LicensebyState

Moving to Alabama as a residential contractor: every state's rule

Alabama has reciprocity agreements with 5 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: no credit.

Alabama residential contractor · “Residential Home Builders License (without limitation, with limitation, or limited to residential roofing)”

Statewide license

Verified September 17, 2026· 4 sources

Issued by Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board

Alabama licenses residential builders statewide through the Home Builders Licensure Board in Montgomery, which is a different agency from the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors that handles commercial work. A license is required to construct, remodel, repair or improve a residential structure where the cost of the undertaking including labor and materials exceeds $10,000. There are three tiers: a license without limitation (unlimited), which covers whole houses, work involving more than one trade and residential roofing; a license with limitation (limited), for single-trade work that is not a whole residence; and a license limited to residential roofing. The license is held by the business, not the person: an individual may be licensed personally, but a partnership, corporation, LLC or non-profit must name a designated qualifying representative who is a general partner, officer, member or manager and who personally meets the experience and examination requirements, so an inbound builder applies as or for the entity that will sign contracts. An unlimited license is earned by passing the Alabama Home Builders Skill exam and the Business and Law exam through Prov and by showing business-related financial responsibility through a credit report; Alabama sets no minimum years of experience. The Board publishes one reciprocity rule, naming five states whose residential licensees may skip the Skill exam.

States Alabama reciprocates with

Every origin state

Reciprocity 5No credit 45
Every state's path into Alabama
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlaskaNo credit2026-09-17
ArizonaNo credit2026-09-17
ArkansasNo credit2026-09-17
CaliforniaNo credit2026-09-17
ColoradoNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
ConnecticutNo credit2026-09-17
DelawareNo credit2026-09-17
District of ColumbiaNo credit2026-09-17
FloridaNo credit2026-09-17
GeorgiaNo credit2026-09-17
HawaiiNo credit2026-09-17
IdahoNo credit2026-09-17
IllinoisNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
IndianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
IowaNo credit2026-09-17
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
KentuckyNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
LouisianaReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
MaineNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
MarylandNo credit2026-09-17
MassachusettsNo credit2026-09-17
MichiganNo credit2026-09-17
MinnesotaNo credit2026-09-17
MississippiReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
MissouriNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
MontanaNo credit2026-09-17
NebraskaNo credit2026-09-17
NevadaNo credit2026-09-17
New HampshireNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
New JerseyNo credit2026-09-17
New MexicoNo credit2026-09-17
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
North CarolinaReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
North DakotaNo credit2026-09-17
OhioNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
OklahomaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
OregonNo credit2026-09-17
PennsylvaniaNo credit2026-09-17
Rhode IslandNo credit2026-09-17
South CarolinaReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
South DakotaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
TennesseeReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-17
TexasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
UtahNo credit2026-09-17
VermontNo credit2026-09-17
VirginiaNo credit2026-09-17
WashingtonNo credit2026-09-17
West VirginiaNo credit2026-09-17
WisconsinNo credit2026-09-17
WyomingNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17

Getting licensed in Alabama from scratch

No license yet, or nothing that transfers? This is how Alabama issues a residential contractor license to a first-time applicant.

Verified September 23, 2026· 4 sources

Unlimited Home Builders License by examination

The license is issued to the business that will contract with homeowners: an individual can be licensed in their own name, but a partnership, corporation, LLC or non-profit names a designated qualifying representative, who must be a general partner, officer, member or manager and who takes the exams. Alabama sets no minimum years of building experience and no required course; the qualifying representative shows experience and ability by passing two open-book exams through Prov, the Alabama Home Builders Skill exam (66% to pass) and the Business and Law exam (70% to pass), with no Board approval needed before booking. The business files a notarized application with the $100 processing fee and the $250 annual license and Recovery Fund fees, orders a business-related credit report sent straight to the Board, and files its entity certificates and proof of citizenship or lawful presence. The Board says a complete file takes about three to four weeks to process.

The Skill exam has 80 questions in 4 hours and is based on the 2015 International Residential Code and the Residential Home Builder Study Guide; the Business and Law exam has 40 questions in 2 hours and uses the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, Alabama Residential Construction edition. A passing score stays valid for three years, and a failed exam can be retaken. The Board does not offer or approve any training classes. The application must be complete seven days before the Board meeting that reviews it. The two other tiers are not earned by exam: a license with limitation (single-trade work that is not a whole house) and a license limited to residential roofing rely instead on a contractor business license from an Alabama city or county held now or within the past year, or a written recommendation from an unlimited home builder or a building official, and the roofing license needs a $10,000 surety bond instead of a credit report. A license is needed for residential work costing more than $10,000, labor and materials included. The application asks whether any partner, officer, member or manager has a felony conviction, bankruptcy or license revocation in the past seven years.

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Required
Exam given by
Prov
Exam format
Open book
Typical processing
About 28 days
Renewal
Every year
Continuing education
6 hours per cycle

Who can apply

  • Be at least 19 years old.The home builders law sets no age limit, but the Board says a license holder must be old enough to enter into a contract with a homeowner, which is 19 in Alabama.
  • For a partnership, corporation, LLC or non-profit, the designated qualifying representative must be a general partner, corporate officer, LLC member (member-managed) or manager (manager-managed), named in notarized minutes.
  • The Board must be satisfied that the applicant has the good character and willingness to serve the public that the rules require. No minimum years or hours of building experience are set; the exams are the experience test.

Other ways to qualify

Each of these replaces the requirements above. You only need one.

Military education, training or service

An applicant who qualifies under Ala. Code § 31-12A-2 and applies within three years of finishing military education, training or service may meet the experience and ability requirement with documents showing a residential construction record, if the Board finds that background substantially similar to Alabama's requirements. The Board may still require the Business and Law exam, and every other requirement for the license still applies.

  • Military education, training or service in residential construction, completed within the three years before the application and found by the Board to be substantially similar to Alabama home building requirements

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Alabama HBLB Skill Exam through Prov: 80 questions, 4 hours, open book, 66% to pass, based on the 2015 International Residential Code. No Board authorization is needed before booking..
  2. 2Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. Alabama HBLB Business and Law exam through Prov: 40 questions, 2 hours, open book, 70% to pass..
  3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($130). Paid to Prov: $130 for both exams taken on the same day, or $80 for each exam taken on separate days..
  4. 4Application fee. Pay the application fee ($100). Non-refundable new license application processing fee, paid to the Board with the license fees in one $350 payment..
  5. 5License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($250). Annual license fee of $235 plus the $15 annual Homeowners' Recovery Fund fee, refunded on written request if the application is denied. The Board takes personal or company checks, cashier's or certified checks and money orders, not cash or credit cards..
  6. 6Financial responsibility. Show financial responsibility. Business-related credit report with a public records search, sent to the Board directly by a credit reporting agency; the order form in the application packet lists a $35 fee. There is no net worth minimum, but business-related collection or foreclosure accounts over $500 in total, or judgments and liens over $500 ($1,000 if disputed or on appeal), must be paid, on a payment plan or explained to the Board's satisfaction..
  7. 7Business license. Obtain a business license. A corporation, LLC or limited partnership files a Certificate of Compliance from the Alabama Department of Revenue; an entity formed outside Alabama also files a Certificate of Existence from the Alabama Secretary of State..
  8. 8Other. Original notarized application (no copies) and proof of United States citizenship or lawful presence, such as a driver license, birth certificate or passport..

Published fees on this path total $480, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every year with 6 hours of continuing education per cycle and a $250 renewal fee.

Six credit hours from a Board-approved provider or instructor each year, two of them in Alabama-specific subjects. For a partnership, corporation or LLC, the designated qualifying representative takes the hours.

Licenses run for the calendar year. The renewal, with the $235 license fee and $15 Recovery Fund fee, is due by November 30 for the following year; a $50 late fee applies from December 1, and a license not renewed by December 31 lapses.

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.

  • Trade exam
  • Law / code exam
  • Exam fee · $130

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

Sources for this section

  1. Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board - Frequently Asked Questions, Applicants (reciprocity, thresholds, timelines) · Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board · Faq · verified September 23, 2026
  2. Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board - How to Get Licensed (license types, exams, credit report, bond) · Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  3. Home Builders Licensure Law and Administrative Rules and Regulations (law effective October 1, 2025; rules effective November 14, 2025) · Ala. Code § 34-14A-1 et seq.; Ala. Admin. Code r. 465-X-3-.04, 465-X-3-.06, 465-X-4-.04 · Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
  4. New Unlimited License Application Packet, Corporate - Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board (with Prov Candidate Information Bulletin) · Ala. Code §§ 34-14A-7, 34-14A-14 · Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board · Form · verified September 23, 2026

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