Alabama contractor licenses: which trades the state licenses, and which agency issues each one

Alabama does not hand out one contractor license that covers everything. A job can touch the Home Builders Licensure Board, the Board of Electrical Contractors, the Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board, the HVAC board, and the Department of Agriculture and Industries, and each one has its own application, exam and renewal date. This page sorts the state's licensed trades from the unlicensed ones, so you know which door to knock on first. For the formation side (LLC filing, workers' comp, sales tax), see our Alabama startup guide.

Who licenses what in Alabama

The table lists the state-level agency for each trade. Where a trade is missing, the state either has no license or I could not confirm one from a state source, so ask the agency.

The $10,000 line for home builders, and $2,500 for roofers

The statute behind the Home Builders Licensure Board defines a residential home builder as someone who builds, supervises, repairs or improves a residence of up to three floors and no more than four units for another person, when the cost of the undertaking exceeds $10,000. The same definition says it includes a residential roofer when the cost exceeds $2,500 (Ala. Code § 34-14A-3, as published by the Board for October 1, 2025). That makes roofing the trade where a license is needed at the lowest dollar amount.

The Board's application FAQ lays out three tiers. An Unlimited license requires passing the Alabama Home Builders Exam, and test scores stay valid for three years. A Limited license and a Roofers license require a municipal contractor license held now or within the year before you apply. Unlimited and Limited applicants send a current credit report straight from a credit-reporting agency, while a Roofers applicant files a $10,000 license bond naming the Board as obligee. The application package needs a $25 check plus a $100 non-refundable processing fee, with the license fee on top. Holders of an Unlimited license do not need a separate Roofers license, but a Limited license does not cover roofing.

Holders of a residential license from Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana or North Carolina may be excused from the skills section of the exam, but they still sit the business and law section. If you arrive after a storm with an out-of-state crew, that is the route to ask the Board about before you sign anything. Our national roofing license guide explains how the pieces usually fit together.

Alabama also attaches a paperwork duty to the license. A licensed builder must tell the homeowner in writing, before work starts, whether the builder carries liability insurance, and the homeowner signs it (§ 34-14A-19). Put the disclosure in your proposal template.

Electrical, plumbing and HVAC have their own boards

The $10,000 line belongs to the home builder statute. It does not decide whether you need an electrical, plumbing or HVAC license. Those boards license the trade itself.

Electrical. The Board of Electrical Contractors licenses electrical contractors and journeymen statewide (Admin. Code 303-X-2-.01, effective February 14, 2026). An electrical contractor applicant must document 8,000 hours of design, layout and supervision experience, or the same hours as a journeyman in charge of jobs, and the license is unlimited in voltage and bid size. As listed in the rules in October 2026, the contractor exam fee is $165 and the license fee is $150, against $115 and $35 for a journeyman. The rules exempt a building owner working on his or her own building, and a maintenance employee who does electrical work only on the employer's premises and not for others. The Board may recognize licenses from reciprocating states it deems equal, and keeps that list at its office.

Plumbing and gas fitting. The Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board certifies apprentices, journeymen and masters. A journeyman needs at least two years as a registered apprentice (or an approved program combined with apprentice time), and a master plumber must have held a journeyman certificate for at least one year before taking the master exam. A plumber licensed in another state can sit the Alabama exam if the other license came from an exam scored at 70 percent or higher and is active and in good standing. After you pass, you have 90 days to pay the fees and become certified. Our plumber licensing guide and electrician guide cover the national picture.

HVAC. The Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors says a certification is required for any entity doing air duct cleaning, filter changing, replacement of filter media, or cleaning of heating, cooling or refrigeration equipment (rule 440-X-3-.01(3)). That catches duct cleaners and filter-subscription services that think of themselves as cleaners, not HVAC companies.

Pest control, lawn treatment and septic: other agencies

The Department of Agriculture and Industries issues two kinds of professional services license, both running October 1 to September 30. A Horticulture license covers landscape design, tree surgery, setting landscape plants, and ornamental and turf pest control, and costs $175 a year as listed in October 2026. A Structural license covers household pest control, fumigation and wood-destroying organism control: $175 for a main office, $75 for a branch, $50 for a sub office, plus $100 for each category of work. Each license needs a certified operator who passed the commercial applicator exam. If you plan to design landscapes, plant beds, cut trees or treat turf and ornamentals for pests, price this license in before you quote. Our pest control license guide covers the national pattern.

Septic work runs through the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board. Under its rule 628-X-3-.01, anyone who advertises, bids, pulls a permit for, installs, pumps, services or repairs onsite wastewater systems must hold a Board license or have a licensed employee in responsible charge. The Board has a Basic Level Installer license, advanced levels, and a separate Pumper's license for pumping tanks, grease traps and portable toilets. The rule asks for 12 months of onsite sewage work experience for a basic installer and 6 months for a pumper. The Board's rule covers the license, not local health permits, so ask your county health department what else applies.

Home inspectors and locksmiths

Home inspectors are licensed as individuals, not as companies, by the Division of Construction Management in the Department of Finance (Admin. Code 170-X-24). The rule sets a $300 application fee, minimum liability limits of $20,000 (property), $50,000 (one person) and $100,000 (more than one person), plus $250,000 of errors and omissions coverage, and an exam on the National Home Inspector Examination and a standards and ethics exam. Our home inspection startup guide has the business side.

Locksmith work falls under the Electronic Security Board of Licensure, created in 1997 by Act 97-711 (Ala. Code ch. 34-1A). The Board requires a license for anyone providing sales, service, installation, maintenance or monitoring of burglar alarms, access control and CCTV, and for locksmith work. The Board's FAQ says everyone working in the alarm or locksmith business must be licensed, individuals work through a licensed company, and licensing includes required training and a state and federal background check. Section 34-1A-6 lists exceptions.

Trades with no state license, and what you still need

The agency pages I read name no state license for mowing, house cleaning, junk removal or pressure washing as such. The dollar lines still follow the contract, though. If a cleaning job grows into repair or improvement work on a residence, the labor and materials of the whole undertaking count toward the $10,000 line. Ask the Home Builders Licensure Board in writing if you are close to it. Handyman work needs no state license while each residential job stays at or under $10,000, but electrical, plumbing or HVAC tasks inside that job need the matching board license at any size. See our handyman startup guide.

Even an unlicensed trade has paperwork. Alabama's sales tax applies to retail sales of goods, so material you sell separately is taxable, while a labor-only invoice generally is not. Cities and counties issue their own business licenses, and the Department of Revenue administers more than 200 local sales taxes. Workers' comp becomes mandatory at five regular employees, and home builders of new single-family homes cannot use that exemption.

What happens if you work without the license

For home building, the statute makes it a Class A misdemeanor to undertake residential home building without a current license (§ 34-14A-14). After written notice from the Board, you must stop immediately, and the Board can also bring a complaint procedure. Building officials are required to refuse a permit when the work needs a license and the applicant has not shown one, and to report violators to the Board (§ 34-14A-13). The practical effect is that a license problem tends to surface at the permit counter before it surfaces in court.

Before you bid

Work through the table in order. Add up the labor and materials of the contract, not just your labor. Check the county and city for a business license. Then check the trade boards for any task inside the job. This page is general information current to October 2026 and is not legal advice. Boards change thresholds and fees, so confirm with the agency before you apply. Once you hold the right licenses, your website should show the numbers and your phone line should answer when a homeowner calls; our Alabama website, phone and email rules guide covers that side, and the 50-state licensing table shows how Alabama compares.

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