Massachusetts Roofing License Requirements (2026)

Massachusetts does not issue a stand-alone roofing contractor license. A roofing business can need two different state credentials: Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration for covered existing owner-occupied one-to-four-unit residential contracting, and the appropriate Construction Supervisor License (CSL) when a local building permit requires licensed construction supervision. Massachusetts offers a specialty residential roof-covering CSL. Its current published scope includes roof-covering work and limited replacement of 25% sheathing and 25% sistering roof rafters; greater structural work can require a restricted or unrestricted CSL depending on the building and project. HIC and CSL are not interchangeable, and the local building official controls the permit decision.

Federal requirement: EPA Lead RRP Rule

Pre-1978 housing triggers the federal EPA Lead RRP Rule for any paint-disturbing renovation, repair, or painting work — a requirement that stands apart from whatever Massachusetts does or does not license. See our complete EPA RRP Lead Certification guide for who needs firm and renovator certification, what it costs, and how renewal works.

Regulatory Body

Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation and Office of Public Safety and Inspections (OCABR / OPSI) administers the credential or scope-specific rules discussed here under M.G.L. c. 142A; 780 CMR 110.R5. Whether that pathway applies depends on the work scope and conditions explained below. OCABR administers Home Improvement Contractor registration. OPSI and the Board of Building Regulations and Standards administer Construction Supervisor Licenses, including the residential roof-covering specialty CSL.

Official portal: https://www.mass.gov/construction-supervisor-licensing

Eligibility Requirements

This guide does not establish a minimum applicant age; confirm any age requirement with the issuing authority. Check the current application for identification and tax-number requirements. No Massachusetts residency requirement is stated in the cited HIC and CSL guidance. Register any legal entity as required and follow the state application path that applies to its contract and permit scope.

Good moral character

The HIC statute includes a defined registration review process. CSL applicants must submit current experience evidence and application materials; this guide does not claim unsupported automatic disqualifiers.

Background investigation

M.G.L. c. 142A provides for specified criminal-history review for HIC applicants. No separate ordinary-roofing background-check requirement was identified.

Experience and Education

Plan to substantiate 3 years of HIC has no listed experience prerequisite. Applicants for a CSL verify three years of building construction or design experience; select the roof-covering specialty CSL only when its published scope fits the permit work. with hard records. Payroll, tax, project logs, and supervisor verification are what the board relies on when it reviews the claim.

Accepted proof of experience or eligibility

HIC application and applicable guaranty-fund payment when HIC registration is required
CSL candidate application and experience documentation or attestation required by the current candidate handbook
Local permit application, plans, and supervisor-of-record documentation when required by the building official
Massachusetts lead-safe renovation documentation for covered older-building work

Education substitution

Consult the current CSL candidate handbook for qualifying experience documentation and any educational credit for the selected license category.

Exam Requirements

Testing provider or authority: PSI administers current Massachusetts CSL examinations. The following examination requirements cover the pathways described in this guide; follow each part's classification, waiver, and local-scope conditions. Unpublished format details do not remove an examination requirement:

Specialty CSL residential roof-covering examination — question count: confirm with the authority, timing: confirm with the authority, passing score: confirm in the current candidate bulletin

Examination fee: HIC has no examination. The February 2026 CSL candidate handbook lists a $23 application fee, a $65 fee for specialty examinations, and a $150 specialty CSL issuance fee; confirm current fees with PSI and OPSI before filing.

Retake policy: The current CSL candidate handbook states that an applicant may retest while the initial application remains on file for two years; a new application is required after that period if the exam has not been passed.

Insurance and Bonds

The cited materials impose no contractor license bond for this credential. Bear in mind that specific contracts, permits, or public works can still require their own bonds.

General liability

The cited Massachusetts HIC and CSL materials do not publish a statewide roofing general-liability minimum. A municipality, owner, lender, insurer, prime contract, or public program may require insurance or a bond.

Workers' compensation

Assess workers’ compensation obligations separately for the business and workforce. The state HIC and CSL sources cited here do not make it an ordinary roofing-license prerequisite.

Additional financial requirements

No statewide roofing financial-statement requirement was identified. New HIC registrations include the applicable Residential Contractor Guaranty Fund contribution.

Fee Schedule

Fee	Amount
Application	$150
Initial license	No separate amount recorded; confirm in the fee guidance
Renewal (every 2 years)	$100

To turn these board fees into a realistic year-one budget — bond premium, liability insurance, and exam prep included — open the cost calculator preloaded for Massachusetts roofing.

Renewal and Continuing Education

Renewal of the Massachusetts Roofing Contractor Requirements (HIC and Roof-Covering CSL) comes due every 2 years. As cited, the renewal fee stands at $100. The displayed fee is the HIC renewal fee. CSL renewal is also listed at $100 every two years after the applicable continuing education.

Continuing education: HIC: no continuing education is listed on the state renewal page. Specialty CSL: six hours of continuing education every two years. Track both credentials separately.

Reciprocity

The NASCLA Accredited Examination is not accepted by Massachusetts for this classification.

Reciprocal State	Accepted Exam	Conditions
No formal bilateral reciprocity agreements identified.

No reciprocal Massachusetts roofing trade credential was identified. HIC and CSL are separate Massachusetts compliance paths.

Weighing more than one jurisdiction? The national hub compares published Roofing license requirements by state — exam, bond, fee, and experience thresholds side by side.

Roofing Licensing in Neighboring States

Contractors working near a state line, or weighing where to qualify first, should compare Massachusetts's requirements against the bordering jurisdictions before committing to an application:

Connecticut Roofing License Requirements — Connecticut Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) Registration
New Hampshire Roofing License Requirements — New Hampshire Roofing Contractor Requirements (Local Permits and Consumer Law)
New York Roofing License Requirements — New York Roofing Contractor — No State License; Local Requirements Apply
Rhode Island Roofing License Requirements — Rhode Island Commercial Roofing License + Contractor Registration
Vermont Roofing License Requirements — Vermont Residential Roofing Contractor Registration — OPR

Step-by-Step Application Roadmap

Classify the contract, building, and roof scope. Identify whether the job is covered existing owner-occupied residential contracting, the quantity of roof covering/sheathing/rafter work, and the local permit requirements.
Register as an HIC when the residential-contracting law applies. For covered existing owner-occupied one-to-four-unit residential work, obtain HIC registration before undertaking, offering, or agreeing to perform the contract unless a statutory exemption applies.
Pay the current HIC charges. Massachusetts lists a $150 new HIC registration fee plus a $100–$500 guaranty-fund contribution based on employee count. HIC renewal is $100 every two years.
Choose the CSL category required for permit supervision. The specialty residential roof-covering CSL covers published roof-covering work plus replacement of 25% sheathing and 25% sistering roof rafters. For work beyond that specialty scope, confirm with the building official whether a restricted or unrestricted CSL is required.
Meet the CSL experience and examination process. Verify three years of relevant construction or design experience, apply and schedule through PSI, pass the required examination, and submit the post-exam material required for issuance.
Obtain the local building permit. A state HIC or CSL does not itself issue a permit. Confirm the permit holder, plans, inspections, and required supervisor of record with the municipality before work begins.
Evaluate lead-safe renovation before disturbing painted surfaces. Roof work at pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities can disturb painted components. Use the Massachusetts Lead-Safe Renovation route when the state’s published scope and disturbance thresholds are met.
Maintain HIC and CSL separately. HIC renewal is biennial. Specialty CSL holders complete six hours of continuing education and renew every two years.

Application Checklist

The items below are the ones worth confirming before the application is filed with OCABR / OPSI:

Contract, building type, and exact roof scope identified
HIC requirement evaluated for covered residential contracting
HIC registration completed when required
Correct CSL category confirmed for permit supervision
Three years of CSL experience documented and examination completed when required
Local permit, plans, inspections, and supervisor-of-record requirements confirmed
Lead-safe renovation scope evaluated for older painted components
HIC/CSL renewals, continuing education, insurance, and contract requirements tracked

Common Filing Mistakes

Based on the board's own instructions and the sources cited here, the problems below are what most often stall a Massachusetts Roofing application.

Assuming HIC and CSL are interchangeable

HIC is consumer-protection registration; CSL is construction supervision licensing. The contract and local permit can require separate analysis.

Applying the specialty roof-covering scope too broadly

The current state scope includes only specified roof-covering work and limited 25% sheathing/rafter work. Confirm a broader CSL before work exceeds that scope.

Treating a local permit as automatic

The municipality determines permit, plan, inspection, and supervisor-of-record requirements. Check the authority having jurisdiction before starting the job.

Missing Massachusetts lead-safe renovation requirements

Roof work can disturb painted exterior components in older buildings. Evaluate the state LSR thresholds before contracting or starting demolition.

Study and Reference Materials

What follows are the regulator-cited and commonly used preparation references for this trade. They appear here for convenience only; CLR takes no compensation for them.

M.G.L. c. 142A — Home Improvement Contractor law — Massachusetts General Court. Use for HIC scope, registration, consumer protection, and contract rules.
Learn about different Construction Supervisor Licenses — Massachusetts OPSI / BBRS. Current state source for specialty roof-covering CSL scope.
CSL candidate handbook — Massachusetts OPSI / PSI. Use the current handbook for experience evidence, examination, and fees.
Lead-safe renovation for homeowners — Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards. Official explanation of Massachusetts lead-safe renovation thresholds and supervision.

Other Massachusetts Trade Licenses

If the Roofing license is not the right fit, the following published Massachusetts trade guides are also covered by CLR:

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Massachusetts issue a roofing contractor license?

Massachusetts does not publish a stand-alone roofing contractor license. Covered residential contracting can require HIC registration, while permit-required construction supervision can require a specialty roof-covering CSL or a broader CSL.

What can a residential roof-covering specialty CSL supervise?

Massachusetts lists construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, or removal of roof covering, including replacement of 25% sheathing and 25% sistering roof rafters, within the specialty license’s published building categories.

Does every roof deck repair require a restricted or unrestricted CSL?

Not necessarily. The current specialty roof-covering CSL scope includes limited replacement of 25% sheathing and 25% sistering roof rafters. For work beyond that scope, confirm the correct CSL category with the local building official before permitting.

What is the Massachusetts HIC cost for a roofer?

Massachusetts lists a $150 fee for new HIC registration and a $100–$500 guaranty-fund contribution based on employee count. The HIC renewal fee is $100 every two years.

Does Massachusetts lead-safe renovation affect roofing?

It can. Paid work in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities that disturbs more than six square feet of painted interior surface per room or more than 20 square feet of painted exterior surface must follow Massachusetts Lead-Safe Renovation requirements.

Primary Sources

Regulatory requirements on this page are drawn from the official board, statute, and exam-provider materials listed below.

Verified 2026-09-04 · Next scheduled review 2026-12-03

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Corrections and presentation updates

2026-09-30: Corrected examination detection when format details are unpublished and updated the summary layout and requirements score. Source-check dates are unchanged.
2026-09-08: Shared template updated to distinguish unspecified eligibility requirements, retain cost qualifications, and use consistent headings. Source-check dates are unchanged by presentation updates.
2026-09-21: Local-only guides now use a compliance-focused structure and terminology instead of implying a statewide license application. Source-check dates are unchanged by this presentation update.