Alaska Contractor License Requirements
Registration is not a licence, but here it is still mandatory. Every figure below was read off the CBPL 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 Registration; General Contractor with Residential Endorsement for privately owned residential structures of one to four units
- Issued by
- Construction Contractors Program, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic DevelopmentAlaska Stat. ch. 08.18 (Construction Contractors); 12 AAC 21
- Exam
- No examNo examination for the general contractor registration itself. The residential contractor endorsement requires official examination results from the testing provider (PSI) plus proof of completion of the Alaska craftsman home program or its equivalent, or a postsecondary course in arctic engineering, within the two years preceding the application.
- Exam fee
- No verified figure$350.00 total due with the application - a $100.00 non-refundable application fee plus a $250.00 registration fee, payable to State of Alaska. The same $100 / $250 / $350 structure applies to a General Contractor registration, a General Contractor with Residential Endorsement, a Specialty Contractor registration and the standalone Contractor Residential Endorsement. The PSI examination fee for the endorsement is not published by the division.
- Application fee
- $100
- Initial licence fee
- $250
- Licence bond
- $25,000$25,000.00 to register as a General Contractor under AS 08.18.071. It drops to $20,000.00 for a General Contractor with Residential Endorsement, and is $10,000.00 for a Specialty Contractor. Instead of a surety bond the applicant may file a cashier's check for a cash deposit held in a State trust account, or a time certificate of deposit or savings passbook reading "State of Alaska in trust for (contractor name)", the original held by the State with an Assignment of Cash Deposit form. Bond and insurance documents must be dated no more than 30 days before the division receives them and the business name must match the application exactly.
- General liability
- $50,000Public liability and property damage insurance of not less than $20,000 for damage to property, $50,000 for injury including death to any one person, and $100,000 for injury including death to more than one person, on form 08-4977 or the provider's own certificate. Workers' compensation proof is required if the business uses employee labor or is a corporation or LLC, from a carrier authorised by the Alaska Division of Insurance; an "All Other States" endorsement is accepted only if the certificate specifically states it covers activities in Alaska.
- Workers compensation
- Required
- Experience
- None requiredNo experience requirement for the general contractor registration. The residential endorsement substitutes a training course and an examination for experience.
- Continuing education
- No continuing education requiredNo continuing education requirement for the construction contractor registration.
- Renewal
- Every 2 years
- NASCLA exam
- Not acceptedAlaska is not on NASCLA's participating state agency list, which follows from there being no state trade examination for the general contractor registration.
What people get wrong
Alaska registers rather than licenses: there is no competency examination, no experience requirement and no financial statement for a plain general contractor - bond, insurance and fees are the whole test. The one competency gate is the residential contractor endorsement, which a general contractor must hold before bidding or undertaking construction or alteration of a privately owned one-to-four-unit residential structure, where 'alteration' means changes worth more than 25 percent of the value of the structure being altered. Registrations expire 31 December of even-numbered years no matter when issued, and there is no inactive status. The business entity must be registered with the corporations section first, and a separate Alaska business license is needed after the registration issues. commerce.alaska.gov's contractor landing page returns 403 to plain fetches; the program's application PDFs on the same host serve fine.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a contractor licence in Alaska?
- Not from the state. Alaska registers contractors rather than licensing them: General Contractor Registration; General Contractor with Residential Endorsement for privately owned residential structures of one to four units through the Construction Contractors Program, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Alaska registers rather than licenses: there is no competency examination, no experience requirement and no financial statement for a plain general contractor - bond, insurance and fees are the whole test. The one competency gate is the residential contractor endorsement, which a general contractor must hold before bidding or undertaking construction or alteration of a privately owned one-to-four-unit residential structure, where 'alteration' means changes worth more than 25 percent of the value of the structure being altered. Registrations expire 31 December of even-numbered years no matter when issued, and there is no inactive status. The business entity must be registered with the corporations section first, and a separate Alaska business license is needed after the registration issues. commerce.alaska.gov's contractor landing page returns 403 to plain fetches; the program's application PDFs on the same host serve fine.
- Does Alaska accept the NASCLA exam?
- No. Alaska is not on NASCLA's participating state agency list, which follows from there being no state trade examination for the general contractor registration.
Sources
“2. FEES Fees made payable to "State of Alaska." Nonrefundable Application Fee: $100.00 Registration Fee: $250.00 Total Fees Due: $350.00”
https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/5/pub/con4815.pdf“A bond of $25,000.00 is required to be registered as a General Contractor pursuant to AS 08.18.071.”
https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/5/pub/con4815.pdf“Proof of current general liability insurance is required for registration (not less than $20,000 for damage to property, $50,000 for injury, including death, to any one person, and $100,000 for injury, including death, to more than one person).”
https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/5/pub/con4815.pdf“REGISTRATION TERM: Registrations are issued for a two-year period and expire on December 31 of even-numbered years, regardless of the date of issuance, except registrations issued within 90 days of the expiration date which are issued to the next biennial expiration date.”
https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/5/pub/con4815.pdf“A bond of $20,000.00 is required to be registered as a General Contractor with Residential Endorsement pursuant to AS 08.18.071.”
https://commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/5/pub/con4819.pdf“A bond of $10,000.00 is required to register as a Specialty Contractor.”
https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/5/pub/con4818.pdf“A general contractor may not undertake the construction or alteration, or submit a bid to undertake the construction or alteration, of a privately-owned residential structure of one to four units or advertise or publicly represent that the general contractor may undertake work of this type in the state without a residential contractor endorsement - AS 08.18.025”
https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/portals/5/pub/con4161.pdf“6. ALASKA CRAFTSMAN HOME PROGRAM Proof of completion of the Alaska craftsman home program or its equivalent, or a postsecondary course in arctic engineering, or its equivalent, within two years preceding the date of application.”
https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/portals/5/pub/con4161.pdf