Louisiana Contractor License Requirements
Every figure below was read off the LSLBC 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
- Commercial Contractor License (major classification Building Construction)
- Issued by
- Louisiana State Licensing Board for ContractorsLa. R.S. 37:2150-2192 (Title 37, Chapter 24, Contractors)
- Exam
- Business and Law examination plus the trade examination for each major commercial classification (Building Construction; Highway, Street and Bridge; Heavy Construction; Municipal and Public Works; Electrical; Mechanical; Plumbing; Hazardous Materials)PSI
- Exam fee
- No verified figureThe board does not publish a current fee schedule on lslbc.gov. The statute caps fees at: examination $50, license $100, renewal $100, delinquent $50, home improvement $50, plus a surcharge of up to $400 for a contractor not domiciled in Louisiana and a $100/year dedication fee on each renewal that the licensee may opt out of. Since 5 August 2025 PSI collects the trade examination fee directly, and that amount is not stated on the board's site. Third-party figures of $120, $140, $160 or $175 per exam could not be confirmed on an official source, so every fee field is left null.
- Application fee
- No verified figure
- Initial licence fee
- No verified figure
- Licence bond
- Not requiredThere is no licence bond in Louisiana. What the statute offers a commercial applicant who cannot document the required net worth is an irrevocable letter of credit for the net worth requirement plus any negative net worth - a bank instrument, not a surety bond. Bond-broker pages that quote a 'Louisiana contractor license bond' are selling either that substitute or a parish/municipal permit bond.
- General liability
- Not requiredInsurance certificates are NOT required of commercial licence applicants. Residential, Home Improvement and Mold Remediation applicants must file both general liability and workers' compensation certificates, emailed by the agent to insurance@lslbc.gov - $100,000 minimum general liability for residential and home improvement, $50,000 for mold remediation. Workers' compensation is still owed under Louisiana employment law; the board simply does not collect proof of it from commercial applicants.
- Workers compensation
- Not required
- Experience
- None requiredThe licensing law sets no years-of-experience requirement for a commercial licence. Qualification is by examination plus a background investigation covering criminal and financial history of the applicant, each principal and each qualifying party.
- Financial requirement
- Net worth of at least $50,000 for commercial and residential licences and their subclassifications ($25,000 for home improvement, mold remediation and labor-only specialty), on a financial statement current to within twelve months, prepared and signed by an accountant, bookkeeper or CPA
- Continuing education
- No continuing education requiredNo continuing education for the commercial major classifications. A residential building contractor must complete six hours annually, and is exempt from that if he also holds a current licence in Building Construction; Highway, Street and Bridge; Heavy Construction; or Municipal and Public Works Construction.
- Renewal
- Every year
- NASCLA exam
- AcceptedNASCLA lists the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors as a participating state agency for the Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors. What the board accepts it in place of is not stated on lslbc.gov, so treat it as a substitute for the state trade examination only, not for Business and Law.
What people get wrong
A commercial licence is required at $50,000 or more of project value for major and specialty classifications, $10,000 or more for electrical, mechanical and plumbing, and $1 or more for hazardous materials; residential building contractor kicks in above $75,000 and home improvement registration between $7,500 and $75,000. The net worth figure moved from $10,000 to $50,000 - older statute compilations and most third-party guides still say ten thousand dollars, and the LSLBC rules PDF dated May 2022 still carries $10,000 in the mold-remediation section. The legislature's site (legis.la.gov / www.legis.la.gov) refused every fetch and the built-in browser was denied that host, so the statute was read from the board's own 1 August 2026 'blue book' compilation instead.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a contractor licence in Louisiana?
- Yes. Louisiana issues a state general contractor licence — Commercial Contractor License (major classification Building Construction) — through the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. A commercial licence is required at $50,000 or more of project value for major and specialty classifications, $10,000 or more for electrical, mechanical and plumbing, and $1 or more for hazardous materials; residential building contractor kicks in above $75,000 and home improvement registration between $7,500 and $75,000. The net worth figure moved from $10,000 to $50,000 - older statute compilations and most third-party guides still say ten thousand dollars, and the LSLBC rules PDF dated May 2022 still carries $10,000 in the mold-remediation section. The legislature's site (legis.la.gov / www.legis.la.gov) refused every fetch and the built-in browser was denied that host, so the statute was read from the board's own 1 August 2026 'blue book' compilation instead.
- Does Louisiana accept the NASCLA exam?
- Yes. NASCLA lists the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors as a participating state agency for the Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors. What the board accepts it in place of is not stated on lslbc.gov, so treat it as a substitute for the state trade examination only, not for Business and Law.
Sources
“Residential and commercial licenses, their subclassifications, and all specialty classifications with the exception of labor only specialty, shall have a net worth of fifty thousand dollars or more. Home improvement, mold remediation, and labor only specialties shall have a net worth of twenty-five thousand dollars or more. An applicant without the net worth required by this Paragraph may satisfy the net worth requirement for all purposes by submitting an irrevocable letter of credit in the amount of the net worth requirement plus the amount of the applicant's negative net worth if any.”
https://lslbc.gov/wp-content/uploads/blue_book_08012026_final.pdf“C. Fees for licenses shall not exceed the following amounts: (1) Examination fee $50.00 (2) License fee $100.00 (3) Renewal fee $100.00 (4) Delinquent fee $50.00 (5) Home Improvement fee $50.00”
https://lslbc.gov/wp-content/uploads/blue_book_08012026_final.pdf“Licensees shall elect upon renewal one-, two-, or three-year license renewal terms, and licenses may be issued by the board on a multiple-year basis, not to exceed a three-year renewal term for any license.”
https://lslbc.gov/wp-content/uploads/blue_book_08012026_final.pdf“Certificates of Insurance - do not upload to the application (must be submitted by agent, see below) Required for all Residential, Home Improvement and Mold Remediation applicants NOT required for commercial license applicants”
https://www.lslbc.louisiana.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/app_instructions.pdf“Proof by certificate of current general liability insurance in the minimum amount of $100,000”
https://www.lslbc.gov/faq/“All trade examinations previously administered by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) have transitioned to PSI Services LLC (PSI), effective August 5, 2025.”
https://lslbc.gov/test-registration-and-scheduling/“Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors”
https://www.nascla.org/nascla-commercial-exam-participating-state-agencies
Then there is the exam
Practise Louisiana exam questions free, with explanations that cite the reference book and section.