Louisiana Business and Law Exam for Contractors: The Rules

The Louisiana Business and Law requirement is a board-run online course with a 50-question exam at its end, and the person who sits it is the qualifying party named on the application. The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) says you must score "a 70 or above to pass," and every applicant or licensee must have at least one qualifying party for it, with no exceptions.

At a glance

• The LSLBC calls it a "50-question test" that takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes, and "you must score a 70 or above to pass" (LSLBC, What Happens After I Apply).
• It is taken from the LSLBC Contractor Portal after you receive an Examination Approval Notice by email. Trade exams are separate and are scheduled through PSI.
• The board's qualifying party form says each applicant or licensee "must have at least one qualifying party for the Louisiana Business and Law. (no exceptions)"
• The board's form lists a Business and Law fee of $150.00 (form revised January 30, 2026). Confirm the current amount with the board.
• Checked against the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors on October 16, 2026.

If you are weighing a contractor license in Louisiana, this is the one requirement every licensee must staff with a qualifying party, whatever the trade. Other states handle the same subject differently, and our business and law exam by state guide puts them side by side. Everything below comes from the board's own pages, forms and rules, and where the board is silent, this page says so and sends you to the board.

What the Louisiana Business and Law requirement is

On its "What Happens After I Apply" page, the board says "Upon approval, the Louisiana Business and Law exam is taken from the LSLBC Contractor Licensing Portal." On its qualifying party forms, it calls Business and Law "an online, (1) hour course, with an Exam on the course's contents at its conclusion."

So it is one requirement with two parts: an online course, then an exam on what the course covered. The form says "Once approved, Business and Law can be taken on the qualifier's home or office computer."

Louisiana does not run this exam at a PSI test center. The board's page on test registration and scheduling says its trade examinations moved to PSI Services LLC effective August 5, 2025, and the Business and Law exam is the one that stays inside the board's own portal.

The qualifying party is the one who takes it

The board does not ask the company to sit an exam. It asks a person. The board's qualifying party application describes a qualifying party as "the person designated by the applicant/licensee to take the exam(s) or to hold the classification(s)."

Louisiana law, La. R.S. 37:2156.1(D), requires an applicant to designate a qualifying party for each classification and for the Louisiana business and law requirement. The board's checklist lists who may serve under that statute:

• A sole proprietor.
• Any current full-time employee, as defined by the IRS, of an applicant.
• Any stockholder, officer or incorporator of a corporation.
• Any partner of a partnership.
• Any member or manager of a limited liability company.

The board's rule on qualifying parties adds detail for employees. An employee chosen as a qualifying party completes a qualifying party verification before the exam, attesting that he or she is a full-time employee working at least 32 hours per week and meets the IRS criteria for an employee. The rule is in Title 46, Part XXIX of the Louisiana Administrative Code, Section 109, as compiled in the board's Blue Book dated August 1, 2025.

The same qualifying party form carries the sentence that matters most for planning: "Each applicant/licensee must have at least one qualifying party for the Louisiana Business and Law. (no exceptions)" The board's checklist adds that as long as you hold a license, you must maintain a qualifying party for Business and Law and for each classification on it.

How you get to the exam

The path starts with your application, not with the exam. Here is the order the board describes.

1. After staff process the application, the board emails each qualifying party a notice with the subject line "Qualifying Party Verification." It carries a login to the qualifying party's own LSLBC Contractor Portal.
2. The qualifying party completes the online Qualifying Party Verification. The board says it is "required of every qualifying party before the qualifying party process can begin," and that failing to do it "can cause delays in the application process."
3. The board reviews the qualifying party application and emails a deficiency notice if anything needs fixing.
4. Once the qualifying party is approved, a person who has not previously taken the Louisiana Business and Law course receives an Examination Approval Notice by email. In the board's words, "The qualifying party will then use their LSLBC Contractor Portal to complete the online Business and Law course."
5. The qualifying party takes the course and the exam. If the classification also requires a trade exam, PSI emails the qualifier once the board approves the company to test.

One detail trips people up. The board says the Examination Approval Notice goes out "If trade exams are required for the requested classifications OR if the qualifying party hasn't previously taken the Louisiana Business and Law course." A qualifier who already completed Business and Law, and has no trade exam to take, gets no notice: "An examination approval notice will not be sent to the qualifier if the testing requirements have already been met and Louisiana Business and Law has already been completed by the qualifier."

Business and Law is separate from the trade exams

The board's checklist ties Business and Law to complying with LSLBC licensing laws. The trade exam covers the classification itself, and not every classification has one. The board's classification list marks each classification as requiring a trade exam or a credential from another agency, so check your classification before you plan the calendar.

For trade exams, the board says scheduling and payment run through PSI. Approved candidates receive an eligibility letter from PSI, and the board asks you to wait for its approval before you register with PSI. The board also says candidates must review PSI's Candidate Information Bulletin in its entirety, which covers approved study references and prohibited items. We do not list titles here. The bulletin is the source of record, and you reach it through PSI's page for LSLBC exams.

Our guide to scheduling a contractor exam with PSI, Prov or Pearson VUE compares how the vendors work across states.

NASCLA credit in Louisiana

If you hold a NASCLA exam result, the board's qualifying party form sets firm limits. For NASCLA, "be sure to contact NASCLA and have the qualifier's exam transcript released to this board," and the board cannot accept NASCLA transcripts from the company. The form then says: "The NASCLA Building exam will only give credit to the Building Construction and/or Residential Construction exams with this board. The NASCLA Electrical exam will only give credit for the Electrical exam."

That language is about trade exams. The board's pages do not say that NASCLA stands in for the Louisiana Business and Law course, so confirm with the board before you assume it does. Our NASCLA exam accredited states page covers the wider picture.

Reciprocity and a passed exam from another state

On October 23, 2024, the board's Executive Director sent state regulatory agencies a letter titled "Louisiana Examination Reciprocity." It says that if an applicant, licensee or registrant "holds a classification that requires a test in any other state" and has passed that test, with "no waivers, exemptions, or grandfathering in effect," then the board "will accept that passing exam for reciprocity."

Three limits come with that sentence, all from the same letter:

• The exam is accepted "for the classification chosen by the LSLBC" and must be "equivalent in nature."
• "All other requirements for licensure must be met, including the investigation of all violations or pending violations."
• "This change in procedure renders any previous agreements null and void."

The letter speaks about classifications that require a test. The law is direct on the rest: La. R.S. 37:2153(F)(5) lets the board waive the trade portion of the exam for an applicant licensed in a comparable classification in another state, and says "The business law requirement shall not be waived." A passed exam elsewhere can cover your trade exam, but your qualifying party still completes Louisiana Business and Law. The board's qualifying party form also still asks about "a state with which Louisiana has a reciprocal agreement," while the 2024 letter voids previous agreements, so ask the board how it applies the two today. The form's fee table also lists an "Exam Research/Waiver Fee of $150" for cases where no trade exam is required because of reciprocity, a previously passed exam or other reasons. The sentence is incomplete as published, so confirm with the board when and how it is charged.

Our Louisiana contractor license reciprocity page covers that subject in full.

Adding a qualifying party to a licensed company

A Louisiana license belongs to the licensee, and a qualifying party can change. The board's form for adding a qualifying party says "Business and Law is not required for new qualifying party(ies), if there is currently an active qualifying party on the license for Business and Law." It then adds a condition: "if you want to take or hold the Business and Law for the company, the course fee will be required, even if previously taken."

The board's rule also sets timing when a qualifier leaves. The licensee must notify the board in writing within 30 days, and must submit and qualify a new person as its qualifying party within 60 days. If it does not, the rule says the license "may be suspended or revoked, or have a classification(s) removed by the board."

If you do not pass

The board's rule on examination scheduling says a candidate who fails an examination cannot retake it for 30 days and may retake it only if all other eligibility requirements are complete. A candidate who fails to appear for a scheduled examination forfeits the fee and submits a new one.

A separate rule lets a candidate request a review of an exam after two unsuccessful attempts at the same exam, when the last score is within ten points of a passing grade. These rules are written for board examinations in general. The board's pages do not say how they apply to the Business and Law course and exam, so confirm with the board. Our failed contractor exam page covers what to do next in any state.

What the board does not say

Three points are not on the pages we read, and we will not guess at them. The board's testing page lists an "Exam and Application Expiration" topic, but the text under it was not available to us, so confirm with the board how long a passing result stays valid. The board's pages do not say whether Business and Law is open book or closed book. They also do not state how many attempts you get at the Business and Law exam, so confirm with the board.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are on the Louisiana Business and Law exam? The board calls it a "50-question test" that takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes. You must score 70 or above to pass.

Who has to take it, the company or the owner? The qualifying party the company designates. Under La. R.S. 37:2156.1(D) that can be a principal such as an owner, officer or member, or a full-time employee. Our page on whether the owner has to take the contractor exam explains how that plays out.

Do I take it at a PSI test center? No. The board says Business and Law is taken from the LSLBC Contractor Portal. Trade exams are scheduled through PSI.

Can I skip it if I passed an exam in another state? The board's October 23, 2024 letter accepts a passing trade exam from another state for reciprocity, with other requirements still applying. Business and Law is different: La. R.S. 37:2153(F)(5) says "The business law requirement shall not be waived," so your qualifying party still completes it.

Does a new qualifying party have to take it? Not if an active qualifying party on the license already holds Business and Law, according to the board's form. A company that wants its own qualifier to take or hold it pays the course fee.

When a company cannot wait for the exam

Some owners cannot sit the exam in time, or do not yet hold the classification the board requires. A company can still be licensed through a qualifying agent who already holds the credentials and who qualifies the company as an owner or as a full-time W-2 employee who supervises the work. Louisiana law points the same direction, since an applicant may name any principal or full-time employee as its qualifying party once that person satisfies every requirement, including Business and Law.

Our contractor qualifier services put a qualifying agent in that role. The pages on hiring a qualifying agent and what a qualifying agent is explain how it works. If you plan to sit the exams yourself, our live exam classes are coming soon, and the exam prep tour page has the latest.

Talk it through with us

Marshall Schofield and Jeremiah Jaskulski are industry authorities on contractor licensing, and both hold licenses as general contractors, master electricians, master plumbers and master mechanical contractors. If you want help deciding who should qualify your Louisiana company, call 615-219-2110 or start at Hire a qualifying agent.

Sources

• Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, Blue Book (dated August 01, 2025), La. R.S. 37:2153(F)(5), read October 16, 2026

All sources read on October 16, 2026.

• LSLBC, What Happens After I Apply
• LSLBC, Checklist of Items Required for Initial License and to Maintain License
• LSLBC, Adding a Qualifying Party to an Existing License, including the Application for Qualifying Party (revised January 30, 2026)
• LSLBC, Qualifying Party Application
• LSLBC, Test Registration and Scheduling
• LSLBC, Classification List
• LSLBC, Exams and Testing
• LSLBC, Reciprocity
• LSLBC, Louisiana Examination Reciprocity letter, October 23, 2024
• LSLBC, Contractors Licensing Law and Rules and Regulations (Blue Book, August 1, 2025), including La. R.S. 37:2156.1 and Title 46, Part XXIX, Sections 109, 111 and 117
• PSI Services, Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors exams and Candidate Information Bulletins