Rhode Island Contractor License Requirements
Registration is not a licence, but here it is still mandatory. Every figure below was read off the CRLB 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
- Contractor Registration (general contractor, residential and commercial)
- Issued by
- Rhode Island Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board, State Building OfficeR.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-65; 440-RICR-10-00-1 and 440-RICR-10-00-2
- Exam
- No exam
- Exam fee
- No verified figureR.I. Gen. Laws § 5-65-9(a) sets one fee of $150 for original registration or renewal. The Board's own rule filing (440-RICR-10-00-2, text refiled 2022) still describes a $200 fee for a two-year period — see notes; the statute is the later enactment.
- Application fee
- $150
- Initial licence fee
- No verified figure
- Licence bond
- Not requiredChapter 5-65 imposes no licence bond on a registered contractor; insurance, not a bond, is the financial condition of registration. Separate CRLB licences (e.g. commercial roofing) carry their own requirements.
- General liability
- $500,000Public liability and property damage insurance of not less than $500,000 combined single limit, bodily injury and property damage, in effect throughout the registration, with evidence filed at registration and at each renewal. Workers' compensation under chapter 29 of title 28 is required in addition (in practice, for applicants with employees).
- Workers compensation
- Required
- Experience
- None requiredNo experience requirement; applicants must be at least 18.
- Continuing education
- Continuing education required; no verified hour countR.I. Gen. Laws § 5-65-5(f) requires proof of 2.5 hours of continuing education at renewal. The Board's 2022-refiled rule instead requires five hours of approved CE during each two-year registration cycle, and Commercial Contractors are exempt from the education requirement. Separately, § 5-65-5(e) requires five hours of pre-registration education before an initial registration; the rule adds that those five hours must be completed in person, not online, within the 24 months before applying.
- Renewal
- Every year
- NASCLA exam
- Not acceptedNot applicable — Rhode Island sets no examination for general contractor registration.
What people get wrong
Rhode Island registers contractors rather than licensing them: no exam, no experience, but $500,000 liability insurance, five hours of in-person pre-registration education, and a registration number that a city or town must see before it issues a building permit. Two official sources disagree on term and fee: R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-65-8(a) and § 5-65-9 (as amended by P.L. 2022, chs. 251/252) say one year and $150, while the Board's rule 440-RICR-10-00-1 § 1.7.3 (periodic refile effective 01/04/2022, text unchanged from 2019) says two years, and an older filing of Part 2 says $200 for two years. This record follows the statute, which is the later enactment and matches the Board's public statement that registrations are valid for one year. crb.ri.gov itself is behind a Cloudflare block from this network, so the Board's own fee page could not be read; if the Board is charging a different current figure, confirm at crb.ri.gov before publishing the fee.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a contractor licence in Rhode Island?
- Not from the state. Rhode Island registers contractors rather than licensing them: Contractor Registration (general contractor, residential and commercial) through the Rhode Island Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board, State Building Office. Rhode Island registers contractors rather than licensing them: no exam, no experience, but $500,000 liability insurance, five hours of in-person pre-registration education, and a registration number that a city or town must see before it issues a building permit. Two official sources disagree on term and fee: R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-65-8(a) and § 5-65-9 (as amended by P.L. 2022, chs. 251/252) say one year and $150, while the Board's rule 440-RICR-10-00-1 § 1.7.3 (periodic refile effective 01/04/2022, text unchanged from 2019) says two years, and an older filing of Part 2 says $200 for two years. This record follows the statute, which is the later enactment and matches the Board's public statement that registrations are valid for one year. crb.ri.gov itself is behind a Cloudflare block from this network, so the Board's own fee page could not be read; if the Board is charging a different current figure, confirm at crb.ri.gov before publishing the fee.
- Does Rhode Island accept the NASCLA exam?
- No. Not applicable — Rhode Island sets no examination for general contractor registration.
Sources
“Each applicant shall pay to the board for original registration or renewal of registration, a fee of one hundred and fifty dollars ($150).”
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-65/5-65-9.HTM“A certificate of registration shall be valid for one (1) year from the date of issuance unless the registration is revoked or suspended as described in § 5-65-10.”
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-65/5-65-8.HTM“Throughout the period of registration, the contractor shall have in effect public liability and property damage insurance covering the work of that contractor that shall be subject to this chapter in not less than the following amount: five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) combined single limit, bodily injury and property damage.”
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-65/5-65-7.HTM“For new applications, satisfactory proof shall be provided to the board evidencing the completion of five (5) hours of preregistration education units as determined by the board pursuant to established regulations. For renewal applications, satisfactory proof shall be provided to the board evidencing the completion of two and one-half (2.5) hours of continuing education units.”
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-65/5-65-5.HTM“As a condition of initial registration, each applicant for a contractor's registration must provide the Board with proof of satisfactory completion of five (5) credit hours of education prior to obtaining a registration. The five (5) hours of pre-registration credits must be completed within the twenty-four (24) months prior to applying for a registration and must have been completed in-person, not online.”
https://rules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/440-10-00-2“Registrations/licenses are valid for two (2) years from the date issued.”
https://rules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/440-10-00-1“A person shall not undertake, offer to undertake, or submit a bid to do work as a contractor on a structure unless that person has a current, valid certificate of registration for all construction work issued by the board.”
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE5/5-65/5-65-3.HTM