Requirements by state
Massachusetts contractor license requirements
Quick answer
Massachusetts contractor license requirements
Massachusetts requires a Construction Supervisor License (CSL) to supervise residential construction and a separate Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration for home improvement work. The CSL needs 3 years of documented experience and a $100 proctored building-code exam; HIC registration costs $150 initially and funds a guaranty fund instead of a bond.
At a glance
- Exam
- Office of Public Safety and Inspections (OPSI), Construction Supervisor License; Home Improvement Contractor registration requirements (no state exam)
- Vendor
- No state exam vendor
- Fees
- CSL exam fee $100; HIC registration, initial $150; HIC renewal (biennial) $100
- NASCLA accepted
- No
- Last reviewed
- 2026-07-28
License classes
- CSL
- Construction Supervisor License, Unrestricted : Covers the full scope of one- and two-family residential construction supervision.
Massachusetts regulates contracting through a state-level general contractor license. This page lays out exactly what Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts
Office of Public Safety and Inspections (OPSI), Construction Supervisor License; Home Improvement Contractor registration is the licensing authority. A Construction Supervisor License (CSL) is required to supervise most residential construction; a Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration is required for home improvement contracting.
Experience and qualification
3 years of hands-on experience (5,500 hours) verified by prior employers using the OPSI Experience Affidavit, covering framing, foundations, fire protection, energy code, and means of egress.
License classes
- CSL (Construction Supervisor License, Unrestricted): Covers the full scope of one- and two-family residential construction supervision.
Exam
A proctored exam on the Massachusetts State Building Code, $100 fee, retake at $100 if failed.
Fees
- CSL exam fee: $100
- HIC registration, initial: $150
- HIC renewal (biennial): $100
Financial responsibility
Massachusetts uses insurance in place of a bond as its financial-responsibility mechanism. HIC registrants contribute to the Home Improvement Contractor Arbitration and Guaranty Fund rather than posting a bond; a statutory written contract is required for home improvement work.
Reciprocity and the NASCLA exam
Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts’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: Office of Public Safety and Inspections (OPSI), Construction Supervisor License; Home Improvement Contractor registration, www.mass.gov. The NASCLA participating-agencies determination above is drawn from NASCLA’s own list, nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24.
Sources: Office of Public Safety and Inspections (OPSI), Construction Supervisor License; Home Improvement Contractor registration (www.mass.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.