U.S. Trade Licensing Reference
Find the license requirements for your work
Find fees, exams, experience requirements, and official application sources for your state and trade.
All states
Each published state page consolidates the regulated trades currently verified for that jurisdiction with the issuing board, the statute, the bond amount, and the renewal cycle. Choose your state to see the live guides that meet our source and substance threshold.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Trades covered
17 trade categories, from full-scope general contracting to NICET-tiered fire sprinkler installation. Click any trade to open the national comparison table with the currently published jurisdictions side by side, including exam, bond, experience, fees, and reciprocity columns generated from verified state data.
General Contractor
Oversees and manages full-scope construction projects.
Electrician
Installs, maintains, and repairs electrical systems.
Plumber
Installs and repairs water, gas, and drainage systems.
HVAC Technician
Installs and services heating, cooling, and ventilation systems.
Roofing Contractor
Installs and repairs roofing systems.
Painting Contractor
Performs interior and exterior painting and coatings work.
Landscaping Contractor
Designs and installs outdoor landscapes and irrigation.
Masonry Contractor
Builds with brick, stone, block, and concrete.
Concrete Contractor
Forms, pours, finishes, and repairs concrete flatwork, foundations, paving, and related systems.
Carpentry Contractor
Builds and installs wood structures and fixtures.
Solar Installer
Installs and services solar PV systems.
Low-Voltage Technician
Installs data, security, and low-voltage systems.
Fire Sprinkler Contractor
Installs and services fire suppression sprinkler systems.
Home Inspector
Performs visual evaluations of residential property condition for buyers and sellers.
Pool Contractor
Builds and installs swimming pools, spas, and related decking, plumbing, and safety systems.
Handyman
Performs minor home repairs and maintenance below the state contractor-license threshold.
Pest Control
Treats homes and buildings for termites, wood-destroying organisms, rodents, and household pests as a licensed commercial pesticide applicator.
- Source-checked guides
- 845
- Jurisdictions
- 51
- Trades
- 17
How we verify every guide
- Every figure is sourced from the issuing state board, the governing statute, or the official exam-provider bulletin — cited on the page.
- Each guide carries its last completed source-check date and scheduled review deadline.
- Reader-reported changes are triaged within two business days and applied on the next publishing pass.
- Maintained by Gabriel Giner, editor — no lead-gen funnels, no exam-prep upsell.
Original research & data studies
All articlesBecause we maintain every requirement in one verified dataset, we can answer questions no single state board can. These studies are computed directly from our 845 license records — not aggregated from elsewhere — and the in-article tables recompute every time the site is built, so their numerical tables stay in step with the underlying guides. Editorial explanations are reviewed separately.
- dataexamsproviders
The Contractor Licensing Atlas: What Mapping 845 License Requirements Revealed
Every state board publishes its own rules in isolation, so nobody sees the national picture. Because we maintain a verified record of 845 contractor licenses across 17 trades in all 50 states and DC, we can. Here is what fell out when we counted who administers the exams, where a trade needs no state license at all, and which states demand the largest bonds.
- dataeligibilitybackground-check
Can You Get a Contractor License With a Criminal Record? A 50-State Breakdown
A past conviction is the single most common reason people assume they can never be licensed — and for most of them, that assumption is wrong. We read the eligibility rules behind all 845 contractor licenses on this site to answer the question directly: who checks, how deep the check goes, and which convictions genuinely stand between you and a license. The pattern that fell out is not the one most applicants fear.
- difficultyrequirementsexams
Contractor License Difficulty Index: The Hardest and Easiest States
Cost tells you what a license takes from your wallet. Difficulty tells you what it takes from your calendar. We scored every state-and-trade license on our site to show where the bar is highest, where it is lowest, and which factors move the needle.
- costsfeescomparison
Contractor License Costs by State: Compare Published Fees
Compare the recorded government and examination fees in our general contractor guides. See which costs are included, which remain unpriced, and why a state fee subtotal is only part of your budget.
Featured guides
A selection of detailed state reports. Each guide cites the issuing board, statute, and any official candidate bulletin or exam-provider material used to support the page.
California
General Contractor License
California Class B — General Building Contractor
- Est. cost
- See guide
- Bond
- $25,000
- Time
- Varies with application completeness
Verified 2026-09-04
Florida
Electrician License
Florida Certified Electrical Contractor (EC)
- Est. cost
- See guide
- Bond
- None
- Time
- Varies with examination scheduling
Verified 2026-09-04
Texas
Plumber License
Texas Master Plumber License
- Est. cost
- $228.50 (processing + Pearson VUE exam + initial license)
- Bond
- None
- Time
- See guide
Verified 2026-09-04
North Carolina
HVAC License
North Carolina Heating Contractor (Groups 1, 2, or 3)
- Est. cost
- See guide
- Bond
- None
- Time
- Varies
Verified 2026-09-04
Latest articles
View all
ConcreteMasonryConcrete vs. Masonry License: Which Classification Covers Your Work?
A poured slab and a wall made from concrete blocks are not automatically the same licensed trade. Compare classifications and learn how to check a mixed scope.
2026-09-05
RenewalContinuing educationContractor License Renewal: Fees, Continuing Education, and Late Renewal
Renewal is more than paying a fee. Track education, insurance, qualifiers, and active status with concrete state examples and a 90-day planning checklist.
2026-08-30
ExamsReciprocityCan You Get a Contractor License Without Taking an Exam?
Sometimes—but registration, exam credit, reciprocity, and qualifying a business are different routes. Learn what each can and cannot remove from your application.
2026-08-25
Contractor license requirements by state and trade
Why this reference exists
Getting a contractor license in the United States is harder than it should be. Every state has its own board, its own application form, its own exam, its own bond amount, and its own renewal cycle. The information lives scattered across dozens of state government websites, written in legal language, buried under PDF links and login walls. When contractors search the web for a clear answer to a simple question — how much does a Florida roofing license cost, what experience does a Texas electrician need, how do I transfer my California general contractor license to Nevada — they usually land on a marketing page from a bond company, an exam-prep school, or an insurance broker. Those pages are written to sell something, not to inform, and most of them have not been updated in years.
ContractorLicenseRequirements.com was built to fix that. We are a free, independent reference that tells you exactly what the state board actually requires, in plain English, with the real numbers and the real rules — application fee, examination fee, bond amount, insurance minimum, experience years, exam provider, passing score, renewal cycle, continuing education hours, and reciprocity partners. Every page links to the official source set behind the summary, including the issuing board, the governing statute or rule, and any official exam-provider material that controls the application process.
What we cover
We cover the four core construction trades — general contractor, electrician, plumber, HVAC technician — plus specialty trades including roofing, painting, solar installer, landscaping contractor, masonry, carpentry, low-voltage technician, and fire sprinkler contractor. That is 845 published license guides across 51 jurisdictions, each one structured the same way so you can compare requirements without hunting for the information. Our national trade hubs show the exact number of jurisdictions currently published for each trade, and the cost calculator shows recorded fees and your additional budget assumptions, with renewal listed separately.
What a contractor license actually is
A contractor license authorizes work within a defined classification. Some jurisdictions use registration instead, and others regulate a trade locally. Depending on the pathway, applicants may need experience, examinations, insurance, bonds, or other documentation. Renewal periods and continuing-education rules also vary. Each guide explains the applicable scope and links to the sources behind it.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a contractor license cost?
- Total out-of-pocket usually runs from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars once you add the application fee, examination fee, surety bond, and first-year insurance. The exact figure depends on your state and trade — our calculator shows recorded fees and your budget assumptions, with renewal listed separately.
- Do I need a contractor license in every state?
- No. Licensing is set state by state. Some states license a trade at the state level, some delegate it to cities or counties, and a few do not require a state license for certain trades at all. Each guide states plainly whether a statewide license exists and what the requirement is.
- What is contractor license reciprocity?
- Reciprocity lets a contractor licensed in one state obtain a license in another without repeating every exam, either through a formal agreement or because the second state accepts a NASCLA or equivalent exam. Our reciprocity matrix cross-tabulates which states recognize each other and on what terms.
- How long does it take to get a contractor license?
- Most applicants need several months: documenting the required years of experience, scheduling and passing the trade and business-and-law exams, securing a bond and insurance, and waiting for the board to process the application. Each guide lists a realistic timeline for that state and trade.
- Which exam will I have to take, and who administers it?
- Most states use one of four providers — PSI, Prometric, NASCLA, or Pearson VUE — and split testing into a trade-knowledge exam and a separate business-and-law exam. Each guide names the provider, the question count, the time limit, and the passing score for your state.
- Where does the information on this site come from?
- Every figure is taken from the issuing state board, the governing statute or rule, or official exam-provider material, and those primary sources are cited on each page. Every guide is scheduled on a 90-day review cycle and stamped with its last completed source-check date; overdue reviews are identified on the guide.