot independently supervise irrigation installation merely because the employer holds a business license. When a responsible LCP leaves, the business must promptly address its licensing status with LCB and stop work that lacks required supervision. Do not assume an automatic grace period permits unsupervised construction.

The association must be real: a name supplied on an application does not replace project instructions, availability, and review. The business should document who directs each crew, how that person can be contacted, and who will cover an absence. A subcontractor is a separate business whose credentials must cover its own work; an unlicensed worker cannot be turned into a lawful subcontractor by issuing a Form 1099.

Exam eligibility and documented alternatives

Applicants generally must be at least 18 or legally emancipated and qualify through an accepted experience, education, or credential route. LCB's current qualification sheet accepts two years of landscape-related experience within the preceding ten years; the Modified route requires one year. Relevant associate, bachelor, or master degrees and qualifying certificates can also establish eligibility. The education route includes cooperative work experience, or an accepted six-month experience substitute; a certificate must meet the stated 72-credit requirement. Do not treat any unrelated degree as an automatic substitute.

The qualification sheet also identifies ISA Certified Arborist, NALP Landscape Industry Certified Exterior Technician, APLD Certified Professional Landscape Designer, Oregon backflow tester certification or an approved five-day course, and other board-approved qualifications. Each is an eligibility pathway, not necessarily an exemption from all examination sections. Submit records that show dates, duties, credits, cooperative experience, and the exact credential earned. LCB decides whether the documentation qualifies.

Probationary licensure provides a route for applicants without the regular experience qualification. It is not a disciplinary license. Its work and financial limits, examination deadline, and supervision provisions must be understood before choosing it. LCB exam qualification sheet is the controlling application reference.

License phases and required sections

The All Phase route requires all six examination sections: Laws, Rules and Business Practices (LRB), Plants & Turf, Hardscaping, Design/Grading/Drainage, Irrigation, and Backflow. Standard requires LRB plus Plants & Turf, Hardscaping, and Design/Grading/Drainage. Irrigation and Backflow Only requires LRB, Irrigation, and Backflow. Planting Only requires LRB, Plants & Turf, and Design/Grading/Drainage. Arborist combines the applicable ISA credential with LRB. Modified requires LRB and has restricted work limits. There is no separate license phase named “Hardscape Phase.”

Modified work begins with a $5,000 limit per job site for the same owner in a twelve-month period. After twelve claim-free months the limit can become $6,500, with low-voltage lighting also available under the phase's conditions. Modified excludes retaining walls, drainage systems, water features, irrigation, and backflow installation. Probationary applicants must pass all six sections within one year of the first sitting and have a $15,000 job limit under the applicable aggregation rule. Removing probationary restrictions requires meeting LCB's experience conditions; passing exams alone does not erase them.

Match the phase to the requested work before accepting it. A company that primarily plants shrubs cannot add an irrigation contract simply by calling the pipes “plant establishment equipment.” Likewise, work divided into several invoices remains one aggregated job when the rule defines it that way. Consult the phase chart and current rules for limits and exceptions. LCB examination and phase chart.

Advertising and enforcement

Advertising, bidding, or contracting for regulated landscape construction requires the appropriate active business license. Include the business license number in required advertisements and contracts; the LCP number is not a substitute for the business number. An expiration, insurance lapse, or loss of required supervision can affect the authority to continue work even when a printed license is still on the office wall.

ORS 671.997 authorizes civil penalties up to $2,000 for each offense. Do not confuse this section with ORS 671.991 or automatically calculate a separate maximum penalty for each calendar day. Enforcement can also involve corrective orders, licensing discipline, or other remedies depending on the facts. Verify a subcontractor's active credentials and scope before allowing construction to begin, and preserve that verification in the project file.

Fees, renewal, and continuing education

The fee schedule effective October 1, 2025 lists $200 for an individual application, $200 for initial individual licensure, and $200 for individual renewal. These are distinct charges; an application fee does not purchase the license or a PSI examination appointment. A business application is $285, initial business licensure is $375, and business renewal is $375. Probationary applications have their own $190 charge. Exam fees are separate and depend on the sections scheduled together.

LCB continuing education is reported on its two-year cycle, which uses the license number's reporting year. The hours depend on how long the LCP has been licensed: review the current CEH instructions for the 16-hour and 8-hour categories and accepted activities. Keep completion documentation, renew each required credential, and confirm business bonding and insurance remain effective. LCB fee schedule.