National comparison
Contractor license requirements by state: the 50-state comparison
Quick answer
Which states require a contractor license, and which accept the NASCLA exam?
Contractor licensing is set state by state, with no national license. By our classification of all 51 jurisdictions (50 states plus DC), most issue a state-level general contractor license; the rest register contractors, license specialty trades only, or leave it to cities and counties. 17 states accept the NASCLA Accredited Examination, verified against NASCLA's official list, which lets a licensed contractor reuse one exam across them.
This table compares every state and the District of Columbia on the questions that actually decide your path: does the state license general contractors at all, how (a competency license, a registration, specialty trades only, or local permits), and whether it accepts the NASCLA exam for commercial building contractors. Use it to see where you stand, then open a state for the verified, cited detail.
How this table is sourced
The NASCLA exam accepted column is verified against NASCLA's official participating state agencies list (2026-07-24). The licensing approach, state GC license, and agency columns are pulled directly from each state's own dated, primary-sourced requirements page, so this table can never disagree with the detail it summarizes; every state and DC is verified. If a marker ever appears on a cell, that state's own page has not yet published a dated source for it, and the figure is not treated as final until it does.
| Jurisdiction | State GC license? | Licensing approach | NASCLA exam accepted? | Licensing agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (commercial); Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board (residential) |
| Alaska | No | State registration | No | Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing |
| Arizona | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) |
| Arkansas | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (ACLB) |
| California | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Contractors State License Board (CSLB) |
| Colorado | No | Specialty trades only | No | Municipal and county building departments (DORA licenses only electricians and plumbers statewide) |
| Connecticut | No | State registration | No | Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (Home Improvement Contractor registration) |
| Delaware | No | No state license | No | Delaware Division of Revenue (business license only); Office of Contractor Registration, Delaware Department of Labor |
| Florida | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB), Department of Business and Professional Regulation |
| Georgia | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Georgia State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors (SLBRGC) |
| Hawaii | Yes | State GC license | No | Hawaii DCCA Contractors License Board |
| Idaho | No | State registration | No | Idaho Division of Building Safety (DBS) |
| Illinois | No | Specialty trades only | No | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR): roofing and plumbing statewide; all other trades are local |
| Indiana | No | Specialty trades only | No | Municipal and county building departments (the state licenses only plumbers) |
| Iowa | No | State registration | No | Iowa Division of Labor (contractor registration) |
| Kansas | No | Specialty trades only | No | Municipal and county building departments (the Attorney General licenses roofing contractors statewide) |
| Kentucky | No | Specialty trades only | No | Municipal and county building departments (Housing, Buildings and Construction licenses electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and other specialty trades statewide) |
| Louisiana | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) |
| Maine | No | No state license | No | No state licensing board; contractors register their business with the Secretary of State and follow the Home Construction Contracts Act |
| Maryland | No | State registration | No | Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC), Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing |
| Massachusetts | Yes | State GC license | No | Office of Public Safety and Inspections (OPSI), Construction Supervisor License; Home Improvement Contractor registration |
| Michigan | Yes | State GC license | No | Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Construction Codes |
| Minnesota | Yes | State GC license | No | Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) |
| Mississippi | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) |
| Missouri | No | Specialty trades only | No | Municipal and county building departments (the Office of Statewide Electrical Contractors licenses electricians) |
| Montana | No | State registration | No | Montana Department of Labor and Industry (contractor registration) |
| Nebraska | No | State registration | No | Nebraska Department of Labor (contractor registration) |
| Nevada | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB) |
| New Hampshire | No | No state license | No | No state general contractor license; the Secretary of State handles business registration and specific trades are licensed separately |
| New Jersey | No | State registration | No | New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA), Home Improvement Contractor registration |
| New Mexico | Yes | State GC license | Yes | New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division (CID) |
| New York | No | Local (city / county) | No | Municipal and county licensing authorities (New York State Department of Labor runs a separate public-works contractor registration) |
| North Carolina | Yes | State GC license | Yes | North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors (NCLBGC) |
| North Dakota | Yes | State GC license | No | North Dakota Secretary of State (general contractor licensing) |
| Ohio | No | Specialty trades only | No | Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB): electrical, HVAC, hydronics, plumbing, refrigeration statewide; general contracting is local |
| Oklahoma | No | Specialty trades only | No | Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB): electrical, plumbing, and mechanical statewide; general contracting is local |
| Oregon | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB) |
| Pennsylvania | No | State registration | No | Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Home Improvement Contractor registration (HICPA) |
| Rhode Island | No | State registration | No | Rhode Island Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board (CRLB) |
| South Carolina | Yes | State GC license | Yes | South Carolina Contractors' Licensing Board (CLB), under LLR |
| South Dakota | No | Specialty trades only | No | Municipal building departments (the state licenses only electricians and plumbers) |
| Tennessee | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (BLC) |
| Texas | No | Specialty trades only | No | Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR): electrical and HVAC/ACR statewide; Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE): plumbing statewide |
| Utah | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) |
| Vermont | No | State registration | No | Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR), residential contractor registration |
| Virginia | Yes | State GC license | Yes | Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors |
| Washington | No | State registration | No | Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), contractor registration |
| West Virginia | Yes | State GC license | Yes | West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board (WVCLB), Division of Labor |
| Wisconsin | No | State registration | No | Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), Dwelling Contractor certification |
| Wyoming | No | Specialty trades only | No | Municipal licensing boards (the state licenses only electrical contractors) |
| District of Columbia | Yes | State GC license | No | DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Home Improvement Contractor and General Contractor endorsements |
The licensing approaches, counted
| Approach | Jurisdictions |
|---|---|
| State GC license | 23 |
| State registration | 13 |
| Specialty trades only | 11 |
| Local (city / county) | 1 |
| No state license | 3 |
- 23 State GC license
- 13 State registration
- 11 Specialty trades only
- 3 No state license
- 1 Local (city / county)
Across 50 states and DC. "Local" and "no state license" states are not a gap in our coverage: they are the honest answer, and often the most useful one, because a contractor there is chasing city permits, not a state exam.
NASCLA reciprocity: one exam, 17 states
The NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors is accepted by these 17 states, so passing it once can stand in for the trade exam in each of them (the US Virgin Islands accepts it too):
- States accepting the NASCLA exam: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia.
- States not accepting it: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia.
Verified against NASCLA's participating-agencies list, 2026-07-24.
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Each state still runs its own application, experience, and fee process on top of the shared exam. Verified against NASCLA's participating-agencies list, 2026-07-24.
Read the national guides behind this table
Sources: NASCLA participating state agencies list (nascla.org, verified 2026-07-24); California Contractors State License Board (cslb.ca.gov); Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (tdlr.texas.gov); and individual state boards confirmed this build, including Hawaii DCCA (cca.hawaii.gov), Oregon CCB (oregon.gov/ccb), Nevada State Contractors Board (nvcontractorsboard.com), Louisiana LSLBC (lslbc.gov), New Mexico RLD (rld.nm.gov), Virginia DPOR (dpor.virginia.gov), Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, plus every other state and DC's own dated requirements page, which is this table's source for licensing approach, state GC license, and agency.