Kentucky Contractor License (2026): There Isn't One — Here's What the State Actually Licenses

There is no Kentucky general contractor license. Not a hard one, not an easy one, not one with a dollar threshold — the Commonwealth does not issue the credential at all. You can frame houses, run a remodeling company, manage a commercial build and coordinate a dozen subcontractors in Kentucky without ever holding a state contractor license.

That single fact is the most useful thing on this page, and it is also why so many guides for this search term are confusing: several of them tell you Kentucky has no GC license and then maintain a page titled "Kentucky general contractor license" anyway.

What Kentucky does regulate, it regulates tightly — and in three trades it operates a qualifying-agent system that most contractors do not know exists until they try to form a company. This guide covers what the state actually licenses, what it costs in 2026 (electrical fees and renewal terms changed recently, and most competing pages have not caught up), what the major cities require on top, and the responsible-master rules that decide whether your company can keep pulling permits.

The state agency, and what it says it licenses

The Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC) describes its own remit this way:

"HBC enforces statewide standards for building construction. The agency ensures fire and life safety in existing buildings; licenses/certifies plumbers, electricians, boiler contractors, sprinkler and/or fire alarm contractors and building inspectors."

General contractors are simply not on that list. Three further confirmations: the agency's division directory contains no general contractor division; the complete licensing forms index contains no general contractor application; and the table of contents for KRS Chapter 198B — the building code chapter — lists elevators, fire protection sprinklers, HVAC and home inspectors, but no general contractor or home builder.

General contracting work in Kentucky — coordination, framing, site work, roofing, remodeling — is governed by the Kentucky Building Code and Residential Code through the permit process, and by whatever the local jurisdiction requires. For the general shape of that split, see state vs. local contractor licensing.

What is licensed at the state level

• Electrical — electrical contractor, master electrician, electrician — DHBC Electrical Division — KRS 227A.010–.150, 815 KAR 35:060
• Plumbing — master plumber, journeyman plumber — Division of Plumbing — KRS Chapter 318, 815 KAR 20:030
• HVAC — master HVAC contractor, journeyman HVAC mechanic, apprentice — Division of HVAC — KRS 198B.650–.689, 815 KAR 8:010
• Elevator — contractor and mechanic — KRS 198B.400–.540
• Fire protection sprinkler — contractor and certificate of competency — KRS 198B.550–.630
• Boiler — KRS Chapter 236
• Manufactured home retailer and certified installer — KRS 227.550–.660
• Certified building inspector (KRS 198B.090) and home inspector (KRS 198B.700–.738)

A terminology trap: Kentucky's journeyman-level electrical license is statutorily called an "electrician," not a "journeyman electrician," even though the examination is named the Journeyman Electrician exam (KRS 227A.060(3)).

Fees, hour requirements and statutory penalties in this article are set by the Kentucky General Assembly, DHBC and the testing vendor, and they change — several Kentucky electrical figures changed in 2024 and 2025. Verify current figures with DHBC before relying on them.

Electrical — KRS 227A

Kentucky separates the business credential from the personal competency credential. The electrical contractor license is the business license; master electrician and electrician are personal licenses. As the state's candidate bulletin puts it: "A Contractor's license may be held to conduct business without holding a Master license. However, a person with a Contractor license must be associated with a Master license holder."

Experience is measured in hours, not years (KRS 227A.060):

• Master electrician — 16,000 hours
• Electrician — 8,000 hours, accrued since the applicant's sixteenth birthday
• Electrical contractor — no experience requirement of its own; it borrows the master's

Substitutions are generous. An approved training course, or two years teaching electrical technology, counts as 4,000 hours. An associate degree or diploma from KCTCS or an accredited institution counts as 6,000 hours toward master or 4,000 toward electrician. There is also a provisional electrician route (KRS 227A.060(5)) for someone with six years of verifiable experience at 2,080 hours per year — nonrenewable, valid one year, $50, and failing the exam within that year makes you ineligible for any further provisional license.

Exams: DHBC accepts the Master Electrician exam through Prov, NASCLA, or Pearson VUE, and the Business and Law exam through Prov or Pearson VUE. Prov is the contracted provider: computer-based, open book, $80, with a 70% cut score, at twelve Kentucky test centers or remotely. The Contractor exam is 40 questions in 1.5 hours; Journeyman 80 questions in 3 hours; Master 100 questions in 4 hours. Scores are valid three years. Exam fees are set by the vendor and change — confirm with Prov. On the NASCLA route, see NASCLA exam accredited states.

PSI does not administer any of Kentucky's electrical, plumbing or HVAC exams. Several guides name it. It appears nowhere in DHBC's materials.

Fees and term — this changed, and most pages are stale. Under KRS 227A.100(1): "Any license issued or renewed on or after July 15, 2024, shall be a biennial license, and for the biennial payment, the renewal fee shall be doubled to cover both years." The implementing regulation, 815 KAR 35:060, was conformed effective May 6, 2025:

• Electrical contractor — $400, biennial (was $200 annual)
• Master electrician — $200, biennial (was $100)
• Electrician — $100, biennial (was $50)
• Provisional electrician — $50, one year
• Late fee $50; reinstatement equals the renewal fee, paid in addition

Renewal falls on the last day of the licensee's birth month in the second year (entities use the issuance month), with a 60-day grace period.

Insurance — $1,000,000, not $500,000. KRS 227A.060(1)(c) requires that the applicant "has obtained a general liability insurance policy of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000)," repeated at renewal in KRS 227A.100(8). Plus workers' compensation and unemployment compliance, or a notarized sole-proprietor waiver, with the department named as certificate holder. The $500,000 figure is the most replicated error about Kentucky electrical licensing on the internet — it appears to be a pre-amendment number that never got updated.

Continuing education — 6 hours, and a stacking rule everyone misses. KRS 227A.100(7) requires "at least six (6) hours of continuing education per year." Because the license is now biennial, the defensible reading is 12 hours per two-year cycle; the underlying CE regulation (815 KAR 2:010) has not been fully conformed to the biennial change, so confirm with DHBC Licensing before a renewal you cannot afford to miss.

The stacking rule matters more. 815 KAR 2:010 § 1(7)(b): "An electrical contractor shall not be able to apply a master electrician, electrician, or electrical inspector's hours toward the electrical contractor's continuing education." If one person holds both the contractor license and the master license, that is two separate sets of hours — and the topics differ (contractor CE is business or job safety; master and electrician CE is job safety, codes or trade). Carry-forward is capped at 12 hours across two successive years.

Local rules are preempted. KRS 227A.020(6): "KRS 227A.010 to 227A.140 shall supersede all ordinances or regulations regulating electricians, master electricians, and electrical contractors of any city, county, urban-county, charter county, or consolidated local government." Zoning requirements and occupational payroll taxes survive; local electrical licensing schemes do not. More in our Kentucky electrician license guide.

Plumbing — KRS 318

Kentucky is one of the last states administering its plumbing exams itself. There is no PSI, no Prov and no Pearson VUE here. The State Plumbing Examining Committee designs the exam and DHBC administers it, in Frankfort, four times a year — February, May, August and November. Applications must be in no later than three weeks prior. Check-in is 7:30 a.m.; the exam starts at 8:00.

The journeyman exam is 2½ hours written plus a 2½-hour practical, and the applicant furnishes their own plumbing materials. The master exam is 2½ hours.

Passing scores are the highest in the state: master 80% on each portion, journeyman 75% on each portion. Scores are valid three years. Note "each portion" — several guides report a lower per-portion floor beneath a higher overall score. There isn't one.

Experience routes to master plumber (815 KAR 20:030 § 2) include: a valid journeyman license for at least two of the past five years plus two years employed under a licensed master; a Kentucky engineer license with sufficient mechanical engineering experience; a valid out-of-state plumbing license held at least two of the past five years; or four consecutive years in a non-licensing state in a master-equivalent capacity. Journeyman requires two consecutive years as an apprentice, or an approved course on plumbing practice and the Kentucky State Plumbing Code plus one year as an apprentice.

Fees: master exam $150, master license and renewal $250; journeyman exam $50, journeyman license and renewal $60. Inactive and reactivation are half. Renewal is annual (KRS 318.054(1)). Unpaid for 180 days, the license is cancelled by operation of law. CE is 6 hours annually.

There is no Kentucky master plumber bond. Chapter 318 contains no bond provision anywhere. What it requires is insurance — KRS 318.030(2)(a): "No person, firm, or corporation shall engage in plumbing … unless the person, firm, or corporation maintains general liability insurance in an amount not less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) and submits proof of compliance with workers' compensation and unemployment insurance laws."

The phantom bond most likely originates in KRS 318.054(5)(a)1, which refers in passing to "all necessary bonding and insurance policies required in this chapter" — a vestigial phrase pointing at a requirement the chapter never imposes. Compare against states that genuinely require one in contractor bond requirements by state.

Permits: plumbing permits issue to licensed master plumbers or to homeowners for their own residences. All other plumbing work "must be installed by a licensed journeyman plumber under the supervision of a licensed master plumber." Full detail in our Kentucky plumbing license guide.

HVAC — KRS 198B.650–.689

Kentucky was the first state in the country with statewide HVAC permitting and inspection, effective January 1, 2011. The licence classes are master HVAC contractor, journeyman HVAC mechanic, and apprentice (a registration, not a license).

Experience is two years — not four, not five. KRS 198B.658 gives three routes to master: two years regularly and principally employed as a journeyman under a master's direction; two years as a master HVAC contractor or equivalent in Kentucky or another jurisdiction, documented; or two years licensed and employed as a mechanical engineer. Journeyman requires two years in the HVAC trades under a master, or two years of documented HVAC work. Under 815 KAR 8:010 § 5(2), "one (1) year of HVAC experience shall consist minimally of 1,500 hours of HVAC work in a continuous twelve (12) month period."

Credits: one academic year of an approved curriculum or one year of professional training counts as one year toward journeyman (maximum one); one academic year teaching approved technical HVAC counts as one year toward either license (maximum one); and registered-apprentice hours served under a Kentucky master count toward journeyman.

Two live exam paths. Prov, as DHBC's designee: $80, computer-based, open book — journeyman 60 questions in 3 hours, master 100 questions in 4 hours including 23 law-and-administration and 19 plan-reading, estimating and math questions. Or DHBC in person: Form HVAC-4 plus fee to the main office, master $150 / journeyman $50, payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, results mailed. Passing is 70%, valid three years, and a passing master score satisfies the journeyman exam requirement.

Fees: master initial $250, annual renewal $250, restoration $125. Journeyman initial $50, renewal $50, restoration $25. Apprentices pay nothing — KRS 198B.658(4)(e): "Apprentices and pre-apprentices shall not be required to pay a fee to obtain a certificate of registration or to renew a registration." Reinstating a terminated license costs $250 per 12-month period for a master (capped at $750) and $50 per period for a journeyman (capped at $150). Renewal is annual, on the birth month, with a 60-day late window. CE is 6 hours annually.

Insurance — KRS 198B.668(1): general liability of not less than $500,000 plus property damage of not less than $300,000, underwritten by a carrier licensed and approved by the Kentucky Department of Insurance (not the "Kentucky Office of Insurance," an obsolete name still circulating).

And a provision worth money: KRS 198B.668(3) provides that proof of that insurance "shall exempt licensees from the requirement of obtaining separate insurance in local jurisdictions under any local licensing laws."

Local preemption — KRS 198B.6673(4): "No local governing entity shall impose any other heating, ventilation, and air conditioning inspection or permit requirements, or establish any local inspection or permitting program, unless those provisions were in place before January 1, 2007." See our Kentucky HVAC license guide.

Kentucky's qualifying agent system — in all three trades

Here is the thing almost nobody writes about Kentucky: although there is no general contractor license, the Commonwealth runs a responsible-master requirement in electrical, plumbing and HVAC that works much like a qualifying agent regime in a licensing state. A company cannot hold the trade credential on its own. A licensed individual has to stand behind it, and that individual's relationship to the company is specified by statute.

HVAC is the most explicit — and it includes an ownership test.

KRS 198B.678(1): "No firm, company, or corporation may engage in the practice of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contracting in any county of the Commonwealth, unless the person in responsible charge of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning work is a master heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contractor and is an employee or subcontractor of the firm, company, or corporation."

And the anti-license-renting provision at KRS 198B.678(3): "No master heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contractor shall represent more than one (1) firm, company, or corporation unless the contractor is domiciled in the Commonwealth and has a minimum of twenty-five percent (25%) ownership in each firm, company, or corporation the contractor represents."

That is a genuine structural test, and we have not found a single competing page that covers it. One master, one company — unless they live in Kentucky and own at least a quarter of each business. Under 815 KAR 8:010 § 1(1)(a), that master is "primarily responsible for all HVAC work performed by the employees and subcontractors of the licensee or the company that the licensee represents."

Electrical is narrower — it requires an employee. The regulation requires the application to state "the name and license number of the master electrician affiliated with the applicant," and DHBC's own checklist says you "will need a Kentucky master electrician license or employ a Kentucky licensed master electrician." Form EL-2 states that "licensed Contractors are required to have a Master license holder associated with his or her license at all times," and KRS 227A.140(3)(c) provides that "an electrical contractor shall have an employee with a current and valid Kentucky master electrician's license in order to procure permits and perform electrical work under this chapter." Under 815 KAR 35:060 § 4(4), the person who sits for the entity's exam must be an owner, officer, director, or full-time employee — no subcontractor option, unlike HVAC.

On disassociation, KRS 227A.140 requires the master to report immediately and holds them responsible for all work performed under their license until they notify the department. A replacement must be employed before continuing any business activity or within 30 days, whichever comes first, and under 815 KAR 35:060 § 10(2) the replacement designee must already have passed the contractor exam or pass it within 30 days — otherwise the failure "shall render the licensee no longer qualified to be licensed."

Plumbing works the same way. KRS 318.110: "A company or individual principal may engage in the business of plumbing within any county of the Commonwealth if a person connected with that company or individual principal in responsible charge of the plumbing work is a licensed master plumber. Any master plumber, in responsible charge of plumbing work for a company … shall notify the department at any time he or she commences or severs his or her connection with the company." KRS 318.054(5)(c) adds that "a company shall have an employee with a current and valid Kentucky master plumber's license in order to procure permits and perform plumbing work." DHBC publishes a Letter of Representation and a Letter of Dis-Representation for exactly this.

If the master dies, all three trades give you 180 continuous calendar days (KRS 227A.140(3), KRS 318.054(5), KRS 198B.667), conditioned on keeping all bonding and insurance in force for the entire period, with notice to DHBC within 10 days of the death and a replacement named on or before the deadline.

The practical reading: a Kentucky electrical, plumbing or HVAC company is one resignation away from being unable to pull a permit, and the electrical replacement window is 30 days — one of the tightest in the country. This is the same structural problem qualifying-agent states have, arriving through a different door. See qualifier: owner vs. employee, the Kentucky contractor license qualifier guide, and contractor qualifier contingency plan.

Because the electrical and plumbing statutes use the word employee, an arrangement built on anything other than genuine employment is on weak ground. The Licensing Company places qualifying agents as full-time W-2 employees for exactly this reason — payroll is what demonstrates the relationship the statute names. Related reading: can a qualifying agent be a 1099 contractor and is it legal to rent a contractor license.

Local licensing: three different models

Because there is no state GC license, local rules do the work — and they are not uniform. Kentucky has three distinct models.

Model 1 — a real contractor license, required to pull permits.

Louisville Metro / Jefferson County, through its Division of Construction Review: "any person, business, partnership, or corporation that performs or offers to perform certain types of work must be licensed or officially identified with the city. It is illegal to work without a license. Only licensed contractors or property owners are allowed to obtain permits." The GC-equivalent is Building Type A ($125/year, for multiple permits in a calendar year) or Building Type B ($50, for a single permit). Also: HVAC $200 (requires the state master HVAC license), Fire Suppression $75, Sign $125, Wrecking Type A $125 plus a $10,000 surety bond, Wrecking Type B $225 plus a $25,000 bond. Type A holders pulling single- and multi-family permits must complete 6 hours of continuing education before renewal. Prerequisites include a certificate of liability insurance, workers' compensation or a notarized affidavit, and an occupational license number from the Revenue Commission of Jefferson County. Licenses are non-transferable and an ownership change must be reported within five days.

Lexington-Fayette (LFUCG) requires contractor registration before permits: a $40 one-time initial fee plus an annual class fee. General contractor (commercial, industrial, public works, or residential larger than four-family; more than two unrelated trades): insurance of $500,000, $200/year. General contractor, residential only (up to four-family, or home remodeling): $250,000 insurance, $75/year. Specialty (two or fewer unrelated trades): $100,000 insurance, $30/year — with the fee waived for holders of a valid state or local plumbing, HVAC or electrical license, though registration is still required. Registration expires December 31 with a $25 late fee in January. LFUCG also runs a Contractor Review Board with suspension and revocation power.

Bowling Green / Warren County is the one Kentucky jurisdiction using the literal phrase "General Contractors License," administered by a joint licensing board: GC $250, Specialty $100, non-refundable, with minimum general liability of $100,000 per occurrence. A GC license is required to pull building or remodeling permits, to do construction management, or where there are two or more subcontractors per job; one or fewer means a specialty license.

Model 2 — no contractor license at all; occupational license plus permits. This describes all of Northern Kentucky, the state's third-largest metro. Kenton County's Planning and Development Services states that "all contractors must obtain and maintain a Kenton County occupational license and provide proof of Kentucky workers' compensation insurance coverage. In addition, the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings, and Construction requires a license for electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and fire suppression work." Covington, Newport, Boone County and Florence follow the same pattern — a city or county occupational license, a building permit, and state licensure for the regulated trades. Boone County notes that an occupational license is typically required for "projects lasting more than three days or valued at over $5,000." Florence's own list of state-licensed trades names electricians, HVAC and plumbers — and pointedly does not include general contractors.

Model 3 — permits through a regional planning commission. Owensboro and Daviess County issue permits through the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission, with an occupational license (minimum $75) that must be displayed or carried on the job site. There is no GC licensing function.

Underneath all three, the constant holds: electrical, HVAC, plumbing, fire suppression and boiler work are state-licensed everywhere in Kentucky, and electrical and HVAC expressly preempt local licensing.

Local fees and requirements change and are set by each jurisdiction — confirm with the specific city or county before you bid there.

No residential builder registration — and the bills that keep failing

Kentucky has no state residential or home builder registration, no home improvement contractor registration, and no contractor consumer-protection registry. The only adjacent licensure is home inspectors, where local licensing is expressly barred.

It is not for want of trying. HB 300 (2026 Regular Session), "AN ACT relating to contractors," would have created DHBC contractor licensing within KRS 198B along with consumer provisions including a five-business-day cancellation right. It died in the Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations committee, last action January 16, 2026. Roofing licensure has died twice — HB 350 (2025) and HB 150 (2026).

The consumer protection that does exist is the home solicitation sale cancellation right at KRS 367.410–.450: a buyer may cancel "until midnight of the third business day" after signing where the seller personally solicited at the residence and the agreement was given there, extended to 10 business days where a security interest is taken in the principal dwelling. There is an exception where the buyer requested work without delay and the seller made a substantial beginning.

Penalties

• Electrical — KRS 227A.130: misdemeanor, fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000, or jail of 10 to 180 days, or both. It reaches anyone who violates or aids in violating the licensing requirement.
• HVAC — KRS 198B.686: a Class A misdemeanor for unlicensed practice, and separately for advertising or holding out as licensed, with each violation a separate offense.
• Plumbing — KRS 318.990: fine of not less than $10 nor more than $100, or up to 90 days, or both — a 1960 figure never updated. The teeth are in the tail: each day is a separate offense.

Unlicensed persons may perform electrical duties only "under the direct supervision of a licensed electrician or master electrician who is present on the site" (KRS 227A.020(4)). DHBC also has injunction and cease-and-desist authority.

On whether an unlicensed contractor can enforce a contract in Kentucky: none of KRS 227A, Chapter 318, or KRS 198B.650–.689 contains a provision barring it. Kentucky has no equivalent to Florida's § 489.128 or California's § 7031. That does not mean such a contract is enforceable — it means the question is governed by general common-law principles and is fact-specific, and we are not going to assert an answer we have not verified against a controlling Kentucky decision. Ask a Kentucky construction attorney about your facts.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• 815 KAR 35:060 amended effective May 6, 2025 — the electrical regulation conformed to the 2024 statutory change. Annual became biennial; contractor $200 → $400, master $100 → $200, electrician $50 → $100. The old "1,600 hours in a continuous twelve-month period" definition of a year of electrical experience was deleted, and new pathways were added for department-approved registered apprenticeship programs and for documented military experience. Any page written before mid-2024 is doubly out of date on Kentucky electrical.
• HB 54 (2025) — signed March 19, 2025, creating KRS 198B.093, effective June 27, 2025: internship and cooperative-placement on-the-job hours now count toward DHBC licensure hours where directly related. It applies to electrical, plumbing and HVAC, and it is genuinely useful for anyone building hours toward a master credential.
• SB 98 (2026) — signed April 27, 2026, creating KRS 198B.055, effective January 1, 2027: structural steel welding on state government contract projects will require a certified welder meeting national standards, exempting welding on a homeowner's or farmer's premises.
• HB 565 (2026) — effective July 15, 2026, amending KRS 227.331: violations of a fire protection official's orders now carry administrative fines or suspension or revocation of a certificate of authority, occupancy, or other license or permit.
• Clean negatives: no 2025 or 2026 amendments to KRS Chapter 227A, KRS Chapter 318, or KRS 198B.650–.689 beyond those noted; no statewide general contractor or residential builder license was created.

A broader view of what moved this year is in contractor license law changes 2026 by state.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a license to be a general contractor in Kentucky? Not from the state. You will need whatever your local jurisdiction requires — a Building Type A license in Louisville, contractor registration in Lexington, a general contractor license in Bowling Green, or nothing beyond an occupational license across most of Northern Kentucky — plus state-licensed trade contractors for any electrical, plumbing, HVAC or fire suppression work.

How much does a Kentucky contractor license cost? It depends entirely on which credential you mean, because there is no single license. State trade licenses are knowable: electrical contractor $400 biennial, master electrician $200 biennial, electrician $100 biennial; master plumber $250 annual plus a $150 exam; journeyman plumber $60 annual plus a $50 exam; master HVAC $250 annual; journeyman HVAC $50 annual; apprentices free. Add Prov's $80 exam fee where that route applies, local fees ($125 in Louisville, $200 in Lexington for commercial GC, $250 in Bowling Green), and insurance premiums, which are priced by carriers rather than the state. What no page can quote you is the cost of bringing in a licensed master to stand behind your company, because that turns on the trade, the market, the risk and the duration — that is quoted per situation through our consultation packages.

Is there a Kentucky contractor license lookup? DHBC maintains license verification for the trades it licenses. There is no general contractor registry, because there is no general contractor license.

Our master electrician just quit. How long do we have? Under KRS 227A.140, a replacement must be employed before continuing any business activity or within 30 days, whichever comes first — and the replacement must already have passed the contractor exam or pass it within 30 days. Thirty days is short. If the master died rather than resigned, the window is 180 continuous calendar days, with notice to DHBC within 10 days.

Can one master HVAC contractor represent two of my companies? Only if they are domiciled in Kentucky and own at least 25% of each company (KRS 198B.678(3)). Otherwise it is one company per master.

Does Kentucky require a contractor bond? Not at the state level for electrical, plumbing or HVAC. Louisville requires a surety bond for wrecking licenses ($10,000 or $25,000 by type). What the state requires is insurance: $1,000,000 general liability for electrical, $250,000 for plumbing, and $500,000 general liability plus $300,000 property damage for HVAC.

Where this leaves you

Kentucky looks permissive from the outside and is stricter than it looks from the inside. The absence of a general contractor license is real, and it is a genuine advantage for a builder entering the market. But the trades that carry the regulatory weight — electrical, plumbing, HVAC — each require a licensed master to stand behind the company as an employee, with a 30-day replacement window on the electrical side and a 25% ownership test on the HVAC side if that master wants to cover more than one business.

That is a qualifying-agent problem wearing different clothes, and it has the same solution: a real, employed, licensed person whose relationship to the company would survive an audit. The Licensing Company places qualifying agents as full-time W-2 employees so the credential rests on something a regulator can verify.

Start with what a qualifying agent is, then hiring a qualifying agent if your company needs a master it does not have. Licensed Kentucky masters curious about the other side of the arrangement can read becoming a qualifying agent. Every state we cover is indexed at state guides, and the national picture is in how to get a general contractor license.

This guide reflects KRS Chapters 227A, 318 and 198B and Title 815 KAR as published in September 2026, together with fee and exam information published by DHBC, Prov, and the named local jurisdictions. Kentucky's electrical fees and renewal term changed in 2024–2025 and much of the published guidance on this topic is out of date. Verify anything you are about to rely on with DHBC or the relevant local office before you file.