For California landscaping workers comp, the WCIRB publishes landscape gardening as classification 0042 and keeps tree pruning and trimming in a separate classification, 0106. When a landscaping crew also trims trees, how that payroll is reported depends on the work each person does, the records you keep and the carrier's determination.
Landscaping contractors are licensed by the Contractors State License Board under C-27 Landscaping. The CSLB requires workers comp once a landscaping business has a single employee, whether that person runs a mower route or sets irrigation lines. A C-27 license holder working alone can file an exemption today, and that option is scheduled to end on January 1, 2028. The CSLB has proposed keeping a narrower exemption, so the date and its terms could still change. The full set of California contractor workers comp rules shows which license classes already have no exemption at all.
| Rule | What It Means for a Landscaper | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employees | Coverage is required from the first employee, including seasonal and part-time crew. | CSLB |
| No-employee exemption | Available to C-27 licensees with no employees today; scheduled to end on January 1, 2028. | Business and Professions Code 7125 |
| False exemption or uncovered workers | The penalty floor is $10,000 per violation for a licensee who is a sole owner and $20,000 for a partnership, corporation or LLC. | Business and Professions Code 7125.4 |
| Day labor on licensed work | A day laborer doing landscape work that requires a contractor license is presumed to be your employee unless licensed themselves. | Labor Code 2750.5 |
| Corporate owners | Officers or directors holding 10% or more of the company may waive coverage; the waiver starts once the insurer accepts it. | Department of Insurance notice |
Partners and LLC managing members have separate waiver rules. Talk through any owner waiver with the carrier, including the benefits it would give up, before deciding. Crews that also work across the state line answer to different rules, set out in Arizona irrigation workers comp and Nevada irrigation workers comp.
Two published classifications mention the work a landscaping company typically does. One title names landscape gardening. The other names pruning, repairing and trimming trees, which is why a mowing route and a crew up in a canopy may not be reported the same way. Neither is split by hourly wage, so California's wage thresholds don't apply here. A firm that takes on serious tree work, or that hands it to a specialist, should read the California tree service workers comp page as well. Other trades appear on the WCIRB class codes for contractors page.
Published classifications that mention this work
Who Decides the Classification
Your carrier determines the classification from the duties your crews perform. We don't assign or confirm codes; a current policy's declarations page shows the codes a carrier has used for you so far.
Illustrative scenario
A San Diego County landscaping company runs four maintenance crews under a C-27 license. Its policy was written with all payroll as landscape gardening. Over the year, two crew leads begin pruning and trimming street-side trees for homeowner associations, and the invoices say so. At audit, the auditor may review those hours against the separate tree classification, and the answer depends on the work and the records the company kept by task. Set the same company in Nevada and none of this holds as written: Nevada rates landscapers under NCCI, and no California classification applies there.
Describing Every Job as Landscaping
Landscapers often describe the whole business as maintenance on the application, then add tree trimming, retaining walls or block planters as customers ask. The auditor reads invoices and job descriptions, not the original application. Work that was never disclosed may be reviewed against other classifications, such as the published California masonry workers comp codes for a block wall, and the difference may arrive as an audit bill.
Workers comp is about your employees' injuries. A rock thrown through a client's window by a mower, a cut irrigation line under a neighbor's driveway or a crash while towing a trailer is typically handled by other policies, for example general liability, commercial auto or equipment coverage. Mention those when you ask for a quote so they can be priced alongside it.
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The published classification that mentions landscape gardening is 0042, and tree pruning, repairing and trimming has its own published classification, 0106. The work each person does decides which one fits, as the carrier determines it. We don't assign or confirm codes.
It may. Tree trimming sits in a separate published classification, and an auditor who sees trimming on your invoices may review those hours apart from your maintenance payroll. Tell the carrier about tree work up front and keep hours by task, so the audit reflects what the crews really did.
Not yet, as long as the C-27 holder has an exemption filed with the CSLB. The law ends that option on January 1, 2028; from then, licensees need a workers comp certificate on file unless a narrow exception fits. The CSLB has suggested keeping a smaller exemption, so recheck before you depend on it.
Often, yes. Labor Code 2750.5 presumes that an unlicensed worker doing landscape work that requires a license is an employee. Expect an auditor to count cash or check payments to day laborers, so log each one by name and date.
Not necessarily. Hardscape work may be reviewed against other published classifications, for example the ones on the California concrete workers comp page for flatwork. The answer depends on the job and the carrier's determination, so describe hardscape work on your application.
Every employee's pay during the policy period counts, including spring and summer help. If the estimate on your policy assumed a smaller winter crew, the audit replaces it with actual payroll, and the difference may show up as additional premium.
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Reviewed by David Gleason, Principal, on .
Next Level Experience. Insurance Done Right.
California landscaping workers comp, from route crews to tree work to the audit.
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