CURRENT · 09 2026

Contractor licence & insurance requirements by state

Fees, bond amounts and thresholds read from the board that sets them, with the date we read them. Calculators that show their arithmetic. Nothing here is copied from another summary.

Find your state Open a calculator

Date September 2026

Embossed paper relief of stacked documents with a seal and a blue ribbon — The paperwork a licence application actually is: documents, a seal, a ribbon.

Four pillars

Licensing splits into four questions. Each one has its own tools, guides and jurisdiction notes.

Embossed relief of a scalloped seal with a blue ribbon

Jurisdiction

State requirements

2 tools · 5 guides

Who issues the licence in each state, the dollar threshold that triggers it, how to verify a number, and which states honour each other.

All 11 pages

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Procedure

Licensing process

5 tools · 4 guides

The path from experience hours to a licence number: what a board wants on the application, what the exam covers, what it costs, and when it lapses.

All 10 pages

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Coverage

Bonds & insurance

5 tools · 6 guides

The surety bond a board demands, the general liability a general contractor demands, and the workers' comp a state demands — with the numbers that set each premium.

All 13 pages

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Trade

Trade licences

0 tools · 3 guides

Electrical, mechanical, plumbing and roofing licences run on their own ladders — apprentice hours, a trade exam, and in some states a separate bond.

All 6 pages

How to use this site

§ 1
Find the board that issues your licence
Three models cover all fifty states: a state board for generals, state trade licences only, or local registration. Which one you are in decides everything after it.
Requirements by state
§ 2
Price the whole thing, not the application fee
The board fee is the small part. The bond premium, the first year of liability cover and the exam spend are the rest, and the bond line moves furthest with your credit.
Licence cost calculator
§ 3
Put the renewal date somewhere that is not an inbox
In a board state an expired licence is no licence, and work contracted while it is expired can reach your right to be paid for it.
Renewal tracker