Requirements by state
District of Columbia contractor license requirements
Quick answer
District of Columbia contractor license requirements
DC licenses home improvement contractors through the Basic Business License system's Home Improvement Contractor endorsement. There is no exam. Contractors post a $25,000 surety bond and carry liability and property damage insurance, and the license runs $288.20 for two years or $471.90 for four.
At a glance
- Exam
- DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Home Improvement Contractor and General Contractor endorsements requirements (no state exam)
- Vendor
- No state exam vendor
- Fees
- Two-year license $288.20; Four-year license $471.90
- NASCLA accepted
- No
- Last reviewed
- 2026-07-28
License classes
- HIC
- Home Improvement Contractor endorsement : Issued under DC's Basic Business License system.
District of Columbia regulates contracting through a state-level general contractor license. This page lays out exactly what District of Columbia requires: the licensing agency, who must be licensed, experience, exams, fees, the financial responsibility mechanism, and reciprocity, every figure sourced and dated below.
Who must be licensed in District of Columbia
DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Home Improvement Contractor and General Contractor endorsements is the licensing authority. A Basic Business License with the Home Improvement Contractor endorsement is required for home improvement work.
Experience and qualification
No documented years-of-experience requirement is published for the Home Improvement Contractor endorsement.
License classes
- HIC (Home Improvement Contractor endorsement): Issued under DC’s Basic Business License system.
Exam
DC does not require a trade or business exam for the Home Improvement Contractor endorsement.
Fees
- Two-year license: $288.20
- Four-year license: $471.90
Financial responsibility
District of Columbia uses surety bond ($25,000) as its financial-responsibility mechanism. A $25,000 surety bond plus a liability insurance certificate ($50,000 to $100,000) and a $10,000 to $25,000 property damage policy.
Reciprocity and the NASCLA exam
District of Columbia is not on NASCLA’s participating-agencies list, confirmed directly against NASCLA’s own page, so a NASCLA Accredited Examination credential from another state does not by itself satisfy District of Columbia’s requirements. See contractor license reciprocity for what does carry over, and the 50-state comparison for which states do accept the NASCLA exam.
Official source
Verify everything at the source: DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Home Improvement Contractor and General Contractor endorsements, dlcp.dc.gov. The NASCLA participating-agencies determination above is drawn from NASCLA’s own list, nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24.
Sources: DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Home Improvement Contractor and General Contractor endorsements (dlcp.dc.gov, reviewed 2026-07-28); NASCLA participating state agencies list (nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24). Fee, bond, and experience figures are compiled from the agency's published requirements and current industry compliance guides as of 2026-07-28; treat any figure not independently reconfirmed against a fetched primary-source page as reported pending the next freshness review, per this site's standard practice.