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Guide · Florida · 7 min read

How to Win Government Landscaping and Grounds Contracts in Florida

By the XL Eagle bid team · Updated November 2, 2026 · Built from our live bid database and USAspending.gov

Landscaping contracts in Florida run all year. Grass grows fast in the heat and the rain, so public buyers want steady mowing, edging, trimming and bed care. That gives a small crew a reliable stream of work if it can bid well.

Grounds bids come in two shapes. Some are a fixed price for a regular schedule. Others are indefinite quantity contracts, where the buyer sends task orders as needs come up. Know which one you are bidding.

You can bid on these jobs yourself, and this guide covers how. You can also send XL Eagle your price on a government job. We write and submit the bid as the prime contractor. If we win, you do the work and get paid. You do not need your own SAM.gov registration to work this way.

Landscaping contracts in Florida at a glance

  • 1 open landscaping bid in Florida on XL Eagle today. See them all.
  • 29 landscaping solicitations in Florida in the last 12 months that we tracked (10 federal, 19 state and local).
  • Federal agencies made 184 contract awards worth $23.7 million for work performed in Florida under NAICS 561730 in FY2025 (Oct 2024 - Sep 2025).
  • Top federal buyers that year: Department of Defense ($13.5 million); Department of Veterans Affairs ($8.9 million); Department of the Interior ($728,418).
  • Agencies posting this work most often in our data: Agricultural Research Service, Army, US Coast Guard, Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • Where these jobs get posted: MyFloridaMarketPlace, OpenGov, procurement.opengov.com.

Bid counts from the XL Eagle bid database as of November 2, 2026. Award totals from USAspending.gov.

Who buys landscaping work in Florida

  • Local buyers on portals such as OpenGov: cities, counties and special districts that mow parks, roadsides and public buildings.
  • The state, through MyFloridaMarketPlace, for formal bids over $35,000.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture's research service, which runs labs and fields that need grounds care.
  • Army and Air Force sites. Tyndall Air Force Base put out a five-year grounds maintenance contract, and Patrick Space Force Base has had grounds maintenance notices on SAM.gov.
  • Navy sites. NAS Pensacola recently asked for grounds work at the base, Corry Station and Saufley Field as a service-disabled veteran set-aside.

Open landscaping bids in Florida right now

All open landscaping bids in Florida →

Licenses you need in Florida

Florida does not license a general lawn crew, but spraying and fertilizing are controlled. Anyone who applies commercial fertilizer to an urban landscape must hold the Limited Certification for Urban Landscape Commercial Fertilizer Application from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which requires approved best management practices training first. It lasts four years. To spray caution-labeled pesticides on ornamental beds around buildings, you need the Limited Commercial Landscape Maintenance license, which takes a test and proof of insurance.

Register to bid in Florida

State and local jobs in Florida are posted on these sites:

  1. Make sure your business has an active registration with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz).
  2. Register in the MyFloridaMarketPlace Vendor Information Portal: enter your FEIN, your locations for ordering, payment and billing, your contacts, your preferred ordering method, and the commodity codes that fit your work.
  3. Say yes to taking part in electronic procurement events and give an email address for bid alerts.
  4. Accept the MFMP Terms of Use. The state says your registration is available within 24 hours after that.
  5. Have your E-Verify status on file and a current Substitute Form W-9 on file with the Department of Financial Services.
  6. After your first solicitation alert, create a Business Network account (formerly Ariba Network) so you can answer an electronic solicitation.
  7. Do not be on the state's Convicted, Discriminatory, Suspended or Antitrust Violator vendor lists.

The state says there are no subscription or registration costs to do business with it, but a MyFloridaMarketPlace transaction fee of one percent (1.0%) applies to payments received on covered state contracts, under Florida Administrative Code Rule 60A-1.031.

Federal jobs in Florida use SAM.gov, which is free. What SAM.gov is and how to register.

Small business certifications in Florida

  • Certified Business Enterprise (CBE), Office of Supplier Development: Free certification for Florida-based small businesses at least 51% owned and managed by a woman, veteran or minority who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, with net worth under $5 million and 200 or fewer full-time permanent employees; recertify every two years.

Wage rules on public jobs

Florida has no state prevailing wage law for public works. Since September 30, 2026, a 2024 state law (HB 433) also stops cities and counties from setting wage or benefit requirements for their contractors on new contracts, which ends local living wage programs such as Miami-Dade County's for contracts signed after that date. You still must pay at least the Florida minimum wage, and any wage terms written into an older contract.

On federal jobs, service work such as cleaning, grounds care and guard services falls under the Service Contract Act, and construction work over $2,000 falls under Davis-Bacon. The solicitation includes the wage determination you must pay.

What landscaping jobs look like in Florida

  • Read the scope for spraying and fertilizing. If you do not hold the right certification, leave those tasks to a licensed partner or leave them out where the bid allows.
  • The Limited Commercial Landscape Maintenance license does not cover lawns or turf. Do not promise turf pesticide work on that license.
  • Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30. Expect fallen limbs, debris and washed-out beds. Ask whether storm cleanup is in the base price or a separate order.
  • Rain and growth change the schedule. Bids often list a number of mowing cycles per year. Check whether you cut by calendar or by grass height.
  • Military sites need base access. Plan for badging and background checks for every worker, and for equipment inspection at the gate.

Pricing landscaping work for Florida public buyers

  • Measure the acres. Many bids give a map or acreage table. Price per acre per cut, then multiply by cuts per year.
  • Count the growing season honestly. Florida needs more cuts in summer than in winter. A flat monthly price can hide this.
  • Add fuel, equipment wear, trailers, disposal fees and crew travel time between sites.
  • Price debris cleanup separately, as hourly or unit rates. It is hard to guess after a storm.
  • Insurance is real money. Spray work needs the insurance limits the license requires, so factor it in.

Mistakes that lose these bids

  • Applying fertilizer or pesticide without the right Florida certification.
  • Pricing by a dry-season schedule and then facing a wet summer.
  • Ignoring site access rules at bases. A late badge can leave a crew sitting outside.
  • Leaving storm cleanup undefined, so a hurricane turns a profitable job into a loss.

The fastest way to bid: send us your price

You can register and bid on your own using the steps above. If you would rather not, send XL Eagle your price on any landscaping job in Florida. We write and submit the bid as the prime contractor under our registrations. If it wins, you do the work and get paid. You do not need your own SAM.gov registration to work this way.

Pick a Florida landscaping job or read the national guide to government landscaping contracts.

Frequently asked questions

What license do I need to fertilize on a Florida government site?

You need the Limited Certification for Urban Landscape Commercial Fertilizer Application from the state agriculture department. You first complete approved best management practices training, and the certification expires after four years.

Can I spray weeds around buildings with that fertilizer certification?

No. That certification does not cover pesticides. Spraying caution-labeled pesticides on beds around buildings falls under a different license, the Limited Commercial Landscape Maintenance license.

Are grounds maintenance bids at Florida bases usually small business set-asides?

Often they are. Recent notices at Tyndall and NAS Pensacola were set aside for 8(a) and service-disabled veteran firms. Each notice says who can bid, so read it first.

How does hurricane season affect my bid?

Ask if storm debris work is included or paid separately. A clear unit price for cleanup protects you if a storm hits during your contract.

Sources

Have a price for a government job?

Send it to us. XL Eagle writes and submits the bid under our registrations, free to you. If we win, you do the work at your price.

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