Verification
How landscaping companies will be checked
No landscaping company is signed up with HyreYard yet, so none has been checked. Before any introduction, we plan to check license status where one exists, company identity from public records, and the service area. Applicator licenses, insurance and reviews are not part of the process yet. A check is not an endorsement.
A promise this site is held to. HyreYard will not call any landscaping company trusted, vetted, approved, certified or recommended unless we have actually established it. If you find one of those words used about a company here, it is a mistake. Tell us and we will fix it.
Which checks are planned, and which are not built?
We publish no company profiles or ratings, because we cannot yet stand behind any. This is the process we are building instead. It starts in state records and public filings, not in a company’s description of itself.
| Check | Status |
|---|---|
| License status with the issuing board, where the state or city licenses the work | Before any introduction |
| Company identity and operating history from public records | Before any introduction |
| Service area and the kinds of outdoor work the company does | Before any introduction |
| Pesticide applicator licenses confirmed with the state agency | Not built yet |
| Insurance certificates confirmed with the carrier | Not built yet |
| Homeowner reviews collected under a published policy | Not built yet |
“Before any introduction” means the check will run before we put a homeowner in touch with that company. No company has passed it, because none is signed up.
Why is licensing harder to check in landscaping?
A landscaping license means different things in different states. California has a C-27 landscaping contractor license. Texas licenses no landscaper, but licenses irrigators through TCEQ. In Arizona, the CR-21 class covers hardscape and irrigation, not planting.
Pesticide applicators are licensed separately, by the state agriculture or pesticide agency. So “licensed” is only a useful answer once you know which credential, in which state, for which part of the job. Our study of landscaping licensing by state maps it.
What does each check mean?
License status, with the issuing board
Where the state or city licenses the work, we go to the board that issued the license, not to the number on a truck. Where nobody licenses the work, there is nothing to check, and we will not use “verified” as decoration.
Company identity and history
That the trading name matches a real registered business, and how long it has operated. This catches a name on a truck that matches nothing you could ever complain to. It catches nothing else.
Service area and type of work
Which areas and which kinds of work the company takes on. A mowing crew is not automatically the right call for a retaining wall, and a patio installer is not an irrigator.
Pesticide applicator licenses: not yet
State law sets which pesticide applications need a commercial applicator license, and in which category. We do not confirm these yet, so we do not claim to. Ask for the license number and category before anything is applied. Lawn chemical safety shows how to check it.
Insurance confirmed with the carrier: not yet
General liability and workers’ compensation, confirmed by the insurer, not by a PDF from the company. Tree work, machines beside the house and digging near buried lines are where missing insurance becomes your problem. Until we check it, ask for the certificate yourself and confirm it with the carrier named on it.
Reviews: not yet
Reviews are only evidence when you know how they were gathered. We have no published policy for collecting them, so we carry no reviews and no ratings.
Is verification the same as endorsement?
No. The two are easy to blur. A checked license becomes a “vetted pro”. A vetted pro becomes a recommendation. A recommendation becomes an implied guarantee of the work. Each step is small, and the last one is false.
A check tells you a company is real and allowed to do the work. It does not tell you the base under your patio will be deep enough, or that the wall will drain. A written scope does that. See the hardscape base specification and reading a landscaping estimate.
Why do checks go out of date?
A license can lapse, be suspended or be reinstated. Insurance can be canceled mid-term. Companies change name, owner and service area. A check is true on the day it is made, so we will date every check, and we ask you to confirm what matters at the point you sign.
What will HyreYard never do?
- Publish a ranking. Not paid, not editorial, not a “top ten”. A ranking implies a comparison we have not made.
- Invent anything. No made-up company, review, award or credential, not even as an example.
- Treat a listing or badge as evidence. We have not read the criteria behind any trade association badge, so we make no claim about what one means.
- Let money change a judgment. When introductions start paying us, that is disclosed, and it stays out of the copy.
What should you check yourself before you sign?
- The right license, with the board. Where your state or city licenses the work, check it directly with the issuing board.
- Insurance, with the insurer. Liability and workers’ compensation certificates that name you, confirmed with the carrier.
- A written scope with the buried work in it. Base depth, compaction, drainage, plant species and sizes.
- Who calls 811 and pulls the permit. Buried lines get marked before digging, and the permit is in someone’s name.
- Payment tied to progress. Pay by finished stage, with a lien waiver for each payment.
The long version is choosing a landscaping company. How HyreYard works explains what happens to your details.