LicensebyState

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

Vermont has reciprocity agreements with 0 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: no credit.

Vermont residential contractor · “Residential Contractor Registration (Individual or Business Organization)”

Statewide license

Verified September 17, 2026· 5 sources

Issued by Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (Secretary of State)

Vermont does not license residential contractors, but since April 1, 2023 it has registered them. Under 26 V.S.A. chapter 106, added by Act 182 of 2022, "a person shall register with the Office of Professional Regulation prior to contracting with a homeowner to perform residential construction in exchange for consideration of more than $10,000.00, including labor and materials." Residential construction means building, demolishing or altering a dwelling unit or a building with four or fewer dwelling units, and expressly includes interior and exterior construction, renovation and repair, painting, paving, roofing, weatherization, and installing or repairing heating, plumbing, solar, electrical, water and wastewater systems. The registration is a consumer-protection credential rather than a competency one, and the statute says so: mandatory registration "is intended to protect against fraud, deception, breach of contract, and violations of law but is not intended to establish standards for professional qualifications or workmanship." There is accordingly no examination, no experience or apprenticeship requirement, no education requirement, no qualifying party and no bond - only a $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate liability policy, a written contract, a name registered with the Secretary of State's Corporations Division, and a fee of $75 for a self-employed individual or $250 for a business organization, renewable every two years. A contractor with employees registers the business and those employees work under it; a self-employed contractor registers as an individual. Registration is not needed by an employee of a registered business, by a Department of Public Safety licensed tradesperson, licensed architect or professional engineer acting within scope, by a subcontractor hired by another contractor rather than by the homeowner, or by an owner working on their own property. The statute also authorizes optional, voluntary certifications in particular specialties, which the Office says it is establishing through rulemaking.

Every origin state

No credit 50
Every state's path into Vermont
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaNo credit2026-09-17
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
LouisianaNo credit2026-09-17
MaineNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
MarylandNo credit2026-09-17
MassachusettsNo credit2026-09-17
MichiganNo credit2026-09-17
MinnesotaNo credit2026-09-17
MississippiNo credit2026-09-17
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 CarolinaNo credit2026-09-17
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 CarolinaNo credit2026-09-17
South DakotaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
TennesseeNo credit2026-09-17
TexasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-17
UtahNo 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 Vermont from scratch

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

Verified September 23, 2026· 7 sources

Residential Contractor registration (no examination)

Vermont has no competency license for residential contractors, so getting started means registering with the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) before you contract with a homeowner for residential construction worth more than $10,000 in labor and materials. There is no examination, apprenticeship, experience, education, qualifying individual or bond requirement. If you are self-employed with no employees you hold an Individual registration ($75); if you have employees, the business holds a Business registration ($250) and your employees work under it without registering themselves. You apply online through OPR's Online Services System, upload a certificate of liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate plus proof that any business name you use is registered and active with the Secretary of State, and attest that you will use a written contract. The registration renews every two years for the same fee.

OPR asks first-time applicants to allow a minimum of five full business days for processing, and its application instructions say three to five business days; the status shows in your online account. Under OPR's 90-day initial licensing policy, a registration issued 90 days or less before the profession's renewal date runs through the next full two-year period, and one issued earlier must be renewed at the upcoming renewal. An LLC with no employees may register either as an individual or as a business. Registration is not required for an employee of a registered business, a subcontractor hired by another contractor rather than by the homeowner, an owner working on their own property, or a licensed architect, professional engineer or Department of Public Safety licensed tradesperson working within that license. It does not authorize plumbing or electrical work, which need licenses from the Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety. The statute allows voluntary state certifications in construction specialties, but OPR has not yet adopted the rules that would create them.

Trade exam
Not required
Law / code exam
Not required
Renewal
Every 2 years
Continuing education
None required

Who can apply

  • No examination, apprenticeship, documented experience, classroom hours, education or qualifying individual is required for a residential contractor registration.26 V.S.A. § 5503(a)(1): mandatory registration "is intended to protect against fraud, deception, breach of contract, and violations of law but is not intended to establish standards for professional qualifications or workmanship that is otherwise lawful."
  • The Director of Professional Regulation must find that you comply with chapter 106 and applicable state law and that you have satisfied any judgment order related to professional services you provided to a homeowner.26 V.S.A. § 5508, the whole of the statutory eligibility test. OPR publishes no background check, credit check or financial statement requirement for this registration.

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($75). Individual registration fee for a self-employed contractor with no employees, $75.00, non-refundable, paid online with the application (26 V.S.A. § 5507)..
  2. 2Application fee. Pay the application fee ($250) (if applicable). Business organization registration fee, $250.00, paid instead of the $75.00 individual fee if your business has employees. You hold one registration or the other, not both; OPR helps an individual registrant switch to a business registration after taking on employees..
  3. 3Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($1,000,000). Liability insurance of at least $1,000,000.00 per occurrence and $2,000,000.00 aggregate, kept in force for as long as you are registered. Upload the certificate of insurance with the application; a copy of the insurance bill is not accepted. Failing to maintain liability or workers' compensation insurance as required by law is unprofessional conduct..
  4. 4Business license. Obtain a business license. Registration of your business name with the Vermont Secretary of State's Business Services Division, in active status, shown on the OPR application with a screenshot or PDF of the business record. Required for a business registration; for an individual registration, required only if you contract under a business name other than your own name. You may contract only under names registered with both the Secretary of State and OPR..
  5. 5Other. An attestation on the application that you will execute a written contract before taking a deposit or starting work where labor and materials are estimated to exceed $10,000. The contract must state the price (a maximum price, time and materials up to a maximum, or time and materials with no maximum), estimated start and completion dates, the work and materials, and how changes will be approved; every change must be in a signed writing. OPR publishes a Sample Residential Contractor Agreement..
  6. 6Other. Online application through OPR's Online Services System. For a business registration, create an individual account first, add a business profile, and apply under the business profile. The application asks you to list any other states where you are licensed..

Published fees on this path total $75, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every 2 years with no continuing education required and a $75 renewal fee.

26 V.S.A. chapter 106 sets no continuing education requirement for residential contractor registration.

Registration renews every two years at the same fee as the initial application: $75 for an individual registration or $250 for a business registration. Renewal opens online six weeks before expiration, OPR sends an email reminder and two courtesy reminders, and a current certificate of insurance is uploaded again with each renewal. Allow a minimum of five business days for processing.

Liability insurance

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

  • Insurance · $1,000,000

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

Sources for this section

  1. Vermont OPR - Initial Licensing/Renewal Fees & Dates and 90 Day Initial Licensing Policy (updated 7/1/2025) · Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  2. Vermont OPR - Residential Contractor Individual Without Employees: Application Instructions (February 2026) · Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  3. Vermont OPR - Residential Contractor Applications & Renewals · Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  4. Vermont OPR - Residential Contractor Business With Employees: Application Instructions (February 2026) · Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  5. Vermont OPR - Residential Contractor FAQs (who must register, fees, contracts, exemptions) · Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation · Faq · verified September 23, 2026
  6. Vermont OPR - Residential Contractor Statutes, Rules & Resources · Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  7. 26 V.S.A. chapter 106 - Residential Contractors (full chapter, §§ 5501-5510) · 26 V.S.A. §§ 5501-5510 · Vermont General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026

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