Contractor licensing and insurance guides
18 guides · 4 pillars · verified 09 2026
Written for the person who has to file the paperwork. Where we could read a fee, a bond amount or a threshold from the board that sets it, it is here with the date. Where we could not, the page says so instead of guessing.
State requirements
- Contractor licence requirements by stateThe issuing body, the dollar threshold and the bond, for all fifty states.2026-09-04
- Contractor licence classifications explainedA, B and C classes, and what each one actually lets you build.2026-09-04
- How to check a contractor licenceVerifying a number in three minutes, and what a clean record does not tell you.2026-09-04
- Working unlicensed: the penaltiesThresholds, fines, and what happens to your lien rights.2026-09-04
- Contractor licence reciprocityEndorsement, waiver and what none of them cover.2026-09-04
Licensing process
- How to get a contractor licenceEvery step from first experience hour to a number on a certificate.2026-09-04
- General contractor licence requirementsExperience, exam, financials, bond and insurance — what boards test.2026-09-04
- The contractor licence examFormat, sections, pass marks and how the trade half differs from the law half.2026-09-04
- Renewing a contractor licenceCycles, continuing education, and getting a lapsed licence back.2026-09-04
Bonds & insurance
- General liability insurance for contractorsWhat it covers, the limits GCs ask for, and the exclusions that bite.2026-09-04
- Contractor surety bondsLicence bonds, performance bonds, underwriting and what a claim does to you.2026-09-04
- Builders risk insuranceCourse-of-construction cover, who buys it and what it will not pay for.2026-09-04
- Workers' comp for contractorsClass codes, the e-mod, exemptions, and uninsured subcontractors.2026-09-04
- Reading a certificate of insuranceACORD 25 line by line: additional insured, waiver of subrogation, dates.2026-09-04
- What contractor insurance costsEach line of cover, what drives its number, and where the quotes diverge.2026-09-04
Trade licences
- Electrical contractor licenceApprentice to journeyman to contractor, and the hours each rung wants.2026-09-04
- HVAC contractor licenceThe mechanical licence, plus the EPA 608 certification nobody waives.2026-09-04
- Roofing contractor licenceWhich states licence roofing on its own, and the bond that comes with it.2026-09-04