Alabama Contractor License Requirements
Every figure below was read off the ALBGC or the statute, and the sentence it came from is listed at the bottom of this page. Where a figure could not be verified this page says so rather than showing a number.
What the state requires
- Licence
- General Contractor licence (prime contractor); subcontractors working under a licensed prime at or above the same threshold need their own subcontractor licence
- Issued by
- Alabama Licensing Board for General ContractorsCode of Ala. 1975, tit. 34, ch. 8; Ala. Admin. Code ch. 230-X
- Exam
- Alabama Business and Project Management examination, plus any Trade Examination the Board requires for the classification. Applications received from 22 January 2008 onward must take a trade exam as well as the business and law exam.PSI
- Exam fee
- No verified figure$300 for a prime contractor application, by cashier's check or money order only — personal or company checks are returned. A subcontractor application is $150. The board publishes no separate initial licence fee; the application fee is what accompanies the application, and it is non-refundable and non-transferable. Renewal is $200 for a prime and $100 for a subcontractor. PSI's exam fee is not published on the board's site, so exam_fee_usd is null.
- Application fee
- $300
- Initial licence fee
- No verified figure
- Licence bond
- Not requiredThe board's prime application instructions require proof of liability insurance and a financial statement meeting the net-worth and working-capital minimum, and list no licence bond. No bond figure appears anywhere in the packet.
- General liability
- Required; no verified minimumProof of current liability insurance must accompany the application, with the insured's name matching the applicant exactly and the board listed as certificate holder. The instructions state no minimum dollar amount, so gl_insurance_amount_usd is null rather than guessed.
- Workers compensation
- No verified rule
- Experience
- No verified figureAlabama sets no fixed number of years. The board reads the work-experience section of the application to decide the applicant's level of experience within each classification requested, backed by three reference forms from any combination of a licensed general contractor, registered architect, registered professional engineer, or a person the board qualifies. All referenced work must be commercial or industrial work in the classification applied for, and the references must be completed by people who supervised it. A Principal Individual Questionnaire is required for each principal whose experience is being counted. Reciprocity with Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee requires one year holding the same classification.
- Financial requirement
- Minimum net worth AND working capital of $10,000. A line of credit from a state or federally chartered bank or savings association can raise working capital to the level of net worth once both minimums are met; personal or parent-company financial statements can raise the bid limit by one step, also only after both minimums are met. Deficits are not accepted, and cash- or tax-basis statements are not accepted.
- Continuing education
- No verified ruleNo continuing education requirement is published on the board's renewal page or in its prime application instructions. Recorded as unknown rather than zero, because no page stating the absence was found.
- Renewal
- Every year
- NASCLA exam
- AcceptedThe Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors is on NASCLA's participating-agency list, as is the separate Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board. What it displaces on the Alabama side is not stated on NASCLA's page.
What people get wrong
The net-worth requirement asked about is $10,000 in BOTH net worth and working capital — it is conjunctive, not a choice, and it is only the floor to be licensed at all; bid limits step up from there on the strength of the financial statement. Renewal is annual but staggered by the first letter of the company name, from March through December, at $200 for a prime. Miss it by more than a year past expiration and the board requires a fresh application plus retaking the trade exam as well as business and law. The licensing threshold is $100,000 of labour and materials ($5,000 for swimming pools), not the $50,000 figure that circulates. Note also that Act 2026-396 amends the Section 34-8-7 exemptions effective 1 October 2026, adding an exemption for residential swimming pool construction and repair and new exemptions for routine maintenance, repair, cleaning and facility support services — that change lands eight days after this record was compiled.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a contractor licence in Alabama?
- Yes. Alabama issues a state general contractor licence — General Contractor licence (prime contractor); subcontractors working under a licensed prime at or above the same threshold need their own subcontractor licence — through the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors. The net-worth requirement asked about is $10,000 in BOTH net worth and working capital — it is conjunctive, not a choice, and it is only the floor to be licensed at all; bid limits step up from there on the strength of the financial statement. Renewal is annual but staggered by the first letter of the company name, from March through December, at $200 for a prime. Miss it by more than a year past expiration and the board requires a fresh application plus retaking the trade exam as well as business and law. The licensing threshold is $100,000 of labour and materials ($5,000 for swimming pools), not the $50,000 figure that circulates. Note also that Act 2026-396 amends the Section 34-8-7 exemptions effective 1 October 2026, adding an exemption for residential swimming pool construction and repair and new exemptions for routine maintenance, repair, cleaning and facility support services — that change lands eight days after this record was compiled.
- How much continuing education does Alabama require?
- No verified rule. No continuing education requirement is published on the board's renewal page or in its prime application instructions. Recorded as unknown rather than zero, because no page stating the absence was found.
- Does Alabama accept the NASCLA exam?
- Yes. The Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors is on NASCLA's participating-agency list, as is the separate Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board. What it displaces on the Alabama side is not stated on NASCLA's page.
Sources
“Requirements for Bid Limits – All applicants must have a minimum net worth and working capital of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). A line of credit from a state or federal charter bank or savings association may be used to increase working capital to the same level of the applicant's net worth once the minimum net worth and working capital requirements are met.”
https://genconbd.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2022-Prime-App-Instructions.pdf“A cashier's check or money order in the amount of $300 (non-refundable, non-transferable) made payable to the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors must accompany this application.”
https://genconbd.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2022-Prime-App-Instructions.pdf“EXAMINATIONS: All applicants are required to obtain a passing score on: Alabama Business and Project Management and/or any Trade Examination(s) as required by the Board. The administrator of all exams is Psychological Services Inc. (PSI).”
https://genconbd.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2022-Prime-App-Instructions.pdf“General Contractor - one who undertakes to construct or superintend the construction, alteration, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, remediation, reclamation, or demolition of any building, highway, sewer, structure, site work, grading, paving or project or any improvement in the State of Alabama where the cost of the undertaking including labor and materials is $100,000 or more. Swimming Pool construction of $5,000 or more.”
https://genconbd.alabama.gov/law/“Company Name Beginning With Renewal Month Renewal Fee Prime / Sub I, J, K, L March $200 / $100”
https://genconbd.alabama.gov/renewal-information/“PRIME CONTRACTOR APPLICATION: $300.00 fee ... SUBCONTRACTOR APPLICATION: $150.00 fee”
https://genconbd.alabama.gov/licensees/apply/“Changes to Section 34-8-7 of the Code of Alabama will take effect October 1, 2026, and include updates to exemptions from general contractor licensing requirements.”
https://genconbd.alabama.gov/14534/new-contractor-licensing-exemptions-take-effect-october-1-2026/“Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors”
https://www.nascla.org/nascla-commercial-exam-participating-state-agencies
Then there is the exam
Practise Alabama exam questions free, with explanations that cite the reference book and section.