A local contractor license comes from a city or county; a state license comes from a state board. See the three models, with sourced examples from Florida, New York, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, Missouri and more, and when you need both.
A local contractor license is a license or registration issued by a city or county building department, and it lets you work only inside that city or county. A state contractor license is issued by a state board and covers the whole state, and in many places you need both: a state trade license plus a city registration before the city will issue you a permit.
Which layer applies depends on the state, the trade and sometimes the job size. Below are the three models, with examples from 16 states sourced to the board, statute or city. For the rules in every state, start with how to get a contractor license in each state. Updated for 2026.
At a glance Florida: a certified contractor may contract in any jurisdiction in the state; a registered contractor only where it met the local competency rules (Fla. Stat. 489.105). New York: local governments license electrical contractors; in New York City the Department of Buildings issues the Master Electrician license. Ohio: the state board licenses five commercial trades only; local building departments regulate residential contractors, and cities such as Columbus license general contractors. Texas: a TDLR electrical license is valid anywhere in Texas, and San Antonio still requires every state licensed contractor to register before it issues permits. Tennessee: a state contractor license is required for projects of $25,000 or more.
What a Local Contractor License Is
State licensing is run by a state board, such as the Florida DBPR, the California Contractors State License Board or the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors. Where a state license exists, it is the competency credential: it sets the experience, the exam and the insurance rules for that trade.
Local licensing is run by a city or county. It can be a competency license with its own exam (New York City's Master Electrician), a registration of your state license (San Antonio), or a city license with its own bond and insurance rules (Indianapolis).
Business taxes, registration and permits stay local, but Florida, Missouri and Texas bar cities from demanding a second competency license or exam from certain statewide licensees.
Three Models: State Only, Local Only, or Both
| Place | Model | Who issues the license | Local layer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida (certified) | State only | DBPR, statewide certificate | No local professional license |
| California | State only | CSLB, by classification | Check the city |
| North Carolina | State, by job size | State license at $40,000 or more | Check the city |
| New York City (electrical) | Local only | NYC Department of Buildings | Master Electrician license |
| Columbus, Ohio (general) | Local only | City of Columbus | GC and home improvement GC |
| Indianapolis (electrical) | Local only | Business and Neighborhood Services | $10,000 bond, $500,000 insurance |
| Denver (building) | Local only | Denver CPD | Supervisor certificate |
| Florida (registered) | Both | Local competency, state registers | Only where registered |
| Texas (electrical) | Both | TDLR, valid statewide | San Antonio registration before permits |
| Tennessee | Both, by job size | State board at $25,000 or more | Local rules under $25,000 |
Notes:
- Florida certified: Fla. Stat. 489.131(3)(f) bars a local professional license or fee for a certificateholder; local business taxes and permits still apply.
- New York City: the state leaves electrical licensing to local governments (NY Business Express).
- Columbus: licenses under City Code Chapter 4114; Ohio has no general contractor license.
- Denver: a city supervisor certificate or a Colorado electrical or plumbing license comes first.
- Florida registered: limited to places where local licensing rules were met (489.117(1)(b)).
- North Carolina: G.S. 87-1 defines a general contractor by a project cost of $40,000 or more.
- Tennessee: under $25,000, a Limited Licensed Electrician license or a local license may apply.
Florida: Certified Statewide vs Registered Locally
Florida runs both models inside one statute. Under Fla. Stat. 489.105, a certified contractor holds a certificate of competency from the state and "shall be allowed to contract in any jurisdiction in the state." A registered contractor has registered with the state "pursuant to fulfilling the competency requirements in the jurisdiction for which the registration is issued."
In plain terms, the certified contractor passed the state exam; the registered contractor holds a local certificate of competency or license and registers it with the state, and 489.117(1)(a) says no state exam is required for registration. Section 489.117(1)(b) says a registration lets the contractor work only in the counties, municipalities or development districts where it complied with all local licensing requirements, and only for the type of work the registration covers.
Section 489.117(2)(b) adds a narrow route: the board must register an eligible applicant who held a state registration or a local license during 2021, 2022 or 2023, for a local jurisdiction that has no license type for that category of work.
Electrical work follows the same split under a separate board. Fla. Stat. 489.505 calls the certified electrical certificate "geographically unlimited" and says a registered electrical contractor "may contract only in the jurisdiction for which his or her registration is issued." That is the EC vs ER difference on a Florida electrical license, as the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board FAQ puts it, covered in full in our Florida electrician license guide.
Under 489.131(3), even for a certified contractor, counties and cities keep their permits and inspections, collect business taxes and issue business tax receipts, and may require one bond of not more than $5,000 conditioned on compliance with the Florida Building Code.
Where Only Cities and Counties License
New York. New York State leaves electrician licensing to local governments; its business portal says "Local government entities license electrical contractors." In New York City, the Department of Buildings licenses Master Electricians: age 18, 7 years of work in the last 10 (2 in the city) under a licensed master or special electrician, a written exam ($585), a practical exam ($530), and a business with a city place of business. The city and county rules outside New York City are in our New York electrician license guide.
New York City also registers general contractors: builders of one, two and three family homes register to obtain New Building permits, for $300 and a 3 year term, with a $1 million general liability policy.
Ohio. A "state of Ohio contractors license" is narrower than most people expect. The Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB) licenses only electrical, HVAC, plumbing, hydronics and refrigeration contractors, and it regulates commercial contractors in those five trades. Local building and health departments regulate residential contractors, and departments with a registration program must require the state license before they issue commercial permits.
So an Ohio general contractor is licensed by the city. Columbus issues a General Contractor license, a Home Improvement General Contractor license (three full years of hands on experience and 70 percent or higher on the 767 Ohio Home Improvement Contractor test), and others. For OCILB trades, Columbus requires the applicant to be licensed by the State of Ohio in that trade first. City by city detail is in our Ohio general contractor license guide.
Indiana. Indianapolis licenses electrical contractors itself: its application packet requires a $10,000 surety bond and general liability of $500,000 per occurrence, and the licenses expire December 31 of odd numbered years. Evansville, in the same state, requires a $25,000 surety bond for every Master's, Contractor or Sub-Contractor license and $1,000,000 in general liability for a Masters License. Each city issues its own license; see our Indiana electrician license guide.
Indiana still licenses some trades statewide. Its Plumbing Commission, part of the Professional Licensing Agency, licenses plumbing apprentices, journeyman plumbers and plumbing contractors.
Illinois. Illinois law lets each municipality require registration of electrical contractors, with an annual fee of $25 (65 ILCS 5/11-33-1). The same section says a contractor registered in one municipality shall not be required by any other municipality to register or pay a registration fee there. Local license rules are in our Illinois electrician license guide.
Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has a statewide registration, not a competency license, for home improvement work: every contractor doing at least $5,000 of home improvements a year registers with the Attorney General, for $100 every two years, and the office says registration does not imply it endorses competency. Philadelphia licenses electrical contractors itself: four years of electrical work for a licensed company, the Philadelphia Electrical Contractor Examination, and $500,000 per occurrence in general liability. More in our Pennsylvania electrician license guide.
Colorado. Denver licenses building contractors through Community Planning and Development. Before applying, a company must hold or employ a supervisor certificate holder, or hold a Colorado electrical or plumbing license.
Where You Need Both a State License and a City Registration
Texas. TDLR licenses electricians and air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, and its list of regulated programs has no general contractor license. An electrical contractor must employ a licensed master electrician and carry liability insurance of $300,000 per occurrence, $600,000 aggregate and $300,000 for products and completed operations. TDLR's FAQ says a state license is valid anywhere in Texas, while a municipal electrician license is valid only in the city that issued it.
Cities still add a layer. San Antonio says "All City and State licensed contractors must be registered with Development Services before permits are issued," with categories for building and home improvement, electrical, mechanical and plumbing. TDLR's FAQ adds a limit: under Occupations Code Section 1305.201, a city may not charge a state licensed electrician certain fees, such as a fee to register the license, or require a municipal exam; building permit fees still apply.
Tennessee. Tennessee uses a dollar line. A contractor's license is required before bidding or contracting on projects of $25,000 or more as a prime contractor or construction manager. A subcontractor needs one for electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC or roofing work when that portion is $25,000 or more, including materials, equipment and labor; masonry subcontractors need one at $100,000 or more.
Below the line, the Limited Licensed Electrician license covers work under $25,000 per project, but only where a municipality uses the state Division of Fire Prevention for permits or inspections; elsewhere, check the local government first. See our Tennessee plumbing license and Tennessee HVAC license guides.
Missouri: the optional statewide license. Missouri cities and counties may license electrical contractors locally, but Sections 324.900 to 324.945, RSMo, add an optional statewide electrical contractor license. Under 324.920.4, a contractor who holds the required local license, or works where no license is required, does not need the statewide one. Under 324.925, a city may keep its own license but must accept the statewide license in its place, may not require the statewide holder to pass a local exam, and must let the holder obtain permits, which are still issued locally; see our Missouri electrician license guide.
States That License Statewide, Trade by Trade
Some states license every general contractor at the state level. California's CSLB issues licenses by classification, North Carolina requires a state license for projects of $40,000 or more (G.S. 87-1), and Arizona makes it unlawful to contract without a license in good standing in the company's own name (A.R.S. 32-1151).
Other states license statewide only for certain trades. North Dakota runs a full electrical ladder under one board: apprentice, Class B, journeyman and master. A Class B license is in contracting status only and covers farmstead and residential wiring in cities of 2,500 people or fewer, and the board says electrical work is done under the supervision of a contracting master or master of record.
Minnesota licenses electrical contractors through the Department of Labor and Industry, and every license needs a responsible licensed individual who holds an active master license. Wisconsin law says no one may run an electrical contracting business unless licensed as an electrical contractor by the state, and a master electrician must at all times be responsible for the work of anyone who is not a master (Wis. Stat. 101.862).
Checking Every Layer Before You Bid
- Check the state board for your exact trade. General building, electrical, plumbing and HVAC are often licensed by different agencies, or some by cities.
- Look for a dollar line. Tennessee requires the state license at $25,000 and North Carolina at $40,000; below the line, local rules may be all that applies.
- Check for an optional statewide license. Missouri's statewide electrical license is optional, and each Missouri city must accept it in place of its own license.
- Call the building department in each city or county. Ask whether it licenses your trade, registers state licensees, or both, and what bond and insurance it wants on file.
- Ask who can pull the permit. Permits are local, and San Antonio, for one, issues them only to registered contractors; see can I pull a permit without a contractor license.
- Register the business and pay local taxes. Even a Florida certified contractor pays local business taxes where it works (489.131(3)).
When in doubt, assume you need the state license where one exists and a local registration where you pull permits.
A Contractor License Is Not a Business License
A contractor license says you are qualified in a trade. A business license or business tax receipt is local permission to run a business, and says nothing about competency. Florida draws that line in statute (489.131(3)). We cover the difference in contractor license vs business license.
Working in the Wrong Jurisdiction Is Still Unlicensed Work
TDLR says a municipal electrician license is valid only in the city that issued it; Florida says a registered contractor may contract only where the registration was issued. Work outside that reach is unlicensed work.
Unlicensed work can bring fines, stop work orders and trouble collecting payment. See penalties for unlicensed contracting and do I need a contractor license.
Where the Qualifying Agent Comes In
Many company licenses, state or local, rest on one named individual. Ohio's OCILB license is issued to an individual and assigned to the company that employs that person (ORC 4740.07), and Texas requires an electrical contractor to employ a licensed master electrician. Missouri requires a company to have in its employ, at a supervisory level, a statewide licensed electrical contractor who represents only one firm at a time (RSMo 324.920.3). North Dakota's master of record must show liability insurance covering that person through the organization.
Local programs are built the same way. Indianapolis requires each craft license holder to provide "direction, supervision, and control" over the craft work, and under Section 875-215 a license holder cannot be connected to more than one partnership, LLC or corporation. Denver calls its supervisor certificate holder "a qualified individual." New York City requires the Master Electrician to be an officer, partner or sole proprietor of the business.
Minnesota states the lawful model plainly: the responsible licensed individual must be an owner, officer or member, or a W-2 employee actively engaged in the company's electrical work who cannot be employed as an electrician by any other contractor, and must not be the responsible licensed individual for any other contractor. That is how The Licensing Company places qualifying agents: as full time W-2 employees with a real supervisory role inside one company. Our founders, Marshall Schofield and Jeremiah Jaskulski, are industry authorities on contractor licensing and built the firm around that model.
Read what a qualifying agent is and how to get a contractor license in another state, and when you are ready, hire a qualifying agent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a local contractor license? It is a license or registration from a city or county that covers work in that jurisdiction only. Some are competency licenses with an exam, such as New York City's Master Electrician; others register your state license, such as San Antonio's.
Can I use my state contractor license in any city? Within that state, often yes for competency: a TDLR license is valid anywhere in Texas, and Florida bars cities from requiring a local professional license of a certified contractor. You still register, pay local taxes and pull permits city by city, and the license does not carry to another state.
Which states don't have a statewide general contractor license? Among the states on this page, Ohio (the OCILB licenses five commercial trades only) and Texas (TDLR has no general contractor program) leave general builders to cities such as Columbus and San Antonio. In New York and Colorado, the builder registrations and licenses on this page come from New York City and Denver. Always check your trade: several of these states license electricians, plumbers or HVAC contractors statewide.
What is the difference between a certified and a registered contractor in Florida? A certified contractor passed the state exam and may contract in any jurisdiction in Florida (Fla. Stat. 489.105). A registered contractor met a local jurisdiction's competency requirements and may work only in the counties or cities where it complied with local licensing rules (489.117). Electrical contractors split the same way: EC is certified, ER is registered.
Does Ohio have a state contractor license? Only for five trades: the OCILB licenses electrical, HVAC, plumbing, hydronics and refrigeration contractors for commercial work. General and residential contractors answer to cities and local building departments.
Do I need a local license if I already have a state license? Usually you need a local registration, a business tax receipt or both. You often do not need a second competency license: Florida, Missouri and Texas (for electricians) limit what a city can demand of a state licensee.
Is a statewide license ever optional? Yes. Missouri's statewide electrical contractor license is optional under RSMo 324.920.4. It exists so a contractor working in many cities can carry one license that each city must accept in place of its own (324.925).
Talk to Us Before You Expand
If you are moving into a new state or city and need a licensed individual to qualify your company, call The Licensing Company at 615-219-2110 or start at hire a qualifying agent. We will map the state and local layers for each market with you and match you with a qualifier who fits.
Sources
All retrieved 2026-09-30.
- Florida Statutes 489.105, Definitions
- Florida Statutes 489.117, Registration; specialty contractors
- Florida Statutes 489.131, Applicability
- Florida Statutes 489.505, Definitions (electrical contractors)
- Florida Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board, FAQs
- Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, Ohio Department of Commerce
- Ohio Revised Code 4740.07, License assignment
- City of Columbus, Contractor Licenses
- New York Business Express, Electrician
- NYC Department of Buildings, Obtain a Master and Special Electrician License
- NYC Department of Buildings, General Contractor Registration
- NYC Department of Buildings, Obtain a General Contractor Registration
- TDLR, Programs Licensed and Regulated by TDLR
- TDLR, Apply for a New Electrical Contractor License
- TDLR, Electricians Frequently Asked Questions
- City of San Antonio, Contractor Registration and Licensing
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, Contractor License
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, Limited Licensed Electrician
- Revised Statutes of Missouri 324.900 to 324.945
- Revised Statutes of Missouri 324.920
- Revised Statutes of Missouri 324.925
- City of Indianapolis, Electrical Contractor License Application Packet
- Evansville Vanderburgh Building Commission, Insurance and Bonds
- Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Plumbing Licensing Information
- Illinois Compiled Statutes, 65 ILCS 5/11-33-1
- Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Home Improvement Contractor Registration
- City of Philadelphia, Get an Electrical Contractor License
- City and County of Denver, Apply for a Contractor's License
- North Dakota State Electrical Board, Qualifications for Licensure
- Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Electrical Contractor Licensing Basics
- Wisconsin Statutes 101.862
- California CSLB, Licensing Classifications
- North Carolina General Statutes 87-1
- Arizona Revised Statutes 32-1151
Disclaimer: This article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, licensing guidance, or an offer of services. Licensing requirements vary by jurisdiction. For specific compliance questions, contact The Licensing Company for a confidential consultation.