Qualifying Agent Requirements by State

Alabama licenses commercial and industrial contractors through the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors. A state general contractor license is required when the cost of a project, including labor and materials, is $100,000 or more, a threshold the legislature raised from $50,000 in 2024, and swimming pool construction triggers licensing at $5,000 or more. Residential construction runs through a separate agency, the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board, which licenses home builders on projects over $10,000. Every licensed company designates a qualifying party, the person who passes the required exams on the company's behalf, and a company may register more than one qualifier. The board sets each licensee's maximum bid limit based on the financial statement submitted with the application.

Alaska does not license general contractors the way qualifier states do. It registers them through the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing's Construction Contractors Program, with no exam, no experience showing, and no designated qualifier requirement for a commercial general contractor registration, because the state checks bond, insurance, and workers compensation instead. Contractors who build new homes or remodel more than 25 percent of a residential structure's value also need the Residential Contractor Endorsement, which takes a 16 hour approved cold climate course and a passing exam. The real qualifier rule in Alaska sits in the trades: an electrical or mechanical contractor must have a licensed electrical administrator or mechanical administrator under AS 08.40, and one administrator can serve only one registered contractor. A separate handyman registration covers work on a project with an aggregate contract price of $10,000 or less.

Arizona licenses contractors statewide through the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. A license is required for construction work of $1,000 or more, and for any job that needs a building permit regardless of price, so the minor work exemption in A.R.S. 32-1121 is narrow. Every license names a qualifying party, the individual whose experience and exam scores qualify the company, and that person must be regularly employed by the licensee and actively engaged in the classification of work. Residential licensees also back their work through the state's Residential Contractors Recovery Fund, which protects homeowners up to $30,000 per residence and $200,000 per license. Licenses issue by classification across commercial, residential, and dual general contracting plus dozens of specialty trades.

Arkansas licenses commercial contractors through the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, housed under the Department of Labor and Licensing. A commercial license is required when a project reaches $50,000 or more including labor and materials, and on the residential side a Residential Builder or Home Improvement license kicks in at $2,000. Commercial licenses come in two forms: Restricted, limited to projects under $1,500,000, and Unrestricted for projects of any size. The company qualifies through a designated exam taker the board calls the qualifier, who must be the sole owner, a full time paid employee, or an officer, member, or partner active in day to day operations. A commercial license automatically qualifies the holder to do residential work in the same classifications.

California licenses contractors through the Contractors State License Board, and the net is wide: any construction work of $1,000 or more, or any job that requires a building permit or employs workers, takes a license. That threshold moved from $500 to $1,000 on January 1, 2025 under AB 2622. Licenses issue in four groups, A General Engineering, B General Building, B-2 Residential Remodeling, and C specialty classifications such as C-10 Electrical and C-36 Plumbing. Every license is backed by a qualifying individual: a sole owner can qualify personally, corporations qualify through a Responsible Managing Officer or Responsible Managing Employee, and LLCs may also use a responsible managing member or manager. CSLB sets a minimum weekly involvement standard for a Responsible Managing Employee, so the qualifying individual has to stay genuinely engaged in the business.

Colorado has no statewide general contractor license. General contractors are licensed by the city or county where the work happens, and Denver and most other municipalities run their own contractor licensing programs. At the state level, Colorado licenses electrical and plumbing work through the State Electrical Board and the State Plumbing Board, both housed in the Division of Professions and Occupations at the Department of Regulatory Agencies. An electrical or plumbing contracting company must register with the state and put a licensed master on that registration as the responsible person. HVAC and mechanical work is regulated locally, not by the state.

Connecticut has no general contractor license in the usual sense. The Department of Consumer Protection registers home improvement contractors and new home construction contractors, and it licenses the skilled trades: electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, sheet metal, and other construction occupations. Contractors doing structural work on large buildings, generally four or more stories, over 60 feet in height, over 150,000 square feet, or with an occupant capacity of 1,000, must also register with DCP as major contractors. There is no statewide qualifying agent requirement in Connecticut. A trade license belongs to the individual who earned it.

Delaware has no statewide competency license for general contractors, no state contractor exam, and no qualifying agent requirement. That does not mean there is nothing to do at the state level: every contractor working in Delaware must hold a contractor business license from the Delaware Division of Revenue, and under the Delaware Contractor Registration Act construction businesses must also register with the Department of Labor before starting work. Nonresident contractors post a bond with the Division of Revenue on larger contracts. The skilled trades are licensed through the Division of Professional Regulation, by the Board of Electrical Examiners and the Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners. The real building oversight sits locally, with New Castle County and the City of Wilmington running their own contractor licensing programs.

Florida licenses construction contractors at the state level under Chapter 489, Florida Statutes, through the Construction Industry Licensing Board at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Electrical and alarm system contractors are licensed separately by the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board. Florida issues two license types: certified licenses, earned by state examination and valid in every Florida county, and registered licenses, which rest on a local certificate of competency and cover only the jurisdictions that issued it. Any business organization that contracts in Florida must operate through a state licensed qualifying agent, who carries supervision of the company's work and final approval authority over its construction and business decisions.

Georgia licenses residential and general contractors at the state level through the State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors, under the Georgia Secretary of State. A state license is required before bidding or contracting on work over $2,500, and a contract signed above that line by an unlicensed contractor is unenforceable under Georgia law. License classes run from Residential Basic and Residential Light Commercial up to General Contractor, with a Limited Tier general contractor license capped at $1,000,000 per contract. The specialty trades, electrical, plumbing, conditioned air, low voltage, and utility work, are licensed separately by the State Construction Industry Licensing Board. A company holds its license through a qualifying agent, a licensed individual with final approval authority over the company's construction work and business matters.

Hawaii licenses contractors through the Contractors License Board, part of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Professional and Vocational Licensing Division. A license is required for nearly all construction work: the only exemption covers projects where the aggregate contract price for labor and materials is $1,500 or less, and that exemption disappears whenever a building permit is required or the work is only part of a larger project. Licenses fall into three classifications: A for general engineering, B for general building, and C specialty classifications covering individual trades such as electrical (C-13) and fire protection (C-20). A contracting entity qualifies for its license through a Responsible Managing Employee, the RME, who must be a genuine employee of the company. The entity license and the RME license depend on each other, so an entity cannot stay licensed without an active RME in the seat.

Idaho registers general contractors instead of licensing them. The Idaho Contractors Board, part of the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, requires registration for construction work unless the total contract price for labor, materials, and all other items is under $2,000, and that exemption does not apply when a small job is part of a larger project. Registration is not a competency license: there is no exam, no experience requirement, and no qualifying party designation at the state level. Electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work is licensed separately through DOPL trade programs, and contractors bidding public works need a separate Public Works Contractors License.

Illinois has no statewide general contractor license: general contractors are licensed at the city and county level, and Chicago runs its own general contractor licensing through the Department of Buildings with five license classes. The state does license one construction trade statewide through IDFPR: every roofing contractor in Illinois needs a state roofing license, either Limited for residential properties consisting of 8 units or less, or Unlimited for residential, commercial, and industrial work. Every roofing license must carry a designated qualifying party, the individual who passes the state roofing exam and supervises day to day roofing operations, which makes roofing the one Illinois license with a true state level qualifier rule. Plumbing is also regulated statewide: the Illinois Department of Public Health licenses plumbers and registers plumbing contractors. Electrical and HVAC licensing stays local.

Indiana has no statewide general contractor license, and it does not license electricians or HVAC contractors at the state level either; those trades are regulated city by city. The one construction trade Indiana licenses statewide is plumbing, through the Indiana Plumbing Commission under the Professional Licensing Agency. Local licensing does the real gatekeeping: Indianapolis licenses general, electrical, heating and cooling, and wrecking contractors through its Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, and other cities and counties run their own programs. Indiana has no qualifying agent, qualifying party, or RME requirement at the state level.

Iowa regulates contractors in two layers. Any contractor earning $2,000 or more per year from construction work must register with the state through the Iowa Division of Labor, part of the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, and a contractor whose principal place of business is outside Iowa must post a $25,000 bond to register. Real licensing happens at the trade level: electrical contractors license under Iowa Code chapter 103, and plumbing, mechanical, HVAC, refrigeration, sheet metal, and hydronic contractors license through the Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board under Iowa Code chapter 105. Each trade licensed firm depends on a designated master: plumbing and mechanical contractors must have a master of record, and electrical contractors must hold or employ a Master A or B electrician. General building work beyond registration is regulated by local jurisdictions.

Kansas has no statewide contractor licensing. General contractors and the electrical, plumbing, and mechanical trades are licensed city by city and county by county, with the Johnson County Contractor Licensing program, Wichita, Topeka, and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City running the programs that matter most. The one statewide requirement is roofing: any contractor offering roofing services for a fee in Kansas must register with the Kansas Attorney General under the Kansas Roofing Registration Act. Because there is no state license, there is no state qualifying agent requirement in Kansas, and your compliance work happens at the local permit counter.

Kentucky has no statewide general contractor license. State licensing runs through the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, which licenses electrical contractors, master electricians and electricians, master and journeyman plumbers, and master HVAC contractors and mechanics. General contractors answer to local governments instead: Louisville Metro requires contractor licensing through its Division of Construction Review, and Lexington requires contractor registration with Building Inspection before any permit is issued. Where the state does license a trade, the license is tied to a designated master licenseholder, which is where a qualifying agent arrangement matters in Kentucky.

Louisiana licenses contractors through the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, and the thresholds are low enough to catch most real work. A commercial license is required for projects of $50,000 or more, and commercial electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work needs a license at just $10,000. Residential construction requires a license above $75,000, home improvement work requires registration at $7,500 and up, and mold remediation is licensed at $7,500 and up. Every commercial, residential, and mold license rides on a qualifying party, the person who passes the exams for the classification, so the qualifying party rule is the center of Louisiana licensing.

Maine has no state general contractor license, and the Maine Attorney General says plainly that general contractors and trades like roofing and framing are not licensed or regulated at the state level. What Maine does license are individuals in specific trades through the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation: electricians through the Electricians' Examining Board, plumbers through the Plumbers' Examining Board, and heating fuel work through the Maine Fuel Board. Instead of licensing, Maine leans on its Home Construction Contracts Act, which requires a written contract for any home construction or repair job over $3,000 and caps the down payment at one third of the contract price. Since there is no state contractor license, there is no state qualifying agent requirement, and compliance runs through municipal building permits town by town.

Maryland splits contractor licensing by the kind of work. Home improvement work on existing homes requires a license from the Maryland Home Improvement Commission under the Maryland Department of Labor, new home builders register with the Attorney General's Home Builder Registration Unit, and the electrical, plumbing, and HVACR trades are licensed through their own state boards. Commercial general contracting has no statewide license, though some counties, such as Prince George's County with its Board of Registration for Building Contractors, impose their own registration. Every MHIC licensed business must have an individual who holds an MHIC license, so the designated individual license holder plays the role other states assign to a qualifying agent.

Massachusetts regulates general construction through an individual license, the Construction Supervisor License (CSL), issued by the Board of Building Regulations and Standards through the Office of Public Safety and Inspections in the Division of Occupational Licensure. There is no company level general contractor license and no state qualifying agent designation, so the license always belongs to a person rather than a firm. A licensed construction supervisor must oversee construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, removal, and demolition work on buildings under 35,000 cubic feet and on one and two family dwellings. Contractors working on existing owner occupied homes of one to four units must also register as a Home Improvement Contractor with the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. Electricians and plumbers are licensed separately by the Board of State Examiners of Electricians and the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters.

Michigan licenses residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors at the state level through the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Any residential construction, repair, alteration, or improvement job with an aggregate contract price of $600 or more requires the license. Commercial general contracting has no state license, so commercial work is governed by local permitting instead. The skilled trades, meaning electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and boiler work, are licensed statewide under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act through LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes. A company holding a residential builder license operates through a licensed qualifying officer, and an electrical contractor firm must employ a full time master electrician.

Minnesota licenses residential building contractors, remodelers, and roofers at the state level through the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). A license is required for anyone who contracts directly with a homeowner on a one to four unit dwelling and offers more than one of the eight defined special skill areas, and roofing requires a license even as a single skill. Commercial general contractors are not licensed by the state, they register through DLI's Construction Contractor Registration Program instead. Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical contractors carry their own statewide DLI licenses. Every licensed residential contracting company operates through a designated qualifying person who passes the state exam.

Mississippi contractor licensing runs through the Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC). Commercial contractors and subcontractors need a Certificate of Responsibility for any commercial job of $50,000 or more, including equipment installation. On the residential side, new home construction over $50,000 requires a residential builder license, and remodeling or roofing work over $10,000 requires its own license. Every licensed company operates through a qualifying party, the tested individual attached to the company's license.

Missouri has no statewide general contractor license, so general contracting is regulated city by city and county by county. Kansas City licenses contractors through certificates of qualification issued by its Permits Division, the City of St. Louis requires a contractor business license, and St. Louis County runs its own electrical, plumbing, and mechanical contractor licensing. The one state level construction program is the statewide electrical contractor license, issued since July 1, 2019 through the Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors under the Division of Professional Registration. Plumbing and HVAC have no statewide license in Missouri and are handled by local jurisdictions.

Montana does not issue a competency based statewide general contractor license with an exam. The state runs a construction contractor credential through the Department of Labor and Industry tied to workers compensation compliance, and that program changed on January 1, 2026: all construction contractors in Montana are now required to be licensed with the Department, and contractors holding an active Montana registration as of December 31, 2025 were converted to the new license. The trades are separate: electricians are licensed through the Montana State Electrical Board and plumbers through the Montana Board of Plumbers, both under the Department of Labor and Industry. An electrical contractor license requires a Montana licensed master electrician as the responsible party for the business, which is a trade licensing requirement, not a qualifying agent program. Anything beyond the state credential for general contractors comes from local building departments, so check the city or county where you will pull permits.

Nebraska has no statewide general contractor license. Every contractor and subcontractor doing business in the state must register with the Nebraska Department of Labor under the Contractor Registration Act, but that is a registration, not a competency license, and there is no exam or experience requirement. The one construction trade Nebraska licenses statewide is electrical, through the Nebraska State Electrical Division. Plumbing and HVAC licensing happens at the city level, with Omaha and Lincoln running their own trade programs. Cities and counties also set their own permit rules for general contractors, so verify locally before bidding.

Nevada licenses contractors through the Nevada State Contractors Board, and nearly all construction work requires a license: the only carve out is work under $1,000 in aggregate that does not require a building permit and is not part of a larger project. Every license carries a monetary limit that caps the size of any single contract, with a surety bond set by the board between $1,000 and $500,000 based on the limit and the company's financial responsibility. Every licensed company must name a qualifying party, the person who documents the experience and passes the exams for the company. Nevada accepts the NASCLA accredited commercial general building exam in place of the state trade exam for the B General Building and B-2 Residential and Small Commercial classifications.

New Hampshire has no statewide general contractor license and no state qualifying agent requirement; general building work is governed by local building departments and permits. What the state does license is the trades: electricians through the Electricians' Board, and plumbers and fuel gas fitters through the Mechanical Safety and Licensing Board, both under the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. Under RSA 319-C:10, a corporation doing electrical work must have one or more officers or employees directly in charge of its business affairs who is a licensed master electrician, and a partnership must have a member directly in charge of its business affairs who is a licensed master electrician. HVAC as a trade is not state licensed, but fuel gas fitting work is.

New Jersey splits contractor regulation into two layers: registration for general construction businesses and true licensing for the trades. Home improvement and home elevation contractor businesses register with the Division of Consumer Affairs under the Contractors' Business Registration Act, and P.L.2023 c.237 created the Home Improvement and Home Elevation Contractor Licensing Act with a new state board that is phasing in individual licensure with exams and experience requirements. Electrical contractors need a state license plus a business permit, plumbing companies need a licensed master plumber as their bona fide representative, and HVACR work requires a licensed Master HVACR contractor. Each trade board requires a named licensed individual behind the company, so the person holding the license matters as much as the paperwork.

New Mexico licenses contractors through the Construction Industries Division (CID) of the Regulation and Licensing Department. There is no real dollar threshold here: a license is required for construction work at essentially any value, and the only carve out is a narrow exemption for casual, minor work not exceeding $7,200 a year that never covers electrical wiring, plumbing, or gas fitting. Every license rests on a qualifying party, the individual CID certifies to carry the classification for the company. Classifications cover general building (GB98), residential, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work, and CID accepts the NASCLA accredited commercial building exam toward GB98.

New York has no statewide contractor license: licensing lives at the city and county level, and New York City is the jurisdiction that matters most. In NYC, general contractors register with the Department of Buildings, and any business doing residential construction, repair, or remodeling work needs a Home Improvement Contractor license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties run their own home improvement contractor licensing through their consumer affairs offices. Because no state license exists, New York has no state level qualifier requirement.

North Carolina requires a general contractor license from the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors for any construction project where the cost of the undertaking is $40,000 or more. Licenses come in three limitations tied to financial capacity: Limited for individual projects up to $750,000, Intermediate up to $1,500,000, and Unlimited with no cap. Every licensed company works through a qualifier, the responsible managing employee, owner, officer, or member who passes the licensing exam for the company. North Carolina accepts the NASCLA accredited commercial building exam for the Building classification, which makes it a practical anchor state for multistate contractors.

North Dakota licenses contractors through the Secretary of State, and the trigger is low: any job where the cost, value, or price exceeds $4,000 requires a contractor license. Licenses come in four classes by project size: Class D up to $100,000, Class C up to $300,000, Class B up to $500,000, and Class A for projects over $500,000. There is no licensing exam and no qualifier requirement, which makes North Dakota one of the more straightforward states to enter. Electricians and plumbers are licensed separately by their own state boards.

Ohio has no statewide general contractor license: general and residential contractors deal with city and county registration instead. The state does license five commercial trades through the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB): electrical, plumbing, HVAC, hydronics, and refrigeration. An OCILB license is issued to an individual who passes the exam, and that individual assigns the license to one contracting company, whose work is then treated as conducted under the license holder's personal supervision. That assignment structure means a trade contracting company in Ohio needs a licensed individual attached to it, even though Ohio law never uses the phrase qualifying agent.

Oklahoma has no statewide general contractor license, a point the City of Oklahoma City states outright, so general building work is governed by local contractor registration in cities like Oklahoma City and Tulsa. At the state level, the Construction Industries Board (CIB) licenses electrical, plumbing, and mechanical contractors and registers every roofing contractor under the Roofing Contractor Registration Act. Trade licenses are issued to individuals, and a firm's ability to work rides on that licensed person holding a defined position in the company. Commercial roofing adds an endorsement that the firm's designated qualifying party earns by exam.

Oregon licenses essentially everyone who works for compensation on improvements to real property through the Construction Contractors Board (CCB), with no minimum project value. Every license carries an endorsement, residential or commercial, that sets the bond and insurance the company must hold. Most endorsements require a Responsible Managing Individual (RMI), an owner, officer, partner, or employee with management or supervisory authority over the company's construction activity. Electrical and plumbing contractor licenses are issued separately by the Oregon Building Codes Division, and those businesses hold a CCB license as well.

Pennsylvania has no statewide contractor license for general or trade work. What the state runs instead is a registration: under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, any contractor performing $5,000 or more of home improvements in a calendar year must register with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Registration is not a competency license, there is no exam, and it applies only to work on private residences of one or two units, not to new home construction or commercial projects. Actual licensing happens at the local level, and Philadelphia is the clearest example, requiring a city contractor license and separate trade licenses through its Department of Licenses and Inspections.

Rhode Island runs on registration, not licensing, for most construction work. Every contractor and subcontractor building, repairing, demolishing, or moving residential or commercial structures must register with the Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board, which operates within the Department of Business Regulation. There is no exam and no qualifying agent requirement attached to the registration. Separate true licenses exist for categories the board oversees, including commercial roofing, home inspection, underground utility work, and well drilling, while electricians and plumbers are licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

South Carolina splits contractor licensing between two boards under the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and they must never be confused. The Contractor's Licensing Board licenses general and mechanical contractors, and since the 2023 law change a license is required when the total cost of construction is greater than $10,000. The Residential Builders Commission separately licenses residential builders when a job exceeds $5,000 and registers residential specialty contractors for work over $500. Commercial licenses are issued to the company, which qualifies through a primary qualifying party, an individual who holds the board's exam certificate and is responsible for directing or reviewing the company's work.

South Dakota has no statewide general contractor license and no state qualifying agent requirement. General contractors are licensed at the city level: Sioux Falls licenses residential building contractors along with electrical, mechanical, and plumbing trades inside city limits, and other cities such as Rapid City run their own programs, so the rules depend on where the project sits. The state does license the trades: the South Dakota Electrical Commission licenses everyone performing electrical work and the South Dakota Plumbing Commission licenses plumbers and plumbing contractors, both under the Department of Labor and Regulation. The one statewide requirement that touches every contractor is the contractor's excise tax license from the Department of Revenue, with a 2 percent excise tax on gross receipts from construction work.

Tennessee licenses contractors through the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors under the Department of Commerce and Insurance. A state license is required before you bid, offer to engage, or negotiate a price on any project of $25,000 or more, so the license comes before the bid, not before the build. Electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, and roofing subcontractors need their own license once their portion of a project reaches $25,000, and masonry subcontractors at $100,000. Every licensed company designates a Qualifying Agent, the person who sits for the exams and answers for the license, and Tennessee accepts the NASCLA Accredited Commercial General Building Contractor exam, which makes it a practical anchor state for contractors working across the Southeast.

Texas has no statewide general contractor license: general building work is governed by local permits and city registrations, not a state board. The trades are regulated tightly at the state level: the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation licenses electricians and air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners licenses plumbers, and the State Fire Marshal's Office at the Texas Department of Insurance licenses fire alarm and fire sprinkler contractors. Each trade license hangs on one designated credentialed person: an electrical contracting company must employ a licensed master electrician, an ACR company must employ a licensed ACR contractor at each permanent location, a plumbing company operates under a Responsible Master Plumber, and a fire sprinkler firm operates under a Responsible Managing Employee. That structure means the qualifier question in Texas is a trade question, not a general contractor question.

Utah licenses construction trades through the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, DOPL, under the Department of Commerce. Every licensed contractor names a qualifier under Utah Code 58-55-304, the individual whose experience and exam results carry the license. Utah runs on education more than trade exams: the general classifications require a 25 hour pre licensure course plus a five hour business and law course, with the division administered exams built on that material and the Utah Contractor Business and Law examination. Utah also participates in the NASCLA Accredited Commercial General Building Contractor exam program, which helps contractors building licenses across multiple states.

Vermont has no general contractor license, but residential contractors must register with the Office of Professional Regulation at the Secretary of State before taking on residential projects of $10,000 or more in labor and materials, a registry that opened in 2023. Registration is built on insurance and paperwork rather than exams: there is no test, no experience requirement, and no qualifier designation. Electricians and plumbers are licensed separately by the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Public Safety, which issues journeyman and master licenses. Commercial construction has no state registration requirement.

Virginia licenses contractors through the Board for Contractors, part of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). License classes are set by statute: Class A covers single contracts of $150,000 or more or $1,000,000 or more of work in any 12 month period, Class B covers single contracts of $30,000 up to $150,000 or annual volume of $250,000 up to $1,000,000, and Class C covers single contracts over $1,000 up to $30,000 with annual volume under $250,000. Every licensed firm must put named people behind the license: responsible management, a designated employee who passes the board exam for Class A and B, and a qualified individual with verified trade experience for each classification. Once you understand those three roles, Virginia's process is demanding but predictable.

Washington does not run an exam based contractor license for general construction: it runs a registration system through the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I). Every general and specialty contractor must register before advertising or performing work, and registration turns on proof of a surety bond, liability insurance, and state business licensing rather than trade exams or experience. The trades are different: electrical and plumbing contractors hold true licenses through L&I with designated credential holders standing behind each company. Read the registration rules and the trade license rules separately, because they work differently.

West Virginia licenses contractors through the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board, administered by the Division of Labor. A license is required before bidding or performing work when the cost of the undertaking is $5,000 or more for residential work or $25,000 or more for commercial work, under the Contractor Licensing Act at WV Code chapter 30, article 42. Licenses are issued by classification, including general building, general engineering, and specialty classifications for trades such as electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. The license rests on exams passed by named people inside the company, which makes staffing the credential the central question for firms expanding into the state.

Wisconsin has no statewide license for commercial general contracting, but it does credential residential builders and the licensed trades through the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS). Any contractor pulling a building permit for a one and two family dwelling must hold a Dwelling Contractor certification and must either personally hold, or employ someone who holds, the Dwelling Contractor Qualifier certification. Electricians, plumbers, and HVAC contractors are credentialed at the state level, while commercial general contracting is governed by local permitting rather than a state license. That split, residential and trades at the state level and commercial at the local level, is the key to reading Wisconsin correctly.

Wyoming has no statewide contractor license: there is no state general contractor board and no statewide monetary threshold that triggers licensing. Contractor requirements live at the city and county level, so registration and licensing depend on the building department where the work happens, with cities such as Cheyenne and Casper running their own contractor programs. The major state licensed trade is electrical: the Wyoming State Fire Marshal's Office, Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety, licenses electrical contractors, master electricians, journeymen, apprentices, and low voltage technicians statewide. For everything else, plan around local rules, not a state application.