Alabama contractor license requirements

Licenses and registrations

Residential Home Builder License - Unlimited (without limitation)

Anyone who builds, remodels, repairs, improves or reimproves a residential structure for pay, including work that affects structural integrity or involves more than one trade.

• When it applies: When the cost of the undertaking including labor and materials exceeds $10,000.
• Good to know: Covers residences or structures not over three floors in height with no more than four residential units. Unlimited license holders may also do residential roofing without a separate roofers license. Requires passing the Alabama Home Builders exams.

Residential Home Builder License - Limited (with limitation)

Repair, improvement or reimprovement work that does not affect the structural integrity of the home and does not involve more than one trade.

• When it applies: When the cost of the undertaking including labor and materials exceeds $10,000.
• Good to know: Limited license holders must also get a Roofers License to do residential roofing. No exam; instead the applicant shows a current (or held within the past year) municipal, township or county contractor business or occupational license.

Residential Roofers License

Installing products on or repairing the external upper covering (roof) of a residential structure.

• When it applies: When the cost of the undertaking exceeds $2,500.
• Good to know: Requires a $10,000 license/permit bond and a municipal, township or county contractor license instead of an exam.

General Contractor License (Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors)

Commercial and public construction, and swimming pool construction.

• When it applies: Where the cost of the undertaking including labor and materials is $100,000 or more; swimming pool construction of $5,000 or more.
• Good to know: Threshold rose from $50,000 to $100,000 under Act 2024-277, effective October 1, 2024. Subcontractors on contracts of $100,000 or more must also be licensed.

What you need to qualify

• Exams: Unlimited license only: pass the Alabama Business & Law exam (passing score 70) and the Alabama Skills exam (passing score 66), given by the testing vendor Prov. Scores are valid for three years. Limited and roofers licenses have no exam.
• Experience: No set years of experience. Limited and roofers applicants must show a municipal, township or county contractor business or occupational license held currently or within one year before applying.
• Insurance: The board says the home builders law does not set insurance requirements, but insurance may be required under other state laws. Under Ala. Code 34-14A-19, the builder must give the homeowner a written disclosure of its insurance status, signed by both and witnessed.
• Bond: Roofers license: $10,000 license/permit bond naming the board as obligee. No bond for unlimited or limited licenses.
• Financial: Unlimited and limited applicants must have a current credit report on the individual or business sent directly to the board by a credit-reporting agency.
• Business registration: Corporations, LLCs and limited partnerships must provide a Certificate of Compliance from the Alabama Department of Revenue and notarized minutes naming the qualifying representative. Out-of-state entities must provide a Certificate of Existence from the Alabama Secretary of State.
• Also required: Applicants must prove citizenship or lawful presence. Applications must be notarized.

Fees, renewal and continuing education

• Fees: Application processing fee: $100 (nonrefundable). Annual license fee: $235 (unlimited or limited), $150 (residential roofing only). Homeowners' Recovery Fund fee: $15. Late renewal fee: $50.
• Renewal: Annual. Licenses are valid for the calendar year and expire December 31. Renewal applications are due by November 30.
• Continuing education: Six hours of continuing education from a board-approved provider before each annual renewal, two of them in Alabama-specific topics. For a business, the qualifying representative completes the hours. A late fee applies if CE is not done by November 30.

Contracts and homeowner protections

Licensees must use a valid written contract signed by all parties and show their license number. The builder must give the homeowner a signed, witnessed insurance disclosure. The board runs a Homeowners' Recovery Fund that pays up to $30,000 per transaction and $90,000 total per licensee, only after a court judgment against a licensed builder (roofer-only licenses are excluded).

Electrical, plumbing and HVAC work

Electrical: Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors. Plumbing and gas: Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board. HVAC and refrigeration: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors.

City and county rules

Cities and counties issue contractor business or occupational licenses, which limited and roofer applicants must show to the state board. Owners may do work on their own residence without a license.

Working without a license

Building without a required license is a Class A misdemeanor. The board can fine an unlicensed builder up to $5,000 per violation, order work stopped and seek an injunction. An unlicensed builder cannot sue to enforce the contract. The board says offering home building or roofing services after an emergency declaration without a license can be charged as a Class C felony under the Aggravated Home Repair Fraud law.

What to confirm with the state

We couldn't confirm these on an official page when we checked. Ask the licensing office before you rely on them:

• Exam fees charged by the testing vendor (Prov)
• ALBGC general contractor license fees, financial statement and exam requirements (not detailed; outside the residential focus)
• Specific misdemeanor fine and jail amounts for unlicensed work
• Workers' compensation rules for contractors (board refers applicants to the Department of Labor)

Sources

1. Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board - Home
2. How to Get Licensed
3. FAQs - Applicants
4. Continuing Education
5. Ala. Code 34-14A (HBLB law, effective Oct 1, 2025)
6. HBLB Administrative Rules (Chapter 465-X, effective Nov 14, 2025)
7. Recovery Fund
8. Unlicensed Builders
9. HBLB pre-storm emergency declaration release
10. ALBGC - Changes to the Code of Alabama (Act 2024-277)
11. ALBGC - Contractor Licensing Law
12. Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors - Consumers
13. Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board
14. Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors