A landscaping company in the Austin area has six trucks. Four of them pull trailers with equipment. Two run solo with tools and supplies.
The issue they described wasn’t the operations side. It was that the document requirements for each truck differ based on weight, and what each driver needs also depends on that.
In a mid-sized landscaping operation, not all trucks are equal. And that creates a document system with more layers than it first appears.
Why weight changes everything
In the US, the key DOT threshold for commercial vehicle regulation is 10,001 lbs gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). If a truck alone or in combination with its trailer exceeds that weight, it falls under federal regulation.
The second important threshold is 26,001 lbs. Above that, the driver needs a CDL (Commercial Driver’s License).
A landscaping company with work trucks and equipment trailers can easily cross one or both thresholds depending on the load. That means some drivers need CDL and others don’t. Some vehicles are subject to DOT inspection and others aren’t.
Knowing that clearly per vehicle and per driver is the starting point. Keeping it accurate as vehicles rotate or loads change is the ongoing work.
Documents to track in landscaping
Per truck and truck-trailer combination:
Commercial vehicle registration — annual per state. Texas and Florida have separate processes for commercially-registered vehicles.
Vehicle inspection — if the vehicle falls under DOT regulation, it requires an annual DOT inspection. Texas also requires an annual state safety inspection for all vehicles.
Trailer registration — separate from the truck. Many landscaping companies have more trailers than trucks and rotate them. Each trailer has its own registration.
Commercial insurance — vehicle and trailer. Heavier trailers may need separate coverage.
USDOT number — if the company operates in interstate commerce or exceeds weight thresholds, a DOT number registered with the FMCSA is required.
Per driver:
CDL — required if the vehicle exceeds 26,001 lbs GVWR or involves passengers for hire. In landscaping, drivers of the heavier trucks need it. Drivers of lighter vehicles don’t.
DOT medical certificate — required for CDL holders. Renewed every two years.
Regular driver’s license — for non-CDL drivers. Still needs to stay current.
Per employee applying pesticides or herbicides:
Pesticide applicator license — in Texas, issued by the Texas Department of Agriculture. In Florida, by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Renewed annually or biennially depending on the license type. This is one of the most commonly overlooked documents in small and mid-sized landscaping operations — and one of the most frequently cited in inspections.
The CDL / non-CDL mix problem
At the Austin company, the tracking system was a sheet in the break room with driver names and their license dates. The problem: when a driver who normally handles a lighter truck (no CDL needed) has to cover for the heavy truck driver for a day, nobody checks if they have a current CDL.
If a non-CDL driver operates a vehicle that requires one and there’s an accident or a roadside inspection, the company faces fines starting in the thousands of dollars and potential DOT number suspension.
In GoExpirely, each driver has a profile with their license type. Each truck has the license requirement noted in the free-text notes field. It doesn’t replace the operational assignment process, but it does ensure nobody drives with a lapsed license because someone catches it in advance.
What changes when every driver’s license status is visible
A driver who normally runs a light truck covers the heavy truck driver for a day. Nobody checks if he has the right CDL for it. He doesn’t. There’s a roadside stop.
When every driver’s license status is visible: each driver’s license type is in the system. Each vehicle’s CDL requirement is noted. Before dispatch, someone catches the mismatch. The substitution doesn’t become a compliance gap.
For landscaping companies in Texas and Florida
The landscaping market in Texas is one of the largest in the country. Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio — the climate allows near-year-round operation and both residential and commercial demand is high. Florida is the same, with the added complexity of strict pesticide regulation.
If you have between 3 and 20 vehicles and license, registration, and inspection tracking currently depends on memory or a spreadsheet that nobody maintains consistently, try GoExpirely free. No credit card required.
Written by Julio Alvarez — builder of GoExpirely and other software tools for operators and small businesses in the US.