North Carolina contractor licenses: many boards and a few dollar lines

North Carolina sorts its trades by who writes the rulebook. A general contractor board, an electrical board, a plumbing and heating board, a landscape board, an irrigation board and the agriculture department each license a different slice of home-service work. The dollar lines differ for each, which is where owners get caught. This page walks the trades, with the statute or board for each, as read in October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. Our North Carolina startup page covers the LLC, sales tax and workers' comp, and the national version of this question is how to get a contractor license.

General contractors: the $40,000 line

G.S. 87-1 defines a general contractor as someone who, for a fixed price, commission, fee or wage, bids on or builds, or supervises, a building, highway, public utility, grading job or other improvement where the cost of the undertaking is $40,000 or more. Below that line, no state general contractor license applies. The statute exempts an owner who builds on his or her own land for the owner's own occupancy (with a 12-month occupancy presumption) and farmers building farm structures.

The license has three sizes under G.S. 87-10. A limited license covers a single project up to $750,000, an intermediate license up to $1.5 million, and an unlimited license has no value cap, excluding land and ancillary land costs. The applicant names a qualifier who passes the Board's exam, and the exam covers plans and specifications, the State Building Code, estimating, liens and sedimentation control. Exam fees are capped at $100, and application fees at $75, $100 or $125 depending on the license size. Classifications include building, residential, highway and public utilities contractors. Annual license fees are capped at $100, $150 or $200 for limited, intermediate and unlimited licenses under G.S. 87-44.

Permit counters enforce this. Under G.S. 87-14, a city or county permit office issuing a permit on a project of $40,000 or more must see proof that the applicant is licensed or exempt, and proof of workers' comp insurance. An unauthorized person who bids or contracts on covered work commits a Class 2 misdemeanor under G.S. 87-13, and so does someone who falsely suggests a license. Roofing, painting, siding and decks are not named in these licensing chapters. They fall under the $40,000 line when a project reaches it, and local permits can still apply below it.

Electrical contractors

There is no dollar floor. G.S. 87-43 says no one may engage in or offer to engage in the business of electrical contracting without a license in the right classification from the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors. Electrical contracting means installing, maintaining, altering or repairing any electric work, wiring, devices, appliances or equipment. A business needs a listed qualified individual at each place of business, and the license certificate must be displayed at the principal and each branch location. Our electrician guide covers the general path.

Plumbing, heating and cooling

These trades share the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors. G.S. 87-21 sets two license classes: Class I covers all plumbing, heating and fire sprinkler systems in all structures, and Class II covers plumbing and heating in single-family detached homes. Heating is split by system. Group number three is a direct heating or cooling system with 15 tons or less of mechanical refrigeration, and the statute puts systems in single-family homes under group three regardless of size.

The statute also creates narrower licenses. A fuel piping license is available to people who do not hold plumbing or heating licenses. A limited plumbing license covers exterior potable water service lines or backflow preventers serving irrigation or domestic water systems, and exterior building sewer or water service piping, of two inches in diameter or smaller. Anyone who installs plumbing, heating or fire sprinkler systems on property intended for sale or primarily for rental counts as a contractor even without payment. The related guide is how to become a licensed plumber.

Landscaping and irrigation

Landscape contractors are licensed under G.S. Chapter 89D. The exemption in G.S. 89D-13 covers landscaping work where all contracts for a given job site in any consecutive 12-month period total less than $30,000, and the statute bars local governments from requiring a license for that work. G.S. 89D-13 exempts lawn mowing, edging and debris removal, and also turf management or lawn care services such as fertilizing, aeration and weed control. The licensed activities include installing and managing lawns, shrubs and trees, drainage systems, low-voltage lighting up to 50 volts, and garden pools, retaining walls, walks and patios. A licensed landscape contractor does not also need a general contractor license for landscape work above $40,000.

A landscape contractor may not practice irrigation contracting, plumbing, or electrical contracting under the landscape license. The statute does let a landscaper install landscape piping downstream of a potable water source and backflow prevention assembly. Irrigation has its own license under G.S. 89G-2, and no one may advertise using a title or description that implies licensure as an irrigation contractor without it. Irrigation work with total contract price under $2,500 for a job site is exempt under G.S. 89G-3, as are licensed plumbing contractors doing certain water-supply irrigation work and general contractors with building, residential or utilities classifications.

Pesticides, termites and lawn spraying

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says a license is required for commercial applicators applying any type of pesticide for compensation. The commercial ground applicator license has a $75 yearly renewal fee on the department's listing, and the certification lasts five years. The Core exam is required, plus category exams. Ornamental and Turf, listed as category L, is the lawn and tree maintenance category.

Structural pest control, meaning household pests and fumigation, is run by the Structural Pest Control Committee under G.S. Chapter 106. Certified applicators sit written exams from the Committee at $25 for each phase or subphase, and the Committee gives at least two exam dates a year. See the pest control license guide for the national outline.

Locksmiths, alarms, wells and home inspectors

• Locksmiths. G.S. 74F-3 says no one may perform or offer locksmith services in North Carolina without a license. A first violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and a second or later offense is a Class I felony.
• Alarm and security systems. G.S. 74D-2 requires a business and a qualifying agent license to sell, install, service or monitor security systems, including cameras, burglar alarms and monitored access control, and includes home automation that has a security element.
• Home inspectors. The North Carolina Home Inspector Licensure Board sits in the Department of Insurance, and the statute caps its education program at 200 hours.
• Wells. G.S. 87-98.5 makes the well contractor certification from the Commission the only certification needed to engage in well contractor activity.

Trades with no state license, and what to check

Mowing, cleaning, junk removal and pressure washing do not appear in the licensing chapters above. If you pressure wash homes built before 1978 and the work disturbs paint, the federal EPA rule requires lead-safe certification for firms, including sole proprietors. Cities and counties can add business registration and permits, so call the inspections office.

Before bidding anything near the $30,000, $40,000 or $2,500 lines, tally everything on the job site. For landscaping the 12-month total counts all contracts, not one invoice. A website that lists your license numbers and the work each one covers answers customer questions, and our website service builds those pages around what your boards require. Confirm each point with the board before you act.

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