Requirements by state
Mississippi contractor license requirements
Quick answer
Mississippi contractor license requirements
Mississippi requires a Certificate of Responsibility from the State Board of Contractors for commercial projects of $50,000 or more. Applicants pass a Business and Law exam plus a trade exam through PSI (NASCLA accepted for the trade portion), pay a $400 application fee, and show CPA-reviewed net worth of $20,000 to $50,000 depending on classification. No bond is required.
At a glance
- Exam
- Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) exam (PSI)
- Vendor
- PSI
- Fees
- Commercial application fee $400; Exam fee, per portion $120
- NASCLA accepted
- Yes
- Last reviewed
- 2026-07-28
License classes
- Major
- Major classifications : $50,000 minimum net worth for specialty classifications.
- Specialty
- Specialty classifications : $20,000 minimum net worth.
Mississippi regulates contracting through a state-level general contractor license. This page lays out exactly what Mississippi 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 Mississippi
Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) is the licensing authority. $50,000 or more for commercial projects require a Certificate of Responsibility.
Experience and qualification
No fixed statewide years requirement is published; net worth and passing both exams are the qualifying gates for commercial applicants.
License classes
- Major (Major classifications): $50,000 minimum net worth for specialty classifications.
- Specialty (Specialty classifications): $20,000 minimum net worth.
Exam
A Business and Law Management exam plus a trade-specific exam through PSI; NASCLA scores are accepted for the trade exam, but the Mississippi Business and Law exam is always required.
Fees
- Commercial application fee: $400
- Exam fee, per portion: $120
Financial responsibility
Mississippi uses net worth / financial statement ($20,000 to $50,000) as its financial-responsibility mechanism. No bond is required. A CPA-reviewed or audited financial statement showing net worth of $50,000 for major classifications or $20,000 for specialty classifications is required instead.
Reciprocity and the NASCLA exam
Mississippi 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 Mississippi’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: Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC), www.msboc.us. The NASCLA participating-agencies determination above is drawn from NASCLA’s own list, nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24.
Sources: Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) (www.msboc.us, 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.