North Dakota Roofing License Requirements (2026)

North Dakota does not issue a separate roofing trade license, but a roofer acting as a contractor needs the statewide Secretary of State contractor license when a job’s cost, value, or price exceeds $4,000. The rule covers subcontractors, general contractors, public contractors, and nonresident contractors. Choose the class that covers the full value of the largest single roofing contract: Class D up to $100,000, C up to $300,000, B up to $500,000, or A over $500,000. This registration is separate from local permit and inspection rules and any separately regulated trade work.

Who Regulates This Work

North Dakota Secretary of State (ND SOS) is the primary authority or official reference used for this guide. The controlling authority cited here is North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-07. Issues statewide contractor licenses and annual renewals through the FirstStop portal.

Official reference: https://www.sos.nd.gov/business/licensing-registration/contractors
Address: 600 E Boulevard Ave, Dept 108, Bismarck, ND 58505
Phone: (701) 328-2900

State and Local Eligibility Rules

There is no single statewide application for this work, so this guide does not impose a uniform applicant-age, identification, or tax-number rule. Check the business, specialty-trade, and local authorities that govern the actual project. North Dakota licenses resident and nonresident contractors. A nonresident applicant appoints the registrar as agent for service of process by signing and filing the application, unless the qualifying foreign entity already has a current registered agent and registered address on file with the Secretary of State.

State-level applicant screening

The registrar may deny, suspend, or revoke a license for false or misleading information, a directly relevant conviction, or dishonest or fraudulent contractor conduct injurious to the public. A conviction is not automatically disqualifying.

Background-check requirements

The registrar may require criminal-history information when appropriate or necessary to determine eligibility, at the applicant’s expense; the statute does not impose a universal fingerprinting requirement.

Experience and Scope Requirements

No single statewide year-based experience threshold governs the local or scope-specific path described here. The controlling requirement is Chapter 43-07 does not prescribe a roofing experience minimum, financial-statement threshold, or roofing trade exam. The contractor application requires a sworn statement of the applicant’s contractor experience and qualifications..

Relevant records and local documents

Contractor License Application through the Secretary of State FirstStop portal
Certificate of liability insurance naming the Secretary of State as certificate holder
Workforce Safety & Insurance certificate of payment or applicable letter of good standing
Business-registration documentation when the entity or trade name must be registered

Education and scope boundaries

Not applicable; the statewide contractor-registration law does not establish roofing education or experience prerequisites.

Testing Requirements

There is no single statewide trade examination for the local or scope-specific path described here. The applicable testing rule is: No state roofing or contractor trade examination is identified for this license.

Examination fee: No state examination fee is identified for the contractor license.

Insurance, Bonds, and Project Requirements

No statewide contractor-license bond applies to the local or scope-specific path described here. A city, county, permit authority, public owner, or project contract may still require a bond, so confirm the actual project requirements before bidding.

General liability

A certificate of liability insurance is required with the contractor-license application and must list the North Dakota Secretary of State as certificate holder. The current statute and Secretary of State guidance do not state a fixed statewide dollar minimum for this registration.

Workers' compensation

Provide the WSI documentation required by the Secretary of State. Applicants with employees residing in North Dakota need a current WSI certificate of payment; certain applicants without North Dakota-resident employees and without significant contact use the WSI letter-of-good-standing route. WSI separately advises general contractors to verify subcontractor coverage or nonemployment status.

Financial or filing requirements

No current Chapter 43-07 financial-statement or state contractor-bond requirement is identified. A local authority, owner, insurer, lender, or public project can impose separate requirements.

State and Local Fees

Fee	Amount
Application or registration	$450
Initial credential or registration	$450
Renewal (every year)	$90

To budget for the applicable registration, permits, insurance, and project requirements, open the cost calculator preloaded for North Dakota roofing.

Renewal and Ongoing Compliance

Expect to renew the North Dakota Contractor License — Roofing every year. Renewal currently costs $90. Renewal fees vary by class: A $90, B $60, C $45, D $30. Include required prior-year project information, liability insurance, and payroll tax, WSI, and unemployment certifications.

Continuing education: Chapter 43-07 does not establish a statewide continuing-education requirement for contractor-license renewal.

Downloadable Asset

2026 North Dakota Roofing Compliance Roadmap (PDF) — a printable step-by-step checklist for the state, local, and project checks.

Download the PDF roadmap →

Out-of-State Credentials and Local Recognition

North Dakota has no single statewide credential for this path to transfer through NASCLA. An authority may consider an outside license, examination, or experience record only under its own current rules.

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

The Secretary of State materials do not list a roofing or general-contractor reciprocity program. Resident and nonresident contractors apply under Chapter 43-07 and meet the applicable business-registration and WSI requirements.

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 North Dakota's requirements against the bordering jurisdictions before bidding or beginning work:

Minnesota Roofing License Requirements — Minnesota Residential Roofer Business License
Montana Roofing License Requirements — Montana Construction Contractor License (CCL) — Roofing
South Dakota Roofing License Requirements — South Dakota Roofing Contractor Requirements (Excise Tax and Local Licensing)

Step-by-Step Compliance Roadmap

Confirm that the roofing job exceeds the state threshold. A contractor license is required when the cost, value, or price per job exceeds $4,000. This applies to roofing prime contractors and subcontractors, including nonresident and public contractors.
Choose the class for the full single-contract value. Class D is up to $100,000 per job, C up to $300,000, B up to $500,000, and A over $500,000. Do not select a class below the largest roofing contract value.
Address business-registration requirements. Corporations and LLCs must register; sole proprietors and general partnerships may need a trade-name or fictitious-partnership-name filing. The contractor-license name must match a required business registration.
Obtain liability and WSI documentation. Prepare the liability certificate naming the Secretary of State and the WSI certificate or letter required for the business’s employee and contact situation.
Submit the FirstStop contractor-license application. Complete the sworn qualifications statement, select the class, upload required documents, and pay the current class fee.
Clear local roofing permits and inspections. Contact the city or county with authority over the project. For example, Fargo maintains separate local permitting workflows, including re-roofing-related application categories; this is a municipal process, not a statewide roof permit.
Renew on or before March 1. Renew annually through FirstStop with required prior-year project information, liability-insurance proof, and payroll tax, WSI, and unemployment certifications.

Pre-Work Checklist

Before bidding or beginning work, confirm each item below with the authorities that govern the project location and scope:

Determine whether the job value exceeds $4,000
Choose a class covering the largest single roofing contract
Complete entity, foreign-entity, trade-name, or fictitious-partnership registration as required
Liability certificate naming the Secretary of State as certificate holder
Current WSI certificate of payment or applicable letter of good standing
FirstStop contractor-license application, sworn qualifications statement, and class fee
Local roofing permit and inspection confirmation

Common Compliance Mistakes

The issues below are the most likely to create an unlicensed-work, registration, permit, or scope problem for North Dakota Roofing work, based on the official sources cited on this page.

Using “$4,000 or more” instead of the actual threshold

The Secretary of State states that the job cost, value, or price must exceed $4,000. Check whether local or specialty requirements also apply.

Selecting a class below the roof contract value

Class B, C, and D have single-project caps. Use the full contract value when choosing a class.

Relying on obsolete bond, financial-statement, or coverage-minimum claims

Current state guidance requires liability insurance and WSI documentation, but does not state the former guide’s fixed liability amount, financial statement, or state contractor bond.

Treating a 1099 as proof of independent-contractor status

WSI applies its own worker-classification analysis and advises prime contractors to verify subcontractor coverage or nonemployment documentation.

Treating the statewide registration as a roof permit

The Secretary of State license does not replace local permit, inspection, or code requirements.

Official References and Preparation 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.

North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-07 — North Dakota Legislative Branch. Primary law for threshold, classes, insurance/WSI documentation, renewals, nonresident contractors, and local-permit interaction.
North Dakota Secretary of State — Contractors — North Dakota Secretary of State. Current FirstStop application steps, documents, class fees, and renewal requirements.
North Dakota WSI contractor guidance — North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance. Coverage verification and contractor/subcontractor responsibilities.

Other North Dakota Trade Licenses

Should the Roofing path not apply, these other North Dakota trade guides from CLR may help:

Frequently Asked Questions

Does North Dakota have a separate roofing license?

No separate state roofing trade credential is identified. A roofer acting as a contractor must hold the Secretary of State contractor license when the job cost, value, or price exceeds $4,000.

What are the current contractor-license classes for a roofing job?

Class D covers up to $100,000 per job, Class C up to $300,000, Class B up to $500,000, and Class A over $500,000. Select a class covering the complete single contract value.

Is there a North Dakota roofing trade exam?

No state roofing or contractor trade examination is identified for the Chapter 43-07 contractor license. The application includes a sworn experience-and-qualifications statement.

Does the state set a liability-insurance minimum?

The application requires a liability certificate naming the Secretary of State as certificate holder, but the current state guidance reviewed does not state a fixed statewide coverage amount. Separate local, owner, lender, or project requirements can apply.

Are local roofing permits still required?

Possibly. State contractor registration does not replace local permits or inspections. Confirm the requirement with the project’s city or county before work starts.

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

Report a correction to this guide

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.