Do I have to take the North Dakota residential contractor exam if I'm licensed in Missouri?

No. The trade exam is waived on this path.

What does it cost to get a North Dakota residential contractor license from Missouri?

Published fees on this path total $300, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my Missouri work hours count in North Dakota?

No. North Dakota does not credit out-of-state hours on this path.

Does it work the other way, from North Dakota to Missouri?

Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from North Dakota to Missouri, the mechanism is not applicable.

Missouri to North Dakota: residential contractor license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 17, 2026· 4 sources

Missouri does not issue a statewide residential contractor license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is North Dakota'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.

Contractor license for every applicant, wherever they come from (all states)

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

A contractor license from another state counts for nothing in North Dakota, and it is not needed, because North Dakota asks nothing of a homebuilder that another state's license could stand in for. The application is a sworn form naming the class of license sought, a signed statement of the applicant's own experience and qualifications, a certificate of liability insurance with the Secretary of State named as certificate holder, a Workforce Safety and Insurance certificate of payment or letter of good standing, and the class fee. There is no trade examination, no business and law examination, no experience minimum, no bond and no net worth test, so there is nothing an arriving builder can have waived and nothing that documented out-of-state years can shorten. A contractor based outside North Dakota applies on exactly the same terms as a resident and does not have to move here, but by signing the application a nonresident appoints the registrar as their agent for service of process unless they are a foreign corporation, limited liability company or partnership already registered in the state with a registered agent on file. The Secretary of State publishes no reciprocity agreement and no endorsement route for the contractor license.

Two things that look like routes are not. First, the only appearance of the word reciprocal in the contractor chapter, NDCC 43-07-22, lets the labor commissioner make reciprocal arrangements with another state over the North Dakota resident hiring preference on public construction contracts; it is about who a contractor employs, it is administered by the labor commissioner rather than the registrar, and it has no bearing on who gets a license. Second, North Dakota does not accept the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors and is not among the agencies listed as participating in it, which is unsurprising because there is no North Dakota contractor examination for it to replace. Out-of-state experience does matter in one narrow sense: the sworn statement of experience and qualifications is part of the application, and the registrar may deny a license if the application contains false or misleading information, so describe real work honestly whichever state it was performed in. The registrar may also require criminal history record information, at the applicant's expense, from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation or a similar agency in another state. Picking a class is a business decision rather than a skill grading: the class letter caps the value of any single contract project, it can be changed at renewal by paying the new class's issue fee, and on public work a contract may not be awarded unless the contractor holds a license in the class the project's value falls within, held at least ten days before the bid date, with a copy of the license enclosed in the bid bond envelope.

At a glance

Trade exam: Waived
Law / code exam: Not required
Out-of-state hours: Do not count

What you must already have

No examination, minimum experience, apprenticeship, education, continuing education or qualifying party is required of anyone. A builder with thirty years and an unlimited license in another state and a builder with no credential at all face identical requirements; the only difference either can make is the class of license applied for, which is set by contract value and not by qualification.NDCC 43-07-04(1) is the complete list of what an applicant must submit and none of it is a competency test. NDCC 43-07-05, the old classes-of-licenses section, was repealed in 2015 and the class limits now sit in 43-07-07(1). The Secretary of State's contractor page prints no examination, no experience figure and no qualifying-party nomination.
The applicant must be eighteen years of age or older and must sign the application under oath, including a statement of their own experience and qualifications as a contractor. North Dakota sets no minimum for that experience and does not verify it against another state's license.NDCC 43-07-04(1). The Secretary of State's page states that 'the application will require you to sign a statement of your experience and qualifications as a contractor'; neither the statute nor the page attaches any threshold to it.
You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.NDCC 43-07-04.1. A conviction is not an automatic bar: it disqualifies only if the person is not sufficiently rehabilitated under NDCC 12.1-33-02.1, and a denial may be appealed to the district court of the applicant's county of residence or of Burleigh County. A contractor whose license has been revoked may not be relicensed for up to five years, and a civil penalty or restitution ordered by the registrar must be paid before any new license issues.

What you'll do to get licensed in North Dakota

1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($300). License fee, set by the class applied for rather than by the work performed: class A $450 with no limit on the value of a single contract project, 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. The $300 shown here is the class B fee, the class most single-family builders and remodelers file under; pick the class that covers the largest contract you expect to sign and pay that fee instead if it differs. Renewal is $90, $60, $45 or $30 for the same classes. A nonprofit that builds or rehabilitates a single-family dwelling to be given away or sold below appraised value to a low-income person pays no license or renewal fee. A name change costs $10 and must be reported within ten days..
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. Neither the statute nor the Secretary of State's page sets a minimum policy limit, so the state does not publish one; ask the Secretary of State on 701-328-2900 or 800-352-0867 what its reviewers accept before buying a policy, and expect owners, lenders and general contractors to require higher limits by contract in any case. The coverage has to stay in place: a contractor who does not maintain it is classified as not in good standing and, if the lapse is not cured within thirty days, the license is revoked..
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 letter of good standing from WSI instead. Instructions for obtaining either document are in the FirstStop portal. At renewal the contractor certifies that all payroll taxes, WSI premiums and unemployment insurance premiums due have been paid..
4Business license. Obtain a business license. Business registration with the Secretary of State, taken care of before the license application because the name on the license application must match it. A sole proprietor may need to register a trade name and a general partnership a fictitious partnership name; a corporation, limited liability company or any other business structure must register, and an out-of-state entity registers as a foreign corporation, LLC, LLP or limited partnership. Keeping that registration active is a condition of the contractor license staying in good standing: letting a trade name, fictitious name, corporate, LLC or partnership registration lapse is a listed ground for the registrar to classify the license as not in good standing and then revoke it..
5Background check. Complete a background check (if applicable). Not part of the standard filing. The registrar may require any other information needed to decide whether an applicant is eligible to act as a contractor, and that expressly includes 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, obtained at the applicant's expense. Refusing to authorize or pay for criminal history information the registrar has asked for is a ground to refuse the license..
6Surety bond. Post a surety bond (if applicable). North Dakota requires no surety bond for a contractor license. The contractor's bond section of the statute was repealed in 1995 and nothing replaced it. Bonds still appear on public work, where a bid for a public contract project must enclose a copy of the license in the bid bond envelope and the awarding body may impose its own conditions, and lenders or owners may require performance and payment bonds by contract on private work..
7Other. Ongoing obligations once licensed. The license number must be given to the permit-issuing official whenever a building permit is applied for, and an owner building on their own property must supply the license number of each subcontractor engaged on the permitted work. The license runs to the end of the contractor year on March 1 and must be renewed on or before that date by filing a list of every project, contract or subcontract over $50,000 completed in North Dakota during the preceding calendar year, a current certificate of liability insurance and the payroll tax certification, with the renewal fee. A contractor who misses the deadline is treated as unlicensed and has until June 1 to renew by paying a $50 penalty on top of the renewal fee; after June 1 the license is expired. A license first issued in January or February runs through March 1 of the following year..

Published fees on this path total $300, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

What you'll need to buy or arrange

Liability insurance

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

Insurance
Insurance

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

Surety bond

A license or contractor bond is bought from a surety, not the state. Price is a small percentage of the bond amount and depends on your credit.

Surety bond · if applicable

How North Dakota licenses residential contractors

North Dakota residential contractor · “Contractor License, class A, B, C or D by single-project value”

Statewide license

Verified September 17, 2026· 3 sources

Issued by North Dakota Secretary of State (Registrar of Contractors)

North Dakota licenses contractors through the Secretary of State, who is the registrar of contractors, and one license covers house building and commercial building alike: there is no separate residential builder or remodeler credential. Anyone whose job exceeds $4,000 in cost, value or price must hold the license before doing the work, and an unlicensed contractor cannot maintain a claim, action or lawsuit in a North Dakota court arising from the contracting business. The license is graded into four classes by the value of a single contract project and by nothing else: class D up to $100,000, class C up to $300,000, class B up to $500,000, and class A with no limit at all. A homebuilder picks the class that covers the largest contract they expect to sign, pays that class's fee, and may move to a different class at renewal by paying the new class's issue fee. It is a filing keyed to insurance rather than a test of skill: there is no examination, no minimum experience, no continuing education, no surety bond, no financial statement and no qualifying party, and the license is issued in the name of the person or business that signs the contracts, which must match the name registered with the Secretary of State. Skilled trades are licensed separately, so a builder who self-performs electrical or plumbing work also needs a license from the North Dakota State Electrical Board or the North Dakota State Plumbing Board.

Moving to North Dakota Leaving North Dakota

Why Missouri has nothing to transfer

Missouri residential contractor · “Residential Building Contractor / Class C general contractor / construction business license (city-issued)”

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 17, 2026· 19 sources

Issued by No state authority; cities and counties license, register or exempt residential contractors

Missouri issues no statewide residential contractor, home builder or remodeler license. The Division of Professional Registration's own list of regulated professions contains exactly one construction trade - Electrical Contractors - and Title XXII of the Revised Statutes, which holds every occupational licensing chapter from 324 to 346, has no chapter for contractors or builders at all. The one statewide construction credential Missouri does offer is the voluntary electrical contractor license under RSMo 324.900 to 324.945, and its own definitions confine it to electrical contracting; there is no building-contractor equivalent, so a residential builder has nothing at state level to apply for or transfer. Plumbers are examined by cities over 15,000 people and by first-classification counties under RSMo chapter 341, again locally rather than by a state board. Housebuilding is therefore regulated jurisdiction by jurisdiction, and Missouri splits sharply in two: Kansas City and Independence run genuine competency programs built on ICC or Prometric examinations, while St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Springfield, Columbia and Jefferson City ask a residential builder for nothing more than a business license and proof of workers' compensation. A contractor moving to Missouri qualifies separately in each place where permits will be pulled, and in the two testing cities the credential that actually travels is a passing score on a recognized national residential-builder examination rather than another state's license.

How local licensing works in Missouri

How it works in Missouri. There is no state contractor board, no state application and no state exam. Each city or county writes its own ordinance, so a builder holds whatever the local jurisdiction requires everywhere it works, and a credential from one Missouri city does not carry into the next of its own force. The single statewide preemption in Missouri construction law is the electrical one: RSMo 324.925 forces every political subdivision to recognize a statewide electrical contractor license and bars it from testing that holder's electrical proficiency. Nothing equivalent exists for builders, and the statute expressly leaves cities free to license and examine in other trades. What that produces is two very different kinds of place. In Kansas City and Independence a residential builder is examined and personally qualified. In St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Springfield, Columbia and Jefferson City the trades are examined and the builder is not - the builder simply buys a business license.

Kansas City. City Planning & Development runs a two-part system under Article XII of the Kansas City Building and Rehabilitation Code, and it is the only place in Missouri with a purpose-built residential builder credential. An individual first earns the Residential Building Supervisor certificate of qualification, which covers "constructing, structurally altering or enlarging any one- or two-family detached dwelling or townhouse including detached accessory buildings in excess of 400 square feet." The applicant files an application with a $60.00 nonrefundable fee and "shall earn a passing score on one of the two recognized exams administered for Kansas City, Missouri: the residential construction (10344) examination administered by Prometric or the standard residential building contractor (W13) examination administered by ICC." The exam is waived where the applicant holds "a passing score on a standard Prometric or ICC examination or other department-approved national testing agency examination comparable in content," documented to the Building Official's satisfaction - and the city states outright that it built the program to match Independence and Johnson County, so "if you have passed a residential builder exam in either of these jurisdictions, you will not be required to retest," and continuing education hours earned there count toward renewal. Being a Missouri-registered engineer or architect does not substitute for the exam. The company then applies for the Residential Building Contractor license, which needs a full-time managerial employee holding the supervisor certificate (the owner may be that person), a business license from the Finance Department, a current Missouri Secretary of State registration and a certificate of insurance carrying at least a $1,000,000 aggregate limit per occurrence and naming the City of Kansas City as additional insured. Fees are $60.00 to apply and $181.00 to issue, with $181.00 quadrennial renewals on both the license and the certificate; the certificate itself is free for its first four years. Applications go through CompassKC; [email protected], (816) 513-1500.

Independence. The city licenses the individual, not the company: "contractor licenses belong to the licensed individual, NOT a company," and "anyone hired to complete permittable work within the City of Independence" needs one. The residential tier is the Class C general contractor license, described as residential only, and the license "covers framing, footings, and general construction." Qualification is one of three things: ICC or Prometric test scores from within the last five years at 75 percent or better; "a current, active license with a jurisdiction that we reciprocate with," which the city defines broadly as "any jurisdiction that issues licenses in a similar fashion"; or, for a general contractor license, a bachelor's degree in engineering, architecture or construction science from an accredited college or university. Licenses expire on December 31 every year with no proration. A business license shows you may trade in the city; the contractor license shows you are qualified to do the work, and you need both. Authorized users may be added to a license, but the holder answers for their work. [email protected], (816) 325-7401.

St. Louis City. The Building Division operates four boards of examiners - electrical, mechanical contractors and pipefitters, plumbers and drainlayers, and sprinkler system contractors - and none of them touches building contractors. A residential builder needs a construction or contracting business license from the License Collector: a state tax number, the application form, clearance from the Collector of Revenue, an occupancy permit from the Building Division, and proof of workers' compensation coverage or a signed statement that the law does not require it. The city also requires that "all general contractors ... furnish a list of the sub-contractors on any job to the License Collector." No exam, experience or bond applies. Building Division, City Hall Room 425, 1200 Market St., (314) 622-3313.

St. Louis County. The county is explicit: "the County does not license general contractors," though it "does verify that out-of-state contractors are registered with the state," and it "does register all repair contractors that obtain permits for repairs from a natural disaster such as a flood or severe storm." What it does license is the trades, through Transportation and Public Works: electrical licensing, mechanical licensing (four contractor categories under the county Mechanical Code) and plumbing licensing, each with its own board, and "the County only issues trade permits to licensed contractors." A homebuilder in unincorporated St. Louis County therefore pulls permits without a county builder credential but must use licensed trade contractors. 41 South Central Ave., 6th Floor, Clayton, 314-615-5184. Note that most of the county's ninety-odd municipalities run their own building departments, so check the city as well.

Springfield. Building Development Services will not issue a permit until "a City-licensed General Contractor (GC) or Trade Master (TM) ... is listed on the permit," so the credential is mandatory - but it is a business license, obtained from the License Division, not a tested qualification. Springfield's testing program covers the crafts only: "electricians, plumbers, gas fitters, and mechanical craftsmen must be tested and certified to afford competence and knowledge of the codes," and those trades may substitute an out-of-jurisdiction exam score of 75 percent or better from Prometric, Experior, Block or ICC where the examination is identical to Springfield's. Contractors who carry workers' compensation file proof of it; those who are not required to carry it sign a notarized exemption statement. Permit desk 417-864-1585, License Division 417-864-1617.

Columbia. Community Development's Building and Site Development division licenses trades only - Trade Apprentice, Electrical Certification, Mechanical Certification and Plumbing Certification - because "electricians, plumbers, gas fitters and mechanical craftsman must be tested and certified," with the tests "administered by a private testing firm according to a regular schedule." There is no builder certification and no board of building examiners. A residential contractor takes out a city business license instead: $0.25 per $1,000 of gross receipts with a $75 annual minimum, a $10,000 annual maximum and a $45 application fee, plus a certificate of workers' compensation insurance for any construction business with one or more employees. Business License Division 573-874-7378.

Jefferson City. "All contractors performing work in Jefferson City must have a local license," but the split is the same as elsewhere: "electrical and plumbing contractors and their employees are required to obtain specific trade licenses directly from the Building Regulations Division," while "all other contractors are directed to the Business License Division to obtain their business license." A residential builder therefore files for the business license and takes no examination. Building Regulations (573) 634-6410, Business License Division (573) 634-6322.

Everywhere else. Missouri's other cities and counties set their own rules, and many require nothing but a permit and proof of insurance. Ask each building department what it licenses before you contract there. If you plan to sit an examination anywhere in Missouri, the practical move is the ICC standard residential building contractor (W13) or the Prometric residential construction (10344) paper, because those are the two Kansas City names outright and the same scores satisfy Independence, and a passing result documented from an approved agency is the nearest thing Missouri has to a transferable builder credential.

Moving to Missouri Leaving Missouri

Common questions

Do I have to take the North Dakota residential contractor exam if I'm licensed in Missouri?: No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
What does it cost to get a North Dakota residential contractor license from Missouri?: Published fees on this path total $300, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Missouri work hours count in North Dakota?: No. North Dakota does not credit out-of-state hours on this path.
Does it work the other way, from North Dakota to Missouri?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from North Dakota to Missouri, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors · National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies · Other · verified September 17, 2026
North Dakota Century Code Chapter 43-07 - Contractors · NDCC 43-07-01, 43-07-02, 43-07-04, 43-07-04.1, 43-07-07, 43-07-08, 43-07-09, 43-07-10, 43-07-11, 43-07-12, 43-07-19, 43-07-22, 43-07-24 · North Dakota Legislative Branch · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
North Dakota State Electrical Board - Home (license types and reciprocal license agreements) · North Dakota State Electrical Board · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
North Dakota Secretary of State - Contractors (licensing, classes, fees and renewal) · NDCC ch. 43-07 · North Dakota Secretary of State · Agency Page · 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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