Nebraska to North Dakota: general contractor license reciprocity

1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($450). License fee for a class A license, which carries no limitation on the value of any single contract project. The other classes are cheaper because they are capped: class B $300 up to $500,000 per job, class C $225 up to $300,000 per job and class D $100 up to $100,000 per job. Renewal is $90 for class A and $60, $45 or $30 for classes B, C and D. A contractor may apply at renewal for a different class than the one previously held by paying the issue fee for the new class. A name change costs $10 and must be reported to the registrar within ten days..
2. 2Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Certificate of liability insurance filed with the application, issued in the same name the contractor license is requested in and listing the North Dakota Secretary of State, 600 E Boulevard Ave, Dept 108, Bismarck, ND 58505, as the certificate holder. No minimum policy limit is set in the statute or published on the Secretary of State's page, so the state does not publish one; ask the Secretary of State on 701-328-2900 or 800-352-0867 what its reviewers accept, and expect owners, lenders and construction managers on commercial work to require far higher limits by contract. Coverage must be maintained and refiled at renewal; failing to maintain it puts the license out of good standing and leads to revocation if it is not cured within thirty days..
3. 3Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Workforce Safety and Insurance coverage, evidenced by a statement from WSI that coverage satisfactory to WSI has been secured. A contractor with employees residing in North Dakota files a current WSI certificate of payment; a contractor with no North Dakota resident employees who does not meet the tests of significant contact files a WSI letter of good standing instead. At renewal the contractor certifies that all payroll taxes, including North Dakota income tax, WSI premiums and unemployment insurance premiums due at the time of renewal have been submitted..
4. 4Business license. Obtain a business license. Business registration with the Secretary of State, completed before the license application because the name on the application must match the business registration. A corporation, limited liability company or other entity must register, an out-of-state company registers as a foreign corporation, LLC, LLP or limited partnership, and a sole proprietor or general partnership may need a trade name or fictitious partnership name registration. Letting any of those registrations lapse is a listed ground for the registrar to classify the contractor license as not in good standing, which requires the contractor to stop soliciting or entering new projects and leads to revocation if it is not cured within thirty days..
5. 5Financial responsibility. Show financial responsibility (if applicable). North Dakota requires no financial statement, net worth figure, working capital figure or credit report for a contractor license at any class, including class A. The class letter is a cap on the value of a single contract project that the applicant selects and pays for, not a financial qualification the registrar assesses. Public owners may impose their own financial and prequalification conditions on top of the license: any administrative or governing body with power to enter public contracts may set reasonable additional requirements as a condition of awarding a public works contract..
6. 6Background check. Complete a background check (if applicable). Not part of the standard filing. The registrar may require any other information needed to determine eligibility to act as a contractor, expressly including criminal history record information about the applicant or the officers, members or partners of a business applicant, held by the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation or a similar agency in another state, at the applicant's expense. Failing or refusing to authorize or pay for that information is a ground to refuse the license..
7. 7Surety bond. Post a surety bond (if applicable). No surety bond is required for the contractor license itself; the bond section of the contractor statute was repealed in 1995. Bonding is still a fact of commercial life in North Dakota: a bid for a public contract project must enclose a copy of the license in the bid bond envelope, public owners may impose their own bonding conditions, and private owners and lenders commonly require performance and payment bonds by contract..
8. 8Other. Ongoing obligations once licensed. The license number must be supplied to the permit-issuing official on every building permit application. A public contract with the state or any political subdivision additionally requires a certificate from the tax commissioner showing no delinquent income, sales or use taxes. The license runs to the end of the contractor year on March 1 and is renewed by filing a list of every project, contract or subcontract over $50,000 completed in North Dakota in the preceding calendar year, the nature of that work, a current liability insurance certificate and the payroll tax certification, with the renewal fee; that project list is forwarded to the state tax commissioner. Missing the March 1 deadline leaves the contractor unlicensed until they renew, which is possible until June 1 on payment of a $50 penalty plus the renewal fee, after which the license is expired..

Published fees on this path total $450, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.