Handyman License Limits – State by State

Residential repair and improvement. Roofing drops to $2,500, and commercial work over $50,000 needs the General Contractors Board.

Counts: Materials, labor, supervision, overhead and profit. Watch out: A single re-roof blows past the $2,500 roofing limit almost immediately.

Home Builders Licensure Board

No dollar exemption at all. The old $10,000 exemption was repealed in 2015. There is a cheaper Handyman Contractor registration capped at $10,000 per project.

Watch out: Even a $200 screen door needs registration, a $5,000 bond and liability insurance.

Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing

Work must also be casual or minor in nature.

Counts: Labor, materials and all other items. Watch out: You lose the exemption if the job needs a permit, if it is part of a bigger job, or if you advertise without the words "not a licensed contractor."

Arizona Registrar of Contractors

Above this you need a Home Improvement license.

Counts: Labor and materials. Watch out: Splitting a job into separate sub-$2,000 contracts is written into the statute as illegal. You cannot write three $1,900 contracts for one kitchen.

Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board

Raised from $500 on January 1, 2025.

Counts: Labor, materials and all other costs, across one or more contracts. Watch out: The dollar figure is the least of it. The exemption also dies if the job needs any building permit, or if you use any employee labor. Solo, no permit, under $1,000.

Contractors State License Board

Licensed city by city instead. The state licenses only electrical and plumbing.

Watch out: No state license does not mean no license. Some cities require one with no dollar minimum at all.

DORA (electrical and plumbing only)

Statewide Home Improvement Contractor registration.

Counts: Contract price. Watch out: $200 is effectively no exemption. Assume you need to register.

Department of Consumer Protection

No state contractor license, but a state business license is required from job one.

Watch out: Easy state for general handyman work, but plumbing, HVAC and electrical need a state master-level trade license at any size.

Delaware Division of Revenue

Work must also be casual, minor or inconsequential.

Counts: Labor, materials and all other items, aggregated. Watch out: The exemption is void if you advertise as a contractor at all, or if the job needs a building permit, regardless of price.

DBPR, Construction Industry Licensing Board

Measured as the greater of the value of the work or your compensation.

Counts: Total value of the work. Watch out: There is a second exemption that matters more: you may do repair work of any size if you tell the owner in writing that you are not licensed and the work does not affect structural integrity. Confirmed in the state code but not on a .gov page. Verify with the Board.

State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors

Raised from $1,000 in 2019 - many guides still print the old number.

Counts: Labor and materials, aggregated. Watch out: Void if a building permit is required, at any price. Splitting jobs to stay under is explicitly illegal.

Contractors License Board, DCCA

Registration, not a competency license. Work must be casual, minor or inconsequential.

Counts: Labor, materials and all other items. Watch out: Registration is cheap and fast, and many cities want to see it before they will issue a permit. Most Idaho handymen just register.

Idaho Contractors Board, DOPL

State licenses roofing and plumbing only. General contracting is municipal.

Watch out: Chicago and many suburbs license with no dollar minimum. Separately, any home repair over $1,000 needs a written contract and a consumer rights pamphlet.

IDFPR (roofing), IDPH (plumbing)

State licenses plumbing only. Electrical, HVAC and general work are local.

Watch out: The number that bites in Indiana is $150 - any home improvement contract above that needs compliant written paperwork, and violations are consumer protection claims.

Indiana Professional Licensing Agency

An annual earnings test, not a per-job one. Earn $2,000 a year from construction and you must register.

Counts: Annual gross construction earnings, all jobs combined. Watch out: $2,000 a year is one or two jobs, so this is effectively no exemption for anyone doing this as a business. $50 to register.

Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing

Only roofing is registered statewide, through the Attorney General.

Watch out: An unregistered roofer in Kansas cannot sue to collect. Wichita, Overland Park, Topeka and others run their own licensing. No official page affirmatively states there is no state GC license. Check your city.

Kansas Attorney General (roofing); cities otherwise

Trade licensing only: plumbing, electrical, HVAC, boiler and sprinkler.

Watch out: HVAC is state-licensed here, which catches people out. You cannot swap a condenser on your general handyman footing.

Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction

Home improvement on an existing residence. Above that you need Home Improvement Registration.

Counts: Labor and materials. Watch out: The board's own pages disagree about where the residential license kicks in - one says over $50,000, another says $75,000. Call them before bidding anything in that range. Sources conflict above $50,000. Under $7,500 is consistent everywhere.

Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors

The Attorney General states plainly that Maine does not license home contractors. Electrical, plumbing and fuel technicians are licensed.

Watch out: The trap is paperwork, not licensing: any home project over $3,000 requires a written contract with specific statutory provisions.

Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation

There is no dollar threshold. Any home improvement contract with a homeowner requires an MHIC license.

Watch out: Several sites claim a $500 exemption. It does not exist in Maryland law. One real relief valve: subcontractors working under an MHIC-licensed contractor do not need their own.

Maryland Home Improvement Commission

Home Improvement Contractor registration is triggered by doing the work, not by job size.

Watch out: The $1,000 figure you will see quoted is the written-contract rule, not a registration exemption. Structural work also needs a Construction Supervisor License.

Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation

One of the lowest real thresholds in the country.

Counts: Labor, materials and any other items, aggregated across the project. Watch out: $600 is tiny and it aggregates across the whole project, so nearly any real job needs the Maintenance and Alteration license.

LARA, Bureau of Construction Codes

Gross annual receipts, not per job. Exceed it in a calendar year and you must license.

Counts: Gross revenue including materials billed to customers. Watch out: The exemption is not automatic - you must file a Certificate of Exemption affidavit every year. Offering only one special skill is separately exempt.

Department of Labor and Industry

Remodeling an existing home. New residential construction is $50,000.

Counts: Total cost of the improvements. Watch out: Local officials are barred from issuing a building permit to an unlicensed person, so no license means no permit. Figures confirmed in the state code but the board's site blocks automated access. Verify directly.

Mississippi State Board of Contractors

No state contractor board at all. Kansas City, St. Louis and St. Louis County each license separately.

Watch out: Check the city and the county for every job. The metros license and permit.

No state board; Office of Electrical Contractors for electrical

But the exemption that matters is different: a solo operator with no employees is exempt entirely.

Counts: Labor, materials and all other items, per job. Watch out: Montana replaced registration with a Construction Contractor License on January 1, 2026, so anything written before 2026 is out of date. Hire one person and you must be licensed.

Department of Labor and Industry

No license, but every contractor must register with the Department of Labor.

Counts: Guidance mentions $5,000 in annual earnings; the statute names no threshold. Watch out: Each DBA needs its own registration number. With employees you must keep a current workers comp certificate on file or you are dropped from the list. The $5,000 figure appears in guidance but not in the statute. Assume you must register.

Nebraska Department of Labor

Repair and maintenance work only, not new construction.

Counts: Labor and materials. Watch out: The exemption evaporates if the job needs a permit, if it is plumbing, electrical, refrigeration or HVAC, or if it is one slice of a bigger project. Nevada enforces aggressively.

Nevada State Contractors Board

Trade licensing only: electricians, plumbers, gas fitters and mechanical.

Watch out: General carpentry and remodeling need no state credential. The trade licenses have no small-job carve-out. Permits are handled town by town.

Office of Professional Licensure and Certification

Home Improvement Contractor registration is required with no minimum job size.

Watch out: Covers sole proprietors, part-timers and subcontractors. Renews every year by March 31. Written contracts required on any job over $500.

Division of Consumer Affairs

A yearly compensation cap, or a single undertaking - whichever you hit first.

Counts: Compensation per year. Watch out: Three $3,000 jobs in a year already puts you over. Electrical, plumbing and gas fitting are never exempt at any price.

Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division

Licensed at county and city level only. The state licenses no home improvement contractors.

Watch out: New York City requires a license for any residential repair or remodeling work with no minimum job value at all.

None statewide; NYC DCWP and various counties

The most generous threshold in the country. Raised from $30,000 in 2023.

Counts: Cost of the undertaking. Watch out: It is the total project cost. Splitting one job into several contracts to stay under is exactly what the Board enforces against.

North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors

Applies to subcontractors too.

Counts: Cost, value or price per job. Watch out: The license must be in hand before you bid, not before you start work.

North Dakota Secretary of State

Five trades are licensed statewide: HVAC, refrigeration, electrical, plumbing and hydronics.

Watch out: Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo require their own local registration.

Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board

The state says plainly that general contractors need no state license. Trades are registered.

Watch out: Roofing requires CIB registration regardless of job size. Oklahoma City and Tulsa add their own licensing and bonding.

Oklahoma Construction Industries Board

On paper. In practice, treat Oregon as having no exemption.

Counts: Labor, materials and all other items. Watch out: The exemption is void the moment you advertise or hold yourself out as a contractor - a sign, truck lettering, a website, an ad. Every working handyman does one of those.

Oregon Construction Contractors Board

Registration, not licensing. A calendar-year total, not per job.

Counts: Value of home improvement work per calendar year. Watch out: $100 for two years and no exam, but it is a yearly total - anyone working even part-time year round is over it.

Office of Attorney General

Combined price of all your contracts on the project. Work must be casual, minor or inconsequential.

Counts: Price of all contracts on that project. Watch out: Void if you advertise or display a sign suggesting you are a contractor. Any job over $1,000 also needs a written contract.

Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board

That is the specialty contractor line, raised from $200 in 2022. Residential builder is $5,000.

Counts: Per undertaking. Watch out: $500 is the number that matters for most handymen, not the $5,000 you will see quoted. Painting, drywall and carpentry all fall under the specialty line.

LLR, Residential Builders Commission

Trade licensing only: electricians and plumbers.

Watch out: A contractor's excise tax license from the Department of Revenue is mandatory - 2% on gross receipts, with no dollar floor.

Department of Labor and Regulation

But in nine counties a Home Improvement license is required from $3,000 up.

Counts: Materials and labor, per project. Watch out: The nine Home Improvement counties are Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby. Check whether you are in one.

Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors

No state general contractor, home improvement or remodeler license.

Watch out: Electrical, HVAC and plumbing are state-licensed with no dollar floor. Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio each add their own rules.

TDLR (electrical, HVAC); State Board of Plumbing Examiners

Raised from $3,000 on May 7, 2025. Many guides still print $3,000.

Counts: Labor and materials, including all change orders. Watch out: Even under $7,000, you must file a one-time insurance affirmation with DOPL once a project passes $3,000. Never covers electrical, plumbing, HVAC, gas, fire suppression, alarms or radon.

Division of Professional Licensing

Registration, not a competency license. No exam.

Counts: Labor and materials. Watch out: Vermont has had active legislative discussion about lowering this threshold. Worth re-checking before you rely on it.

Office of Professional Regulation

Above that you need at least a Class C license. Class C covers up to $30,000 per contract.

Counts: Total contract value. Watch out: There is also a rolling 12-month test - you need whichever class is higher. Tradesman licenses for electrical, plumbing and HVAC are required regardless of amount. DPOR's own guide PDF still shows the pre-2025 figures. Use the statute.

Board for Contractors, DPOR

On paper. In practice, treat Washington as having no exemption.

Counts: Labor, materials and all other items. Watch out: The exemption does not apply to anyone who advertises or displays a sign or card. Advertising or even offering to do work unregistered is a gross misdemeanor.

Department of Labor and Industries

Residential. Commercial work is $25,000.

Counts: Cost of the undertaking. Watch out: The dollar figures live in the definition of contractor, not in the exemptions list, which is why they are easy to miss.

West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board

There is no dollar threshold. The trigger is whether the job needs a building permit on a one or two family dwelling.

Watch out: Ask "does this need a permit?" not "how much is it?" The Dwelling Contractor credential needs a $25,000 bond or $250,000 liability cover.

Department of Safety and Professional Services

Local licensing only. Electrical is licensed statewide.

Watch out: Check the city or county, not the state. Cheyenne and Casper run their own licensing with their own thresholds.

State Fire Marshal (electrical); local building departments

The Home Improvement Contractor license appears to be required regardless of contract value.

Watch out: Requires a $25,000 surety bond. A new general contractor licensing act is phasing in. Call DLCP before quoting DC work. No dollar threshold found in the code, and the commonly quoted $300 could not be confirmed anywhere official.

Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection