Louisiana contractor license requirements

Louisiana regulates contracting through a state-level general contractor license. This page lays out exactly what Louisiana 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 Louisiana

Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) is the licensing authority. $50,000 or more for commercial projects (Building Construction, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, Specialty classifications).

Experience and qualification

No fixed statewide years requirement is published; the LSLBC evaluates the applicant’s financial statement and exam results rather than tested years of experience.

License classes

• Commercial (Commercial (Building Construction, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, Specialty)): For projects of $50,000 or more.
• Residential: Home construction and remodeling.
• HI (Home Improvement Registration): Smaller residential improvement work.
• Mold (Mold Remediation): Licensed separately by the LSLBC.

Exam

A trade exam (NASCLA accepted) plus the Louisiana Business and Law exam, both through PSI; the Business and Law exam is always required regardless of trade exam source.

Fees

• License fee: $100
• Examination fee (per classification): $50
• Home improvement fee: $50
• Renewal fee: $100

Financial responsibility

Louisiana uses surety bond ($10,000) as its financial-responsibility mechanism. A $10,000 surety bond plus a notarized financial statement showing a minimum net worth of $10,000. Insurance is required for residential, home improvement, and mold remediation applicants, but not commercial.

Reciprocity and the NASCLA exam

Louisiana accepts the NASCLA Accredited Examination for the commercial building classification, confirmed against NASCLA’s own participating-agencies list. If you already hold a NASCLA credential from another participating state, it can satisfy Louisiana’s trade exam requirement (any state-specific business and law exam is still required). See the NASCLA exam explained and contractor license reciprocity for the full picture, and the 50-state comparison for which other states accept it.

Official source

Verify everything at the source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC), lslbc.gov. The NASCLA participating-agencies determination above is drawn from NASCLA’s own list, nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24.

Sources: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) (lslbc.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.