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

How local licensing works. No Kentucky agency licenses residential builders or remodelers, and there is no state qualifying party, no state exam and no state reciprocity for this work. Each city and county decides for itself, so identify the building department with jurisdiction over the address before applying anywhere. A credential issued by one Kentucky jurisdiction does not carry into the next one, and none of the jurisdictions below grants anything for a license held in another state. Two statewide obligations apply wherever the project is: the HBC license for any self-performed plumbing, electrical, HVAC, boiler or fire-protection work, and compliance with the Kentucky Building Code adopted in 815 KAR Chapter 007.

Louisville Metro (Jefferson County). The Office of Construction Review issues the contractor licenses for the merged city-county. A builder chooses a term and then a scope. License A "lets you work on one or more permitted projects during a calendar year, which runs from January 1st to December 31st"; License B "allows you to work on only one permitted project during a calendar year." The scopes are Building A-Residential, Building A-Residential/Commercial, Building A-Commercial and Building B. Building Type A costs $125 a year and Building Type B $50 per permit, and "only one Building Type B license will be granted per person/company per renewal year." Six continuing education credit hours from a pre-approved list are required before renewal for Building A-R, Building A-RC and Building B, which is to say for everyone whose scope touches houses. The filing is a certificate of liability insurance naming the Office of Construction Review as certificate holder, workers' compensation and unemployment insurance or a signed and notarized affidavit that neither applies, an Occupational License Number from the Revenue Commission of Jefferson County on (502) 574-4860, and the application itself through the Metro business portal. Annual renewals must arrive with current liability insurance, the continuing education records for residential contractors, a workers' compensation form and a subcontractor list, and "any missing items will result in ALL items being returned." There is no exam, no experience requirement and no bond on the building categories; only the wrecking classes carry a written exam, a surety bond and a year of supervisory experience. Office of Construction Review, 444 S. 5th St., Suite 100, (502) 574-3321.

Lexington-Fayette Urban County. The Division of Building Inspection runs a Contractors Registration Ordinance: "this ordinance requires all contractors to register with the Building Inspection" and "unregistered contractors cannot obtain building permits." There are three classes under Ordinance 5-90(a). A general contractor, residential only "constructs up to 4-family homes (4-Plex), performs home remodeling, and may supervise, arrange, and/or perform more than two unrelated building trades or crafts." A general contractor covers everything larger. A specialty contractor "performs commercial, industrial, public works and residential construction and specializes in two or fewer unrelated building trades or crafts." Registration takes four steps: a $10 Home Office Certificate or a $25 Certificate of Occupancy if the business address is in Fayette County; an occupational business license from Revenue at 218 E. Main St., 2nd floor, (859) 258-3340; general liability insurance and workers' compensation with LFUCG as certificate holder, or the "Workers Comp Exempt" declaration on the application if neither applies; and the online Contractor Registration Application through the city's permitting portal with the occupational license and certificate of insurance uploaded. No exam, experience or bond is required for any of the three classes. The division's published fee schedule prices permits rather than registrations and lists no contractor registration fee, so ask Building Inspection for the current amount before filing. 101 E. Vine St., (859) 258-3770, [email protected].

Bowling Green and Warren County. A single joint Contractors Licensing Board licenses for both the city and the county under Ordinance 91-58 WC and Ordinance 91-25 BG. A General Contractors License is needed by anyone "doing any type of general contract work in Bowling Green / Warren County including pulling permits for building or remodeling, construction management, or if you would have two or more subcontractors per job", and costs $250. A Specialty Contractors License covers subcontract work or a job with at most one subcontractor, and costs $100. Both fees are non-refundable and renewals are annual, pro-rated for a mid-year filing. The filing is the application plus a certificate of insurance naming the board as certificate holder, with "a minimum requirement for General Liability Insurance [of] $100,000 per occurrence", workers' compensation coverage shown on the certificate or a notarized Affidavit of Exemption, and a notarized Partnership Agreement for a partnership. Licenses are non-transferable and "any change in ownership nullifies previous licenses." There is no exam and no experience review, and the board says so directly: "the Contractors Licensing Board does not warrant that you are otherwise qualified to perform your trade or specialty by the issuance of its license." A Bowling Green occupational license is also needed for work inside the city limits and a Warren County occupational license for work outside them. Contractors Licensing Board, 1141 State Street, Suite 200, 270-781-3530.

Owensboro and Daviess County. There is no Owensboro contractor license. The Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission's Building & Electrical Division "issues all building and electrical permits required by the Kentucky Building Code and National Electrical Code" for Owensboro-Daviess County, along with HVAC, sign and parking lot permits and certificates of occupancy, and it issues no contractor credential of any kind. What a builder needs instead is the city's business registration: "any person, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity must register with the Occupational License Division prior to conducting business inside the city limits", with "a minimum license fee of seventy-five ($75.00) dollars due with registration." New construction draws at least three field inspections - footer and foundation, framing and final - before a certificate of occupancy issues. Occupational License Division, 101 East 4th Street, 270-687-5600.

Covington and Kenton County (Northern Kentucky). Planning and Development Services of Kenton County is the building department for Covington and the surrounding communities, and its rule is short: "when completing work within Kenton County, all contractors must obtain and maintain a Kenton County occupational license and provide proof of Kentucky workers' compensation insurance coverage. In addition, the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings, and Construction requires a license for electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and fire suppression work. Contractors must provide copies of all these items before any permits can be issued." There is no residential builder license, exam or bond. In Covington itself a zoning permit from the city, and a certificate of appropriateness where a historic preservation overlay applies, must come before PDS will issue the building permit. PDS, 1840 Simon Kenton Way, Suite 3400, Covington, 859-331-8980; building permits 859-957-2408.

Storm-damaged communities. The Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection runs joint emergency contractor registration programs with the City of Mayfield and Graves County, the City of Princeton and Caldwell County, the City of Dawson Springs and Hopkins County, and the City of Bremen and Muhlenberg County, "to register contractors looking to assist storm victims." The program "requires contractors to register prior to doing business", and registrants are issued placards that must be displayed on the job site and in the vehicle. It is a consumer-protection registration aimed at transient storm-chasers rather than a skill license, and it applies only in those communities. Details on (502) 871-2424.

Everywhere else. The remaining Kentucky cities and counties each set their own rules, from a full licensing board like Bowling Green's to nothing beyond an occupational license and proof of insurance. Ask the local building department what it requires before bidding, and expect to repeat the filing in each jurisdiction.