How we verify
Simply Lawn is a public-record trust index for lawn & outdoor-service businesses. When you look up a company here, you're seeing what official government records say about them — not a paid listing, not a self-reported profile.
We check records, not claims
Every verified business is matched against official state licensing databases — the same records a regulator relies on. Businesses don't pay to appear, and they can't pay to change their status. The data is what it is, which is exactly what makes it worth trusting.
What we check
- Licenses & registrations — state contractor boards and departments of agriculture, including lawn/turf & ornamental pesticide categories.
- License status & dates — active, expired, or lapsed, and how long the business has been licensed.
- Insurance & bond — where the state publishes it (e.g. Washington, Texas), we show liability insurance and surety-bond status.
Live in Washington, New York, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Missouri and Connecticut today, rolling out state by state. Sources are refreshed regularly, so a profile reflects the most recent public records we've pulled.
What the labels mean
- ✓ Verified Matched to an active license or registration in official state records.
- License needs attention A license exists but isn't clean — expired, lapsed, or suspended. Worth asking about.
- No license on file We checked the state registry and found no record. Not always a red flag — some states don't require licensing for mowing-only work — but ask for a license number before hiring for spraying, irrigation, or construction.
- Verification pending This business is listed, but its state's registry isn't in our index yet.
The "Verified by Simply Lawn" badge
When you see this badge on a lawn company's website, it links to their Simply Lawn trust report — so you can confirm their license status against state records yourself. Only businesses that are currently verified can display it. If you run a verified business, you'll find the copy-paste badge code on your profile.
Honest about the limits
Verification reflects public records at the time we pulled them, and every state publishes different data — some include insurance and bonds, others just a license. A "no license on file" result doesn't always mean a business is doing anything wrong. We'd rather show you exactly what the record says — including when it says nothing — than pretend to know more than we do.