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

Mississippi licenses residential builders statewide through the Mississippi State Board of Contractors. Miss. Code Ann. 73-59-1 makes a license necessary to build a residence of not more than three floors when the undertaking exceeds $50,000, and to remodel or improve an existing residence when the improvements exceed $10,000; the board adds residential roofing over $10,000, and any electrical, plumbing, mechanical or HVAC subcontractor on a residential project at any dollar amount. The homes-only classification is Residential Builder, which covers new construction, construction management, remodeling and roofing for a structure occupied by fifty or fewer families and not more than three floors high, and also lets the holder take a commercial job of 7,500 square feet or less under Miss. Code Ann. 73-59-19; Residential Remodeler is the narrower classification for remodeling, repair and improvement only. The license belongs to the business and is qualified by a named person: the qualifying party is an owner, officer or responsible managing employee who sits the examinations, must be genuinely employed by the licensee and actively engaged in the trade, and may qualify no more than three companies at once, so a builder moving to Mississippi applies as or for the entity that will sign the contracts. There is only one residential tier, with no monetary limitation bands, and unlike the commercial track the residential application asks for no financial statement and sets no minimum insurance amount. Mississippi does not accept the NASCLA Accredited Examination at this level, but it does publish trade-examination waiver agreements with a named list of other states' boards.