NC Landscape Contractor's Licensing Law- Some Questions Answered!
Many of you have gotten letters from the NC Landscape Contractor's Licensing Board regarding the new law. If so perhaps the letter has raised questions. The following link is to site that will answer some of those questions: http://nclclb.com/licensing-2/licensing/.
Questions that you as a pesticide applicator may have that may not be answered in the above web site include:
- Q- If I am a licensed pesticide applicator do I need to become a Licensed Landscape Contractor?
- A- No, not necessarily! Many pesticide applicators are employed by another entity- landscape company, public agency, golf course, or other establishment. If so there's no legal reason for you to become a Licensed Landscape Contractor. As indicated in the legal language of the new law, only those individuals/landscape companies that perform landscape work where the price of all contracts on a given site exceed $30,000 for any consecutive 12 month period of time.
- Q- Do I need to take an exam?
- A- Right now if you qualify to be grandfathered in, the answer is no. If you fail to follow through with the grandfathering process before August 1 of this year, or did not meet the criteria required at the end of December 2014 then yes if you wish to become a Licensed Landscape Contractor you will need to take a series of exams. No new exams will be held until after August of 2015. The new training manual and exams are due to come out sometime this summer. Visit the following site to see if you qualify to be "Grandfathered" in: http://nclclb.com/licensing-2/license-application/
- Q- There's been discussion of continuing education being required. Will there be classes offered nearby or will I need to travel to Raleigh or Charlotte to get these credits?
- A- Yes, there is a requirement of Licensed Landscape Contractor's to obtain 7 hours of CEUs- (Continuing Education Units). Currently, team of NC State faculty, (including extension agent), industry professionals, and community college instructors are working to develop a list of approved classes and content for obtaining CEUs or credits. These should be readily available regionally through your local Cooperative Extension Center, an area Community College, or on-line. If you have been maintaining credits on your pesticide licenses, chances are that you have had classes that would have met the criteria of the new license.
- Q- My business only manages small landscape accounts and never installs landscaping at the $30,000 level; should I get the license?
- A- While you are not legally required to get the license and would likely be exempt- see this site to determine exemption: http://nclclb.com/faq-hold/exemptions/ getting the license under the currently "Grandfathering" period will allow you to bid on projects that require the license and help you avoid taking the exam at a later date.
