LicensebyState

Kentucky to Louisiana: general contractor license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 17, 2026· 15 sources

Kentucky does not issue a statewide general contractor license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Louisiana's standard path for out-of-state applicants.

Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.

Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.

Trade examination waived on a verified out-of-state license or the NASCLA examination (every state)

Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.

Louisiana has no named-state contractor reciprocity at the commercial level either. Its enabling statute, La. R.S. 37:2153(F)(5), lets the Board waive the trade portion of the examination for any applicant holding a license in a comparable classification in another state, on written certification from that state that the applicant passed the examination and is in good standing, and adds that the business law requirement is never waived; a Board notice of 23 October 2024 put that into practice for every state at once and cancelled the Board's earlier agreements. In practice the applicant sends the LSLBC Reciprocity Request form to the origin state's board, which seals and returns it with the license details and, for each classification, the person who passed the trade exam, the date, the exam developer and the score, and the applicant uploads it with the online application. The Board separately gives exam credit for a passing NASCLA Accredited Examination result towards the Building Construction classification, with the transcript sent to the Board directly by NASCLA. Whichever route is used, the qualifying party still completes the Louisiana Business and Law course and the entity still meets the $50,000 net-worth test, the background investigation and all fees, and the Board investigates all violations and pending violations before granting the waiver.

The Board matches the origin examination to whichever Louisiana classification it considers equivalent, rather than to the classification the applicant asks for, and it publishes no table mapping other states' classifications to its own, so confirm the classification you will be granted before you pay. Louisiana requires no trade experience for a contractor license, so documented out-of-state years neither shorten nor replace a step. Commercial applicants do not file insurance certificates with the Board and owe no continuing education, but a contractor holding both a commercial Building Construction license and a residential license has the residential six-hour requirement treated as met.

At a glance

Trade exam
Waived
Law / code exam
Required
Out-of-state hours
Do not count

What you must already have

  • Your Kentucky license must be active and in good standing.La. R.S. 37:2153(F)(5) requires written certification from the licensing state, and the form is completed by a state board, so a city or parish contractor card from the origin state does not satisfy it.
  • Your Kentucky license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
  • You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
  • You must have passed a licensing exam in Kentucky that the destination considers comparable.The Board's online application asks whether the applicant is 'requesting to receive credit from an exam taken with NASCLA (National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies) for one of the following classifications: Building Construction, Residential Construction, or Electrical', which is the Board's own confirmation that it accepts the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors at this level. The transcript must come to the Board directly from the NASCLA Examination Database. NASCLA is an examination credential rather than a license or an interstate agreement, so it is open to an applicant from any state, and it waives nothing except the Louisiana trade examination.
  • The applicant and every qualifying party must be a United States citizen or a legal resident of the United States, and each qualifying party must be a sole proprietor, partner, member or manager of an LLC, stockholder, officer or incorporator of a corporation, or a full-time employee of the applicant as the IRS defines full time. Louisiana sets no minimum trade experience or apprenticeship hours for a contractor license.

What you'll do to get licensed in Louisiana

  1. 1Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. Louisiana Business and Law: an online course of roughly 30 to 45 minutes taken through the LSLBC Contractor Portal once the qualifying party is approved. The Board states it is not a pass or fail examination, and that it is required of every applicant seeking reciprocity from another state or using NASCLA for exam credit. The statute says the business law requirement is never waived, and an exam or administrative fee is charged for it as well as for each classification..
  2. 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). Louisiana Building Construction trade examination, administered by PSI Services LLC since 5 August 2025 and scheduled after the Board issues the qualifying party an eligibility letter. It is required only where the trade examination is not waived by a verified out-of-state examination or by NASCLA credit, and a separate examination applies to each additional classification or subclassification sought. A failed examination cannot be retaken for 30 days, and a review may be requested after two failures. The content outline, candidate bulletin, question count, time limit, passing score and PSI fee sit inside the PSI scheduling portal; PSI Candidate Services on 855-340-3713 can confirm them..
  3. 3Application fee. Pay the application fee. Application fee paid with the online application. The Board does not publish a fee schedule on its website; La. R.S. 37:2156(C) caps the license fee at $100 and the examination fee at $50, and the annual fee is set by the Board at its July meeting. Fees are nonrefundable, and a one-time waiver of the initial licensing fees is available to applicants on SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, disability insurance or public housing, or earning under 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. Ask the Board on 225.765.2301 for the current amounts..
  4. 4Exam fee. Pay the exam fee. An exam or administrative fee is charged for each classification and for Business and Law, so a contractor taking several classifications pays several times. La. R.S. 37:2156(C) caps the examination fee at $50; PSI charges separately for the scheduled examination. Neither amount is published on the Board's site..
  5. 5License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee. License fee, capped at $100 by La. R.S. 37:2156(C), with a lesser fee for each additional classification. A license issued to a contractor not domiciled in Louisiana may also carry a surcharge of up to $400 to defray the cost of investigating an out-of-state applicant. Licenses expire on the anniversary of issue and a commercial licensee may elect a one-, two- or three-year renewal term..
  6. 6Financial responsibility. Show financial responsibility of at least $50,000. LSLBC Financial Statement form showing a net worth of at least $50,000 for a commercial license, current within twelve months of the application and prepared and signed by a certified public accountant, accountant or bookkeeper as well as by the applicant; a CPA-prepared statement may be attached instead of the Board's form. An applicant short of the figure may make it up with an irrevocable letter of credit covering the shortfall plus any negative net worth. The Labor Only specialty needs $25,000 instead. The financial statement is confidential and outside the Public Records Law..
  7. 7Business license. Obtain a business license. A corporation, LLC or limited partnership, including an out-of-state one, must be registered with the Louisiana Secretary of State and show a status of Active and In Good Standing, with its charter number on the application, and must stay registered for as long as it holds the license. The license is issued in the exact legal name and Louisiana does not recognize a DBA, trade name or fictitious name. A joint venture that bids or performs work must itself be licensed..
  8. 8Background check. Complete a background check. The applicant, each principal and each qualifying party complete an application and pass a background investigation covering financial matters such as bankruptcy, judgments, insolvency and liens, and any criminal conviction, guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere (La. R.S. 37:2156.1(C)). Debarment by a public entity, a bankruptcy in the past ten years, an open lien or judgment, a felony or non-traffic misdemeanour conviction and an unresolved child support delinquency each require supporting records to be uploaded..
  9. 9Insurance. Carry the required insurance (if applicable). The Board does not require a commercial applicant to file certificates of insurance; general liability and workers' compensation certificates are collected only from residential, home improvement and mold remediation applicants. Louisiana workers' compensation law still applies to the business independently of licensure, and owners and general contractors normally require liability cover by contract..
  10. 10Other. Completed and sealed LSLBC Reciprocity Request form returned by the origin state's licensing board, or a NASCLA transcript released to the Board directly from the NASCLA Examination Database, uploaded with the online application; plus articles of incorporation, articles of organization or the partnership agreement for a business entity, and a copy of any outside credential where the classification takes a credential in place of a trade exam, such as a Department of Environmental Quality asbestos certificate or a State Plumbing Board plumbing certificate. The application stays active for one year..

What you'll need to buy or arrange

Exam preparation

Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.

  • Law / code exam
  • Trade exam · if applicable
  • Exam fee

Business registration

If you plan to contract in your own name, budget for a business license or entity registration on top of the trade license.

  • Business license

Liability insurance

Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.

  • Insurance · if applicable

How Louisiana licenses general contractors

Louisiana general contractor · “Commercial Contractor, Building Construction classification (major classification 1)”

Statewide license

Verified September 17, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC)

Louisiana's unlimited tier is the commercial license issued by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, and the classification that covers buildings is Building Construction: the building, maintenance, repair, raising, levelling, development or demolition of any and all structures, together with the landscaping, earthwork, parking areas, driveways and sidewalks. It sits alongside three other major commercial classifications, Highway, Street and Bridge Construction, Heavy Construction, and Municipal and Public Works Construction, plus Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing and Hazardous Materials and a long list of subclassifications and specialties, and a licensee may only bid or perform work inside the classifications printed on the license. A commercial license is required once a project for commercial purposes reaches $50,000 including labor and materials, and the threshold drops to $10,000 for electrical, mechanical and plumbing work and to $1 for asbestos, hazardous waste, lead-based paint and underground storage tank work. The license is entity-held and qualified by a named person: the business applies and designates a qualifying party for each classification and for the Louisiana Business and Law requirement, and that qualifying party is the one who sits the trade examination. A commercial applicant files a financial statement showing at least $50,000 net worth, passes a background investigation, and registers with the Louisiana Secretary of State; unlike a residential applicant, it does not have to file insurance certificates with the Board, and there is no continuing education requirement. A commercial license does not allow a contractor to build a single residential home, which needs the Residential Construction classification.

Moving to LouisianaLeaving Louisiana

Why Kentucky has nothing to transfer

Kentucky general contractor · “General or commercial building contractor license or registration (city- or county-issued)”

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 17, 2026· 13 sources

Issued by No state authority; cities and counties license or register commercial building contractors

Kentucky has no statewide general, commercial or unlimited building contractor license, so there is nothing at state level for an out-of-state general contractor's license to transfer into, no qualifying party to designate with the state and no NASCLA route to take. The Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction licenses the trades instead - its home page says it "licenses/certifies plumbers, electricians, boiler contractors, sprinkler and/or fire alarm contractors and building inspectors", and 815 KAR adds HVAC licensing, elevator safety, boilers and pressure vessels, manufactured homes and home inspectors, with no chapter for building contractors anywhere in the title. Commercial building is controlled through local permitting, and the requirements are administrative rather than technical. Louisville Metro issues a Building Type A - Commercial license for $125 a year on a liability certificate, a workers' compensation filing and a Jefferson County occupational license number, with no exam and no bond. Lexington-Fayette registers a general contractor who "performs commercial, industrial, public works, and/or residential construction of larger than four-family homes" under its Contractors Registration Ordinance, and unregistered contractors cannot obtain building permits there. Bowling Green and Warren County run a joint Contractors Licensing Board whose $250 General Contractors License covers construction management and permit pulling, while telling applicants plainly that the license does not warrant that they are qualified. Owensboro and Covington require only an occupational business license and insurance. A commercial builder arriving in Kentucky therefore registers jurisdiction by jurisdiction and makes sure the plumbing, electrical, HVAC, boiler and fire-protection scope is performed under the correct HBC state licenses.

How local licensing works in Kentucky

How local licensing works. Kentucky has no state general contractor board, no state business-and-law exam for builders and no statewide reciprocity for commercial construction. Every rule that binds a general contractor is either a trade license from the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, the Kentucky Building Code in 815 KAR Chapter 007, or a local ordinance. Find the building department with jurisdiction over the site first, then register there before bidding. A registration in one Kentucky jurisdiction is worth nothing in the next, and an out-of-state general contractor license is worth nothing in any of them.

Louisville Metro (Jefferson County). The Office of Construction Review licenses building contractors for the merged city-county. License A covers "one or more permitted projects during a calendar year" and License B a single permitted project; the work scopes are Building A-Residential, Building A-Residential/Commercial, Building A-Commercial and Building B. Building Type A is "for building contractors seeking to obtain multiple permits within Louisville Jefferson County" at $125 a year on a term running 1 January to 31 December; Building Type B is $50 and is limited to one permit per person or company per renewal year. The filing is a certificate of liability insurance with the Office of Construction Review as certificate holder, workers' compensation and unemployment insurance or a notarized affidavit where the contractor has no covered employees, an Occupational License Number from the Revenue Commission of Jefferson County, and the application through the Metro business portal. The six-hour continuing education requirement attaches to the scopes that include housing - Building A-R, Building A-RC and Building B - so a contractor registered purely as Building A-Commercial is the one building class without it. Renewals must include a subcontractor list. There is no exam, experience review, bond or financial statement on any building class. 444 S. 5th St., Suite 100, (502) 574-3321.

Lexington-Fayette Urban County. The Division of Building Inspection registers every contractor under the Contractors Registration Ordinance, and "unregistered contractors cannot obtain building permits." The commercial class, under Ordinance 5-90(a)(1), is the general contractor, who "performs commercial, industrial, public works, and/or residential construction of larger than four-family homes (4-plex); and may supervise, arrange, and/or perform wholly or partly more than two building trades or crafts." A firm that concentrates on one or two trades registers as a specialty contractor instead. The filing is a Home Office Certificate ($10) or Certificate of Occupancy ($25) where the business address is in Fayette County, an occupational business license from Revenue, general liability and workers' compensation insurance with LFUCG named as certificate holder, and the online Contractor Registration Application with those two documents uploaded. No exam, experience or bond is required. The published Building Inspection fee schedule covers permits and lists no contractor registration fee, so confirm the amount with the division. 101 E. Vine St., (859) 258-3770.

Bowling Green and Warren County. One joint Contractors Licensing Board serves the city and the county under Ordinance 91-58 WC and Ordinance 91-25 BG. The General Contractors License, $250 and non-refundable, is required of anyone "doing any type of general contract work in Bowling Green / Warren County including pulling permits for building or remodeling, construction management, or if you would have two or more subcontractors per job." The Specialty Contractors License is $100 and covers subcontract work or a job with at most one subcontractor. Insurance is the substantive test: a certificate naming the board as certificate holder with general liability of at least $100,000 per occurrence, workers' compensation shown on the certificate or a notarized Affidavit of Exemption, and a notarized Partnership Agreement for partnerships. Licenses are non-transferable, renewals are annual and pro-rated mid-year, and a change of ownership voids the license. There is no exam or experience requirement; the board states that it "does not warrant that you are otherwise qualified to perform your trade or specialty by the issuance of its license." A city occupational license is needed for work inside Bowling Green and a county one for work outside it. 1141 State Street, Suite 200, 270-781-3530.

Owensboro and Daviess County. There is no contractor license here. The Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission's Building & Electrical Division issues building, electrical, HVAC, sign and parking lot permits and certificates of occupancy for Owensboro-Daviess County under the Kentucky Building Code and the National Electrical Code, and issues no contractor credential; demolition permits come from City of Owensboro Public Works. A commercial builder registers with the city's Occupational License Division before doing business inside the city limits, with a minimum license fee of $75 at registration. 101 East 4th Street, 270-687-5600.

Covington and Kenton County (Northern Kentucky). Planning and Development Services of Kenton County is the building department, and it requires that "all contractors must obtain and maintain a Kenton County occupational license and provide proof of Kentucky workers' compensation insurance coverage", plus the HBC state license "for electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and fire suppression work", with copies of all of it on file "before any permits can be issued." There is no general contractor license, exam or bond. In Covington a zoning permit precedes the building permit, and a certificate of appropriateness is needed first inside a historic preservation overlay. PDS, 1840 Simon Kenton Way, Suite 3400, Covington, 859-331-8980.

What does and does not travel. An out-of-state general contractor license, a NASCLA Accredited Examination and out-of-state project experience carry no weight in any Kentucky jurisdiction, because none of them tests or qualifies commercial builders. Kentucky is not a NASCLA participating state, and no Kentucky city on this page accepts an examination in place of its own filing. What does matter is holding, or employing someone who holds, the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction license for each state-licensed trade in scope - plumbing, electrical, HVAC, boilers, fire sprinklers and fire alarms - because those licenses are statewide, are the only Kentucky construction credentials with reciprocity rules of their own, and are separately demanded by several of the local building departments above.

Moving to KentuckyLeaving Kentucky

Common questions

Do I have to take the Louisiana general contractor exam if I'm licensed in Kentucky?
The trade exam is waived, but Louisiana requires a law or code exam.
Do my Kentucky work hours count in Louisiana?
No. Louisiana does not credit out-of-state hours on this path.
Does it work the other way, from Louisiana to Kentucky?
Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Louisiana to Kentucky, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

  1. LSLBC notice to State Regulatory Agencies, 23 October 2024 - Louisiana Examination Reciprocity · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  2. LSLBC Online Application Instructions, revised 21 November 2025 · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Form · verified September 17, 2026
  3. License Application Questions (complete list of questions on the online application) - LSLBC · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  4. Checklist of Items Required for Initial License and to Maintain License - LSLBC · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  5. Exams / Classifications (classification list) - LSLBC · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  6. FAQ - Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Faq · verified September 17, 2026
  7. LSLBC Financial Statement form, revised 10 September 2025 · La. R.S. 37:2156.1(B) · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Form · verified September 17, 2026
  8. Contractors Licensing Law - La. R.S. 37 Chapter 24 and Rules & Regulations, effective 1 August 2026 · La. R.S. 37:2150.1, 2153(F)(5), 2156(C)-(D), 2156.1(B), (D), (E), (F), 2160(D); LAC 46:XXIX.111, .301, .2244 · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
  9. Licensing Requirements for Contractors in Louisiana (LSLBC public brochure) · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  10. LSLBC Next Steps in the Application & Qualifying Party Process · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Form · verified September 17, 2026
  11. Reciprocity - Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  12. LSLBC Reciprocity Request (For Licensure in Louisiana), revised 9 September 2025 · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Form · verified September 17, 2026
  13. Test Registration and Scheduling (PSI) - LSLBC · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  14. Types of Licenses - Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  15. NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors · National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies · Other · verified September 17, 2026

Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.

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