LicensebyState

South Dakota to Utah: residential contractor license reciprocity

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

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

Applicants from jurisdictions DOPL has not determined equivalent, including the NASCLA examination route (all other states)

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

An applicant whose home jurisdiction is not shown in green on DOPL’s Endorsement to Utah: Contractor map takes the ordinary route, which for R100 involves no trade examination at all. The qualifier completes an approved 25-hour pre-licensure course plus the five-hour Business and Law course, passes the Utah Contractor Business and Law examination through Prov, and shows two years, meaning 4,000 hours, of paid work experience in the construction industry. That experience travels freely: it counts wherever it was earned, whether the qualifier was paid as a W-2 employee or as an owner and whether the work was licensed or exempt, and it is self-certified on the application rather than verified by an employer, so out-of-state years are not lost. A qualifier who has passed the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors does not have to document the two years at all: Utah Admin. Code R156-55a-302b(2)(b)(i) accepts a passing NASCLA score in place of the experience requirement for every general classification, R100 included, and the application has a box for it. A Construction Management degree or an active Utah professional engineer license does the same. NASCLA does not remove the Business and Law examination or the pre-licensure courses. Where the origin jurisdiction issues no equivalent state-wide license, DOPL will still look at a city or county license, or a non-equivalent state license, as evidence towards Utah’s qualifications if the applicant files a verification showing the hours, examinations and other qualifications behind it.

Two things on DOPL’s published materials do not line up, and both are worth a phone call to the Division on (801) 530-6628 before paying any fee. First, the Apply for a General Contractor License page lists, as an alternative to the Business and Law examination, "One (1) year of licensed experience working in another State, District or Territory of the U.S. in the similar scope of practice sought in Utah if the license is currently active and in good standing", with no mention of an equivalency list, while Utah Admin. Code R156-55a-302a(3) waives that examination only "for an applicant for licensure by endorsement under Section 58-1-302" and the application checklist limits endorsement to "a jurisdiction determined equivalent to Utah" on a map last updated 21 September 2020. Second, the current rule and both apply pages set general liability cover at $1,000,000 each incident and $2,000,000 in total, while the March 2026 application form prints a $3,000,000 aggregate. On the map itself, the jurisdictions shaded yellow as "Limited to Specific Classifications" (Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia) are ones DOPL says do not license contractors generally but may license a specific specialty such as electrical, plumbing, HVAC or elevator work, which is not an equivalent to a R100 license; the jurisdictions shaded grey as having no equivalent license are Kansas, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. Utah Code 58-1-302(2) is written state-neutrally and turns on scope of practice rather than on any named partner, and the map ends by inviting applicants to contact the Division if licensure laws have changed, so an applicant from a yellow or grey jurisdiction holding a license of genuinely similar scope can ask DOPL to look again.

At a glance

Trade exam
Waived
Law / code exam
Required
Out-of-state hours
Count toward eligibility

What you must already have

  • You must document at least 4,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Utah Admin. Code R156-55a-302b(1) reads the requirement broadly: experience counts whether the qualifier was paid as a W-2 employee or as an owner and whether the work was licensed or exempt, and it includes construction work done in the military or for a railroad corporation and work done under a construction trades instructor as part of an educational program. It need not be supervisory and need not match the classification sought. An applicant who is a building inspector may substitute two years as a building inspector including one year as a licensed combination inspector, and an E100 applicant needs four years instead.
  • You must have passed a licensing exam in South Dakota that the destination considers comparable.Utah Admin. Code R156-55a-302b(2)(b)(i) states that a passing NASCLA score satisfies the experience requirement in Utah Code 58-55-302(1)(e)(ii)(A), and DOPL’s contracting FAQ repeats it in the same words. The rule is written for the general classifications as a group rather than for B100 alone, and both the apply page and the qualifier affidavit offer the NASCLA box to every general classification applicant, so it is available at this residential level too. NASCLA is an examination credential, not a license and not an interstate agreement, so any applicant may use it whatever state they come from. It waives nothing else: the pre-licensure courses, the Utah Contractor Business and Law examination, insurance, financial responsibility, registration, background checks and fees all still apply.
  • The qualifier must be either an owner of at least 20 per cent of the licensee or a W-2 employee in a management position, and must be paid for at least 12 hours of work a week for the licensee. A qualifier may not qualify more than three licensees at one time without the written approval of the Commission and the Division.

What you'll do to get licensed in Utah

  1. 1Other. Approved pre-licensure education completed by the qualifier before applying: a 25-hour pre-licensure course plus the five-hour Business and Law course, 30 hours in total for a general classification. DOPL accepts the course only from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the Utah Home Builders Association (UHBA) or the Associated General Contractors of Utah (AGC); a qualifier who completed the 25-hour course before 1 October 2019 does not need the extra five hours. The Division does not publish the providers’ course prices, so ask the provider..
  2. 2Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. Utah Contractor Business and Law examination, taken by the qualifier through Prov either at one of 21 Utah test centers or remotely through Prov’s Examroom service. It is 60 questions in two hours, open reference, and the cut score is 70 per cent; the subject areas are business organization, licensing, estimating and bidding, contract management, project management, labor laws, lien laws, financial management, risk management, tax laws and safety. No DOPL pre-approval is needed to sit it, and a failed attempt may be retaken after 30 days for each of the first three failures and after six months for any failure after that. Pass before submitting the application..
  3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($85). Prov examination fee for the Utah Contractor Business and Law exam, paid to Prov and charged again for each retake..
  4. 4Application fee. Pay the application fee ($175). Non-refundable DOPL application processing fee of $175 for each classification requested (application version v20260327). A contractor asking for more than one classification pays it more than once..
  5. 5Application fee. Pay the application fee ($50). Non-refundable DOPL application processing fee of $50 for each qualifier named on the application..
  6. 6Application fee. Pay the application fee ($1). Electronic Reference Library surcharge of $1, collected on every application to fund licensee access to national, state and local building codes and standards. An unincorporated applicant also pays $20 for each owner holding less than 8 per cent, filed with the Appendix F Owner-Worker Status Report..
  7. 7Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($1,000,000). General liability insurance certificate naming DOPL as certificate holder, covering the whole scope of work on the license and in force for the entire duration of active licensure. Utah Admin. Code R156-55a-302d and both DOPL apply pages set the minimum at $1,000,000 for each incident and $2,000,000 in total; the March 2026 application form prints $3,000,000 as the aggregate, so confirm the figure with the Division on (801) 530-6628 before binding cover. The cover must be kept up even while the contractor is not working, unless the license is placed on inactive status..
  8. 8Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Workers’ compensation insurance naming DOPL as certificate holder if the applicant has employees or owner-workers holding less than 8 per cent, together with a Utah State Tax Commission withholding account number and a Department of Workforce Services unemployment registration number, or a signed contract with an approved Professional Employer Organization. An applicant with no employees files a Workers’ Compensation Coverage Waiver from the Utah Labor Commission instead and must tell DOPL in writing before any employee starts work..
  9. 9Financial responsibility. Show financial responsibility. Satisfactory evidence of financial responsibility. Utah Code 58-55-306 lets this be shown by completing and signing the Division’s financial responsibility questionnaire, which asks about judgments, liens, tax liens and child support delinquencies in the past eight years and bankruptcy in the past seven, or by posting a bond. DOPL publishes no minimum net worth, working capital or credit score, and it may audit at random or on reasonable need, weighing judgments, restitution orders, collection actions, bankruptcy schedules, late payment history, financial statements, tax returns and a current credit report. For an unincorporated applicant the Division considers each owner’s personal finances..
  10. 10Surety bond. Post a surety bond ($25,000) (if applicable). License bond, required only where the Division is not satisfied that financial responsibility has been demonstrated. Under Utah Admin. Code R156-55a-602 the minimum is then the greater of 30 per cent of the cumulative outstanding debts, judgments, liens and obligations of the entity, its owners and qualifiers, or $25,000 for the R100 classification. A bankruptcy filed, pending or discharged within three years instead sets it at 30 per cent of the total liabilities scheduled with the bankruptcy court. The surety must appear in Treasury Circular 570, the bond runs until DOPL gives written permission to drop it, and the Commission may set a higher or, on clear and convincing evidence, a lower amount..
  11. 11Business license. Obtain a business license. Registration with the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code for any corporation, LLC, LLP or partnership, including an out-of-state entity, plus a federal Employer Identification Number; a sole proprietor may use a Social Security number and is licensed in their own given name. The license is issued in the registered legal name, business must be done in that name unless a DBA owned by the licensee is separately filed with DOPL, and if the corporate registration lapses the contractor license expires with it by statute..
  12. 12Background check. Complete a background check. Criminal background check under Utah Code 58-1-301.5 consented to and completed by the qualifier and by every individual holding at least a 10 per cent voting interest in the applicant, with disclosure of any criminal history the Division asks for. A yes answer on the qualifying questionnaire about discipline, pending criminal action, a misdemeanour in the past ten years or a felony at any time brings a requirement to file a personal account, police reports, court records and probation or parole reports for each incident..
  13. 13Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Six hours of approved continuing education in each two-year license term, of which at least three must be core education and at least three must be live in-class attendance, with no more than three hours online, and at least one hour in energy conservation. It is a condition of renewal rather than of getting the license. Licenses expire on 30 November of each odd-numbered year..

Published fees on this path total $311, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

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.

  • Other
  • Law / code exam
  • Exam fee · $85

Liability insurance

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

  • Insurance · $1,000,000
  • Insurance

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 · $25,000 · if applicable

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

Continuing education

Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.

  • Continuing education

How Utah licenses residential contractors

Utah residential contractor · “R100 Residential and Small Commercial Contractor”

Statewide license

Verified September 17, 2026· 10 sources

Issued by Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL)

Utah licenses contractors statewide through the Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) under the Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act, Utah Code 58-55, and Rule R156-55a, and the homes tier is the R100 Residential and Small Commercial Contractor classification. Utah Code 58-55-102(42) defines it as the construction of single-family residences, multifamily residences up to four units, and commercial construction of not more than three stories above ground and not more than 20,000 square feet, together with any component of that construction except plumbing, electrical, mechanical and manufactured housing work, for which an R100 must employ a contractor licensed in the specialty; on single-family and multifamily residences up to four units the R100 may perform the mechanical work and employ a licensed plumber or electrician. Anything larger needs B100 General Building Contractor, and fixed works needing specialized engineering knowledge need E100 General Engineering Contractor. Smaller jobs can instead be taken under the specialty classifications, which need no experience and no examination: R101 Residential and Small Commercial Non-Structural Remodel and Repair (which may not be combined with any other specialty), R200 Factory Built Housing, B200 Modular Unit Installation and the S-series such as S220 Carpentry and Flooring, S270 Drywall, Paint and Plastering and S280 Roofing. The license belongs to the business, not the person: the entity applies and names a qualifier, an owner of at least 20 per cent or a W-2 employee in a management position paid for at least 12 hours a week, and that qualifier is the one who satisfies the course, experience and examination requirements. There is no Utah trade examination for R100; the only DOPL examination is the Utah Contractor Business and Law exam. Licenses expire on 30 November of each odd-numbered year and renewal takes six hours of continuing education.

Moving to UtahLeaving Utah

Why South Dakota has nothing to transfer

South Dakota residential contractor

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 17, 2026· 11 sources

South Dakota issues no state residential contractor, home builder or remodeler license, and no state board examines or qualifies people who build houses. The Department of Labor and Regulation's list of occupational licensing agencies contains an Electrical Commission, a Plumbing Commission and a Board of Technical Professions for architects and engineers, and no contractor board of any kind, so a builder who self-performs electrical or plumbing work needs the matching state license and everything else is local. Cities decide who may build houses inside their limits, and the four largest programs are quite different from one another: Sioux Falls requires a Residential Building Contractor's license with its own written examination, a $20,000 compliance bond and $300,000 of liability insurance; Rapid City issues a Class B residential contractor license on a city examination; Aberdeen licenses residential contractors after an open-book examination and a City Council vote; Brookings issues an annual residential contractor license on insurance and a $75 fee with no examination at all. Separately from any of that, every contractor working anywhere in South Dakota must hold a contractor's excise tax license from the Department of Revenue before starting work, which is free and is a tax registration rather than a test of skill. A builder moving to South Dakota therefore has no state license to transfer and no state reciprocity to apply for: the work is registering for the excise tax license and then qualifying city by city, and only Aberdeen offers any credit for a license held elsewhere.

How local licensing works in South Dakota

How it works in South Dakota. There is no state contractor license, no state application and no state examination, so nothing carries automatically from one South Dakota city to the next, let alone from another state. What every contractor does need before starting work anywhere in the state is a contractor's excise tax license from the Department of Revenue: 'an individual must be licensed before starting work in South Dakota' and 'all contractors must be licensed regardless of the amount of the receipts they have or the amount of tax due.' There is no fee for it, the excise tax itself is 2% of a prime contractor's gross receipts, and three of the four cities below want to see a copy of the license card before they will issue a city license. Get that first, then take each city in turn.

Sioux Falls. Building Services 'requires a Residential Building Contractor's License of all contractors doing work on residential 1- & 2-family dwellings and townhomes within the city limits', and the examples it gives run from sheds, decks, shingles and sheetrock to basement finishing and new construction. The license is held through a named Construction Supervisor, who must first pass the Construction Supervisor Examination: a timed open-book test on the City of Sioux Falls Residential Code Handbook, offered monthly, 50 questions, 'You must get 80% or higher to pass the test, therefore a maximum of 10 of the 50 questions may be incorrect.' The examination fee is $75.00 and the handbook is $10.00. 'Upon application the Construction Supervisor must submit a $20,000 Compliance Bond, a minimum of $300,000 general liability insurance and the appropriate license fees within 90 days of examination.' Licenses run three years, one hour of continuing education is required in each cycle, and a license expired more than twelve months means sitting the examination again unless an inactive license was maintained. On out-of-state credentials the city is blunt: 'No, the city of Sioux Falls does not reciprocate any licenses. You will still need to take and pass examination before applying for the license.' The city does not print the license fee itself on the page, so ask licensing on 605-367-8672 what to send with the bond and the certificate. Sioux Falls also issues a separate Residential Roofing & Repair Contractor license and separate electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fireplace, refrigeration, irrigation, right-of-way and sign licenses.

Rapid City. Building Services licenses a Class B contractor 'for construction of detached single-family houses, attached single family houses and two-family dwellings', on a city-administered open-book examination based on the 2018 International Residential Code and the Rapid City amendments, 54 multiple choice questions in three hours, sat at City Hall. The license costs $200 initially and $100 to renew, runs three years and carries six hours of continuing education per period. Every applicant files a certificate of insurance naming the City of Rapid City as certificate holder and nothing else is accepted, with minimum general aggregate liability of $1,000,000, $300,000 fire damage and $1,000,000 each occurrence, plus a workers' compensation certificate or a signed statement of non-participation for an owner or partnership with no employees. A copy of the state excise tax certificate goes in the packet. Roofing is a separate Class R license, also $200 for three years, on a 12-question examination. A licensee who misses renewal has a one-year grace period, after which the license lapses and the examination must be taken again. Building Services is on (605) 394-4120.

Aberdeen. The city is explicit that location makes no difference to whether you need its license: 'Whether you are based in the City of Aberdeen itself, a different city within South Dakota, or you are based out of a completely different state all together, you must be licensed through the City of Aberdeen.' The examination is 50 questions, open book, two hours, with a passing score of 70%, studied from The Contractors Handbook at $15, and '$35 fee will be charged every time an exam is attempted or passed.' Aberdeen is the one place in the state that gives any weight to a license held elsewhere: 'the examination requirement may be waived if proof of prior licensing from recognized jurisdictions is approved by the City of Aberdeen's Building Official.' No jurisdiction is named on the handout, so bring the license and the licensing authority's own documentation and ask the Building Official first. After passing or being waived, the applicant files a $200 first-time fee covering three years, proof of liability insurance, proof of workers' compensation insurance if applicable, and a copy of the excise tax license, and is then approved by the City Council, which meets Monday evenings; paperwork is due by noon the previous Wednesday and permits may be drawn only after the vote. Renewal is $150 every three years. Building Inspection is at City Hall, 123 South Lincoln Street, 3rd Floor, 605-626-7017.

Brookings. Community Development issues a residential contractor license on paperwork alone. The requirements are the application, a $75 fee, an excise tax number, a copy of workers' compensation insurance and 'a copy of current General Commercial Liability Insurance Certificate stating the sum of not less than $500,000 for each occurrence.' There is no examination and no bond. The license year is the calendar year, January 1 to December 31, and it 'must be renewed in order to continue any current project or prior to starting any new project'; a contractor with a job in progress who lets it expire pays double the fee. The license is neither refundable nor transferable. Building permits are required in the city and on nonagricultural land in the joint jurisdictional area roughly three miles out. Community Development is at 520 3rd Street, Suite 140, (605) 692-6629.

Everywhere else. Smaller South Dakota cities set their own rules and many require only a permit and proof of insurance. Ask the building official in each city you intend to work in, and remember that the excise tax license is required statewide whether or not the city licenses anybody.

Moving to South DakotaLeaving South Dakota

Common questions

Do I have to take the Utah residential contractor exam if I'm licensed in South Dakota?
The trade exam is waived, but Utah requires a law or code exam.
What does it cost to get a Utah residential contractor license from South Dakota?
Published fees on this path total $311, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my South Dakota work hours count in Utah?
Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Utah's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from Utah to South Dakota?
Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Utah to South Dakota, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

  1. NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors · National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  2. Utah Code 58-1-302 - License by endorsement · Utah Code 58-1-302(2) · Utah State Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  3. Utah Code 58-55-102 - Definitions (Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act) · Utah Code 58-55-102(20), (26), (42) · Utah State Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  4. Utah Code 58-55-302 - Qualifications for licensure · Utah Code 58-55-302(1)(c)(ii), (1)(e)(ii), (1)(e)(iii), (1)(e)(iv), (1)(e)(vii), (2)(b) · Utah State Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  5. Utah Code 58-55-306 - Financial responsibility · Utah Code 58-55-306 · Utah State Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  6. Utah Contractor Application - All Classifications (with qualifier affidavit, checklist and fee table) · Utah Code 58-55-306; Utah Admin. Code R156-1-301, R156-55a-602 · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Form · verified September 17, 2026
  7. Endorsement to Utah: Contractor (state-by-state equivalency map) · Utah Code 58-55; 58-1-302 · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  8. Utah DOPL - Contracting licensing home page · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  9. Utah DOPL - Contracting Continuing Education · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  10. Utah DOPL - Contracting Exam Information · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  11. Contracting Frequently Asked Questions (DOPL) · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Faq · verified September 17, 2026
  12. Apply for a General Contractor License (DOPL) · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  13. Apply for a Specialty Contractor License (DOPL) · Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  14. State of Utah Contracting Exam - Examination Handbook (Prov, for DOPL) · Prov, Inc., examination administrator for the Utah Division of Professional Licensing · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  15. Utah Admin. Code R156-55a - Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act Rule · Utah Admin. Code R156-55a-301c, -301h, -302a, -302b, -302d, -302f, -303a, -303b, -304, -306, -602 · Utah Office of Administrative Rules · Admin Rule · 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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