Do You Need an Arborist License in Nevada?

Last updated: August 24, 2026

Nevada issues no arborist license — and it goes further than that. The State Contractors Board publishes a list of landscaping work that licensed contractors are not needed for, and “removal and trimming of trees and shrubs” is on it. That makes Nevada one of the most permissive states in the country for a removal-focused tree service. But the same guide has a second list, and it contains “planting trees, shrubs or other vegetation”. The line runs straight through the middle of the trade: taking a tree out is unlicensed work; putting one in is not.

What Nevada Actually Requires

• No arborist license — Nevada issues none, and ISA certification is voluntary.
• ★ No contractor license needed for removal and trimming. The Contractors Board lists work licensed contractors are not needed for: mowing/edging of lawns; cleaning up/hauling off debris; removal and trimming of trees and shrubs; thatching of lawns.
• ★ A licensed contractor IS required to plant. The Board’s required list covers planting trees, shrubs or other vegetation, plus installation of rocks, sand or gravel, non-engineered decorative landscape ponds, landscape retaining walls not exceeding three feet, installation of landscape irrigation, and laying sod or hydroseeding.
• A pest control license if you treat trees for hire. Each business must employ a Primary Principal license holder.
• The Primary Principal experience bar: two years licensed experience in the category applied, or six months licensed experience and at least 16 college credit hours in biological sciences, with at least 8 hours related directly to pest control.
• Three exams: the General Knowledge (Core) exam, an open-book Laws exam, and an exam for each category applied for.
• A Nevada Certificate of Insurance completed by the business’s insurance provider, under NRS 555.330.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
State arborist license	Does not exist	Nevada issues none
Contractor license for removal or trimming	Not required	Explicitly on the Board’s “not needed” list
Contractor license for planting	See NSCB schedule	Required — planting trees, shrubs or other vegetation is on the “required” list
Pest control license	See NDA schedule	Business must employ a Primary Principal; Core, Laws and category exams
Certificate of Insurance	Required for pest control	Completed by your insurance provider under NRS 555.330
Nevada LLC	$425	Nevada’s first-year cost bundles the articles of organization, the initial list and the state business license — confirm the current split with the Secretary of State

You Can Take a Tree Out Without a License — but Not Put One In

Most states that regulate tree work do it by asking how dangerous the job is or how much it costs. Nevada asks a different question: are you removing something, or installing something?

The State Contractors Board’s landscaping guidance sets out two lists side by side. Licensed contractors are not needed for: mowing and edging of lawns, cleaning up and hauling off debris, removal and trimming of trees and shrubs, and thatching of lawns. Licensed contractors are required to perform: installation of rocks, sand or gravel, non-engineered decorative landscape ponds, landscape retaining walls not exceeding three feet, installation of landscape irrigation, planting trees, shrubs or other vegetation, and laying sod or hydroseeding.

For a tree service that is an unusually favorable split. The core of the trade — taking down hazardous trees, trimming, clearing and hauling — sits entirely on the unlicensed side. A Nevada operator can build a removal and pruning business without touching the Contractors Board at all, which is simply not true in Washington, where tree removal is written into the contractor statute, or in Arizona, where the exemption for gardeners is limited to maintenance.

The trap is on the other side of the same job. Removals frequently turn into replacements. A customer who has just had a dead ash taken out is the most likely person in the state to want a new tree planted in its place, and that follow-on work is on the required list. The unlicensed removal specialist has to turn it down or subcontract it. If replanting is a meaningful part of what you intend to sell, the contractor license stops being optional — and it is worth knowing that before you build a quote around it. Because these lists are the Board’s guidance rather than an exhaustive statute, confirm your own mix of work with NSCB rather than assuming the split covers every case.

The pest control side is where Nevada gets strict, and the barrier is experience rather than money. Each business must employ a Primary Principal license holder, and that person needs two years of licensed experience in the category applied for — or six months of licensed experience plus at least 16 college credit hours in biological sciences, with at least 8 hours related directly to pest control. Note that both routes require licensed experience, so time spent working unlicensed does not count toward it. On top of that come three exams: General Knowledge (Core), an open-book Laws exam, and an exam for each category you apply for.

And the business must be insured to be licensed: the business’s insurance provider must complete a Nevada Certificate of Insurance, with the requirements set out in NRS 555.330. So the pattern in Nevada is the reverse of what people expect. Cutting is open. Planting is licensed. Spraying is licensed, insured, and gated behind two years of experience you cannot shortcut.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Work out where your revenue actually comes from — removal and trimming, or planting and installation.
2. If it is removal and trimming, you can start without a contractor license, which is a genuine advantage worth using.
3. If you will plant, get the contractor license — planting trees, shrubs or other vegetation is on the required list.
4. Confirm your mix of work with the Contractors Board rather than assuming the two lists cover every job you will quote.
5. If you will treat trees, start counting licensed experience now — the Primary Principal needs two years of it, or six months plus 16 biological science credits.
6. Book the three exams: Core, the open-book Laws exam, and one for each category.
7. Have your insurer complete the Nevada Certificate of Insurance for the pest control license.
8. Register the business entity — and budget properly, because Nevada’s first-year LLC cost is among the highest in the country.

Staying Licensed

If you are working on the unlicensed side of the Contractors Board’s split, the thing to monitor is what you are actually selling — the exemption attaches to the work, not to your company, so adding planting or irrigation to your services changes your position without any formal decision. On the pest control side, the Primary Principal is the license: if that person leaves, the business no longer employs a Primary Principal license holder, so succession is a licensing question rather than an HR one. The Certificate of Insurance is completed by your insurance provider, which means a change of carrier means new paperwork to the Department of Agriculture. Nevada also carries an annual state business license alongside the LLC, so the recurring cost of simply existing here is higher than in most states.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a contractor license to remove trees in Nevada?

No. The Nevada State Contractors Board lists the work licensed contractors are not needed for, and it includes removal and trimming of trees and shrubs, alongside mowing and edging of lawns, cleaning up and hauling off debris, and thatching of lawns. That makes Nevada unusually permissive for a removal-focused tree business.

What tree work does need a licensed contractor in Nevada?

Planting. The Board’s list of work licensed contractors are required to perform includes planting trees, shrubs or other vegetation, along with installation of rocks, sand or gravel, non-engineered decorative landscape ponds, landscape retaining walls not exceeding three feet, installation of landscape irrigation, and laying sod or hydroseeding. So you may take a tree out unlicensed but not put one in.

Does Nevada have an arborist license?

No. Nevada issues no arborist license and has no arborist board. ISA certification is voluntary. The two credentials that can apply to a tree business are a contractor license, if your work crosses into the licensed list, and a pest control license if you treat trees for hire.

What does it take to get a Nevada pest control license?

Each business must employ a Primary Principal license holder, and the experience bar is high: two years of licensed experience in the category applied for, or six months of licensed experience plus at least 16 college credit hours in biological sciences with at least 8 hours related directly to pest control. You must pass a General Knowledge (Core) exam, an open-book Laws exam, and an exam for each category. The business’s insurance provider must also complete a Nevada Certificate of Insurance.

Tree work sits alongside our full guide to starting a landscaping business in Nevada, and the wider guide to starting a business in Nevada.

Sources

Source	What It Covers
Nevada State Contractors Board — landscaping guide	The two lists — that licensed contractors are not needed for removal and trimming of trees and shrubs, and are required for planting trees, shrubs or other vegetation
Nevada Department of Agriculture — getting a pest control license	That each business must employ a Primary Principal, the two-year or six-month-plus-16-credit experience routes, the Core, Laws and category exams, and the Nevada Certificate of Insurance under NRS 555.330
Nevada Department of Agriculture — applicator categories	The category structure, including the categories covering ornamental plants and trees
Nevada Secretary of State — limited-liability company	Articles of organization, the initial list and the state business license that make up Nevada’s first-year cost