Tennessee to Alaska: residential contractor license reciprocity

1. 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Alaska Residential Contractor Endorsement Examination, administered by PSI Services LLC: 100 questions, 240 minutes, 70 percent to pass. It is open reference, so code books and the Alaska Centralized Regulations may be brought into the test center along with a silent nonprinting calculator. Content runs from sitework, foundations, concrete, masonry, plan reading and carpentry to advanced cold climate home building techniques, American Wood Council framing fundamentals, seismic and wind loading, OSHA safety and the Alaska regulations for the residential endorsement. Division approval is not needed to sit it; the candidate registers with PSI directly and files the passing result with the endorsement application..
2. 2Other. Proof of satisfactory completion, within the two years before the endorsement application, of the Alaska craftsman home program or its equivalent, or a postsecondary course in arctic engineering or its equivalent. The program page describes this as a 16-hour cold climate course. Form 08-4161 lists the providers the division has on record: At Your Pace Online LLC, Alaska Craftsman Home Program Inc and Wisdom and Associates Inc..
3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($150). $150 examination fee paid to PSI Services LLC when the examination is booked. It is nonrefundable and nontransferable and stays valid for one year from the date of payment. An examination review, if requested after a failure, costs a further $150 and lasts one hour. The figure comes from the candidate bulletin the division publishes, which is the 2017 edition, so confirm the current amount with PSI on (800) 733-9267 before paying..
4. 4Application fee. Pay the application fee ($100). $100 nonrefundable application fee. It is charged twice on this route: once on the General Contractor with Residential Endorsement registration application (#08-4819) and once on the Contractor Residential Endorsement application (#08-4161), because the registration and the endorsement are separate filings. The fee is never refunded, including where an application is abandoned after 12 months without correspondence..
5. 5License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($250). $250 registration fee, also charged separately on the registration and on the endorsement, making $350 due with each of the two applications. Construction contractor registrations and residential endorsements run on a two-year cycle and expire on September 30 of even-numbered years whatever date they were issued, except that one issued within 90 days of an expiration date runs to the next cycle..
6. 6Surety bond. Post a surety bond ($20,000). $20,000 surety bond for a general contractor with a residential contractor endorsement who performs exclusively residential work; a general contractor who also takes commercial work posts $25,000. The bond runs to the State, covers taxes, labor and material claims and judgments for negligent or improper work, and must remain in effect for three years until canceled by the surety, the principal or the department. A cashier's check cash deposit, a time certificate of deposit or a savings passbook held in trust for the State may be filed instead, using the division's Assignment of Cash Deposit form. The bond document must reach the division within 30 days of issuance and must carry the business name exactly as it appears on the application, including any DBA..
7. 7Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Public liability and property damage insurance covering Alaska contracting operations, with limits of at least $20,000 for damage to property, $50,000 for injury including death to any one person and $100,000 for injury including death to more than one person (AS 08.18.101). Workers' compensation coverage from a carrier admitted in Alaska, or a self-insurance certificate, is also required if the business uses employee labor or is a corporation or LLC. Like the bond, the certificate must reach the division within 30 days of issuance with the business name written exactly as on the application..
8. 8Business license. Obtain a business license. A corporation, LLC or other registered entity must be on file with the division's Corporations Section, with its Alaska entity number on the application, before the contractor application is processed. A State of Alaska business license under AS 43.70 is obtained after the professional registration is issued; the registration does not take its place, and the DBA name on the two must match. All advertising, contracts and signage must then carry the contractor's registered name, registration number, mailing address and physical address, or direct customers to a website that carries them (AS 08.18.051)..
9. 9Continuing education. Complete continuing education. A renewal condition rather than an entry requirement: a residential contractor endorsement holder documents 16 contact hours of approved continuing competency activity each licensing period. At a first renewal it is eight hours for each complete calendar year the endorsement was held, and nothing at all if it was held for less than a full calendar year. No more than eight hours may come from business topics such as management, marketing, finance, safety, CPR and first aid; up to 16 may come from technical topics such as construction codes, materials and energy, remodeling and construction techniques. The division audits a share of renewals, so certificates should be kept..
10. 10Other. With the endorsement application: a notarized signature, an Authorization for Release of Records form (#08-4161a), the name and registration number of the licensed general contractor the endorsement will be assigned to, and a copy of the official PSI examination result. A United States Social Security number must be on file before any professional license is issued, or a signed exemption request form in its place..

Published fees on this path total $500, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.