Indiana · Concrete licensing · official-source guide
Indiana has no state concrete contractor license. The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency regulates plumbing but lists no contractor, concrete or masonry category, so authority sits with city and county building departments such as the Vanderburgh County Building Commission in Evansville, which licenses Concrete Footing and Flatwork and Unlimited Concrete contractors after a written exam.
State-level license
No — see local details
Public lookup
Not published
Verified against agency sources on 2026-10-26. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Indiana does not license concrete contractors at the state level. The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency publishes the complete list of professions it regulates, and that list runs from Accountancy to Veterinary Medicine with no contractor, concrete, masonry or general building entry anywhere in it. Plumbing is the only construction trade the agency licenses. The state license verification system at mylicense.in.gov tells the same story from the other direction. Its profession menu offers the Plumbing Commission, the Architect Board, the Engineer Board and the Land Surveyor Board, and it offers no contractor board of any kind. There is therefore no state concrete license number to earn in Indiana, no state trade exam, no state trade bond, and no state continuing education requirement for flatwork, footings, foundations, walls or masonry. That has a direct effect on how you sell. A concrete contractor in Indiana cannot truthfully advertise as a state licensed concrete contractor, because the credential does not exist. Any competitor using that phrase in Indiana is describing something the state does not issue. What does exist sits in two other places. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security administers the state building code and issues construction design releases for commercial structures. Cities, towns and counties run their own contractor licensing and permit programs, and several of them license concrete work by name. Those two layers decide what you may legally pour, who may pull the permit, and what you must carry before the permit is issued. Treat the local program as your license and the state code as your rulebook.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security runs the Building Plan Review Section, which reviews construction documents and issues construction design releases. The agency lists its plan review line as 317-232-6422 and its plan review inbox as planreview@dhs.in.gov. A design release is required for all Class 1 structures. The agency defines a Class 1 structure as any building or structure intended to be, or actually, occupied or used in any part by the public, by three or more tenants, or by one or more persons acting as the employees of another. The definition matters to concrete contractors for a reason most trades can ignore. The same agency states that site improvements which affect accessibility to buildings that are Class 1 structures are themselves part of the Class 1 structure. Accessible routes, ramps, landings and accessible parking are concrete work, and they fall inside the filing requirement when they serve a commercial building. Buildings used only for an agricultural purpose on the land where they are located and not used for retail trade are not Class 1 structures, and vehicular bridges are not Class 1 structures. The agency also notes that several other Class 1 structures are exempt because of their use or their small size, and it tells applicants to contact plan review staff to confirm whether a specific project is exempt. Filing starts a 10 business day clock. Within those 10 business days the agency responds with a notice of construction design release, a notice of incomplete filing, or a notice that the project was selected for detailed review. If a project goes to detailed review, Indiana law allows the agency an additional 20 days. Uploading more documents restarts the 10 day period.
Indiana has a specific permission that lets concrete go in the ground before the full plan review finishes, and it is written for exactly this trade. Under 675 IAC 12-6-14, the division may issue a foundation release at the request of a design release applicant, allowing construction work to begin before plan review and before the design release itself is considered. Three conditions apply. The documents and fees required under section 5 of the rule must already be submitted, the applicant must file the foundation release form stating the name and address of the project and agreeing to the conditions, and the applicant must pay the foundation release fee set by 675 IAC 12-3. The scope is tightly drawn. A foundation release allows work to grade level only, which may include slab on grade and underground mechanical, electrical and plumbing work, and it does not allow work on more than one floor below grade level. One exception is written into the rule: a continuous structural member such as a pole may extend from its footing below grade to its intended height above grade. Two limits decide how you bid around it. The release cannot be requested later, because the rule says a foundation release may not be issued unless it is requested at the time the documents and fees are filed. And any corrective work found necessary once the full plan review happens is done at the applicant's expense. Work beyond foundation or grade level is prohibited until the design release is issued. If your schedule depends on footings going in during a weather window, the request has to ride along with the original filing.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security publishes the plan review fee schedule drawn from Article 12, Rule 3 of the General Administrative Rules. Every application for construction design release carries a filing fee of $75 plus a processing fee with a $75 minimum, for a $150 minimum total. The minimum processing fee applies only where the categorical processing fee works out to less than $75. Above that minimum the processing fee is categorical. Category A, normal occupancy, is $0.050 times the gross square feet of floor area. Category B, minimal occupancy and area related, covering warehouses, open parking structures, truck freight terminals and similar uses, is $0.030 per gross square foot. Category C covers remodeling and renovation with no additions at $0.0030 times the total square footage. Category D, minimal occupancy and cost related, names concrete or asphalt plants directly along with generating plants and grain elevators, and is charged at $0.0002 times the construction cost. Category H splits a shell building at $0.040 per gross square foot from the initial tenant build-out at $0.020 per gross square foot. Expedited plan review under Category I costs $5,000 on top of the applicable category fee and returns a release by 4:30 p.m. the next business day. The special processing fees matter more to a concrete subcontractor. A foundation release is $80. An additional submission for a partially filed project is $250. The surcharge for late filing of plans and specifications is $300. Addenda and revisions run $35 for each system modified per submission, and reinstatement or time extension of a design release is $50.
Indiana writes one building code and then lets local government add to it. Rule 10 of 675 IAC 12 governs building regulations of state agencies and political subdivisions, and it defines a political subdivision as a city, town or county. A local building code is defined there as the body of ordinances or regulations enacted by a political subdivision that incorporate the state rules by reference. The rule carries worked definitions of what counts as more detailed and what counts as more stringent when a local ordinance goes past the state baseline. That is the legal machinery behind the pattern a concrete contractor meets on the ground. The state decides whether your project needs a design release. The city or county decides whether you personally are allowed to hold the permit and do the work. The state plan review FAQ reinforces the split by telling applicants that many localities require permits for building projects and that the local building department is who to ask. The practical consequence is that your licensing position in Indiana is a map, not a single credential. A concrete crew working Evansville, Indianapolis and Fort Wayne in the same month is answering to three separate local programs with separate applications, separate fees and separate renewal dates, while the state design release question is answered once per project by the same agency in Indianapolis. Before you quote work in a city you have not worked in, call that city or county building department and ask two questions: does this jurisdiction license concrete or sub-contractor trades by name, and will it accept a license issued elsewhere. There is no statewide reciprocity rule obliging it to.
The Vanderburgh County Building Commission, which handles contractor licensing for Evansville and the county, is the clearest example in Indiana of concrete being licensed as its own trade. Its published categories include two separate concrete classifications. A Concrete Footing and Flatwork Contractor is defined as a person qualified to form, pour, place and finish only concrete flatwork and footings, including mesh reinforcement, vapor barriers, slab insulation and crack control joints. An Unlimited Concrete Contractor is defined as a person qualified to properly batch and place concrete, erect vertical or horizontal forms, and install associated reinforcement. The difference is vertical work. If you are forming walls, piers and structural elements rather than slabs and footings, the flatwork license does not cover you. Masonry is a third, separate category. A Brick and Masonry Contractor is a person qualified to install, maintain, repair or alter brick, block or other masonry materials including glass block and accessories necessary for support and moisture resistance. Related categories sit next to these and are worth knowing because they mark the edges of your scope. A Piling and Caisson Contractor installs, alters, maintains or repairs foundation pilings and caissons. An Excavating Contractor places and removes soil, sand and gravel and installs protective measures to prevent failure of excavations. A Waterproofing Contractor handles waterproofing systems for buildings. All of these are listed as subcontractor licenses, and the commission notes they are not required if you hold the Building General Contractor license for commercial work or the Residential General Contractor license for residential work. A Building General Contractor there is defined to include site work, which is how a general can self-perform concrete.
The Vanderburgh County Building Commission publishes a flat fee schedule by classification. An Unlimited Concrete Contractor license is $180.00 new and $90.00 to renew. A Concrete Footing and Flatwork Contractor license is also $180.00 new and $90.00 to renew. Brick and Masonry Contractor matches at $180.00 new and $90.00 renewal, as do Piling and Caisson Contractor, Excavating Contractor, Waterproofing Contractor and Structural Steel Contractor. If you would rather hold the broader credential, a Building Contractor license is $360.00 new, $210.00 to renew and $400.00 for a two year renewal, while a Residential Contractor license is $210.00 new, $150.00 to renew and $285.00 for a two year renewal. A contractor registering a state issued license with the commission pays $60.00. A late fee of $25.00 is added to any of these licenses if the application comes in after January 31 of the year the license is effective, which fixes the practical renewal deadline. The commission lists exactly what a renewal packet has to contain: a certificate of insurance, worker's compensation documentation where applicable, a $25,000 surety or performance bond, a continuing education certificate or a list showing the contractor's name, and payment by check, money order or cash. The office states it does not accept card payments. Renewal checks go to the Vanderburgh County Building Commission at 1 NW Martin Luther King Blvd, Room 310, Evansville, and the commission asks that the license number be included with a mailed check. Keeping the address, phone and email on file current is part of the renewal.
Evansville does not hand out a concrete license on an application alone. The commission states plainly that contractors and tradesmen must pass a written exam and have their experience verified, and must provide proof of proper insurance, bond and worker's compensation insurance. The process runs in four steps. First you complete the application form in ink or typed, state clearly which license you want to test for, and obtain three letters of recommendation that prove at least four years of experience in the field you are applying for. The application and the letters have to be submitted together. Electrical and HVAC letters must be on letterhead and notarized, which tells you the standard the office expects. Second, the application goes to the appropriate board for approval to test. Once approved you are contacted by email or phone and schedule the exam through Ivy Tech, paying the exam fee for each test you take. Study guides are linked from each license definition. You may underline, highlight and tab references before the exam, but you may not write in the books or add anything other than permanent tabs. The exam fee is not refunded if you fail to call within 24 hours of the exam date to cancel or reschedule. Scores come back immediately at the end of the exam. The passing score for concrete and the other trade categories is 70 percent or higher. Third, after passing you receive a provisional license once the fee, insurance and surety bond are in place. Fourth, exam scores go to the Licensing and Disciplinary Board on the fourth Thursday of the month for final approval.
Evansville sets its financial requirements by license tier, and concrete sits in the subcontractor tier. For all subcontractor licenses, which is where Concrete Footing and Flatwork, Unlimited Concrete and Brick and Masonry fall, an applicant must deliver to the Building Commission proof of general liability insurance of not less than $300,000 before the license is granted, with surety insuring all users of the license and indemnifying those who sustain loss or damage from work done under it. The tiers above are higher. A Masters license, a commercial general contractor license or an Unlimited Roofing license requires general liability of not less than $1,000,000. A Residential General Contractor, Limited Roofing Contractor, Wrecking Contractor or Sign Erector Class B requires not less than $500,000. The surety bond does not scale. Every applicant for a Master's, Contractor or Sub-Contractor license must deliver a surety bond of $25,000 established in the applicant's name, on a form the commission provides to the insurance company. The commission publishes the required bond form. Worker's compensation is handled as a document, not an amount. Each applicant for a Master's, Contractor or Sub-Contractor license must provide proof of worker's compensation coverage or an affidavit stating that under Indiana law the applicant is not required to carry it. That must be done within six months of passing the exam and receiving Licensing and Disciplinary Board approval. Continuing education is required to keep a contractor license, and the renewal checklist specifies three hours per year.
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Evansville publishes a homeowner exception, and reading it carefully is worth a concrete contractor's time because of what it carves back in. A permit to work in or about a person's current residence, or a new or remodeled one or two family residence the person will live in for at least two years after the work, may be issued to the property owner or to the owner's immediate family without the license that would otherwise be required. Immediate family is defined in the ordinance language as father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, son, daughter, or like relationships by marriage. The owner has to attest by affidavit at permit issuance that the owner or a qualifying family member will perform the work. Then comes the part that protects licensed concrete contractors. If the owner subcontracts footing, foundation, framing or roofing to anyone other than immediate family, the contractor doing those installations must be licensed, and the names must be given to the Building Commission at the time of permit application. Footings and foundations are named in the ordinance alongside framing and roofing as the work the exception will not stretch to cover. In place of naming the licensed contractors, the owner may be required to answer basic code questions showing sufficient knowledge to do the work. The inspector keeps discretion throughout. If the inspector is not satisfied that the owner or family member is capable, or if the quality of work suggests they are not qualified, the inspector may require part or all of the work to be installed, changed, altered or repaired by a qualified licensed contractor.
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If your concrete work includes curb, gutter, sidewalk, pavement or structures for a public road agency, a second credential applies and it has nothing to do with any city license. The Indiana Department of Transportation requires a company to be prequalified as a contractor in three situations. The first is bidding on INDOT work as prime contractor. The second is subcontracting for more than $300K in total INDOT work at one time. The third is bidding or subcontracting for more than $300K in local government work that is the construction, improvement, alteration, repair or maintenance of a highway, street, road or alley. That third trigger is the one most concrete subcontractors miss, because it reaches city and county street work, not just state highway projects. INDOT also publishes what does not require prequalification: contracting only to haul materials or supplies to or from an INDOT job site, subcontracting for INDOT work with a total value under $300K, and contracting to perform a service for INDOT through the RFP process. Applications go through the Contractor Prequalification application in ITAP. An approved company receives a certificate of qualification listing the work types it is qualified to contract for, an aggregate rating that caps the total work it may have under contract at one time, and a classification rating for each work type. Work already under contract is called unearned work and counts from all sources, not only INDOT. The gap between unearned work and the aggregate rating is your capacity. A company without sufficient capacity for a work item is not qualified to bid or subcontract for it. Eligibility review covers financial position, technical competency and experience, equipment, personnel, safety record and performance history.
The Worker's Compensation Board of Indiana publishes the test that decides whether the people on your pour are employees or independent contractors. It cites Indiana Code 22-3-6-1(b)(7), which provides that a person is an independent contractor and not an employee under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 if the person is an independent contractor under the guidelines of the United States Internal Revenue Service. The board links those federal guidelines directly rather than writing a separate state test. This is the single compliance item most likely to be checked by a general contractor before letting you on a commercial site, and by a local building department before issuing your license. Evansville, for example, accepts either proof of coverage or an affidavit that Indiana law does not require it, which means you need a defensible answer either way. The board offers a Worker's Compensation Clearance Certificate for contractors who need to document their status. It can be applied for online through INTIME, which the board describes as the quickest route and which returns the certificate by email, or on a paper application that is printed and mailed. The board also operates online services that let a third party confirm an employer's worker's compensation coverage and search contractor records, and it runs a non-compliant employer reporting channel. For a concrete contractor who subcontracts finishing or rebar crews, the exposure runs both directions. If a sub you treated as an independent contractor fails the federal test, the liability does not simply disappear because of how the invoice was written.
Indiana has no home improvement contractor registration, but it does have a contract rule that applies to residential concrete work, and the Office of the Indiana Attorney General states it directly in its consumer guidance. Indiana law requires home improvement contracts exceeding $150 to be in writing. For a concrete contractor, almost nothing falls under that threshold. A driveway, a patio, a sidewalk replacement, a garage slab, a set of steps or a foundation repair clears $150 on the first visit, so the written contract requirement is effectively universal for residential work. The Attorney General's guidance also lists what a homeowner is told to look for in that contract: the price of the job, the payment schedule, a detailed description of the work and materials, estimated start and completion dates, the contractor's name and address, a name and telephone number for someone to contact if problems arise, and the contractor's signature. The same guidance tells homeowners not to pay more than one third of the total cost as a down payment and to tie remaining payments to completion of specified amounts of work. It tells them to confirm whether a permit is needed and that a contractor should not start work until the permit is issued. It tells them to withhold final payment until subcontractors and suppliers are paid, because unpaid subcontractors and suppliers may file a mechanic's lien against the home. A concrete contractor who writes contracts that already satisfy that checklist removes the most common objection before it is raised.
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Indiana Department of Revenue Sales Tax Information Bulletin #60 governs how a concrete contractor handles sales and use tax, and it names concrete explicitly in its list of construction material converted into real property, alongside asphalt, lumber, drywall and fencing. The bulletin divides contractors by contract type, and the split changes who collects tax. A contractor operating under a time and material contract is a retail merchant selling the construction material it incorporates into real property. That contractor must be registered with the department and must collect sales tax on the material portion of its contracts, and in exchange may buy construction material exempt from sales tax under the sale for resale exemption. A contractor working under any other type of construction or installation contract, including a lump sum contract, is not acting as a retail merchant. That contractor pays sales or use tax on its construction material unless the customer could have purchased the material exempt, and does not collect sales tax from the customer on the contract to convert the material into real property. Most concrete bids are written lump sum, which means the tax is paid at the ready-mix supplier and buried in the bid rather than added to the customer's invoice. The bulletin was published in March 2024 and cites IC 6-2.5 and 45 IAC 2.2 as its authority. The department notes that nonprofit customers now provide an NP-1 exemption certificate rather than an ST-105. Registering a business for Indiana tax accounts is handled through the department's business tax services.
Indiana sets no statewide rule requiring a license number on a concrete contractor's truck, website, yard sign or written estimate, because there is no statewide license to number. Display and advertising rules are written by the cities and counties that license the work, so the requirement follows the jurisdiction rather than the company. Ask the building department that issued your license what it requires on vehicles and in advertising, and get the answer before you wrap a truck. Two statements are safe to make anywhere in Indiana. You can say you are licensed by the specific local authority that licensed you, naming it, as in licensed by the Vanderburgh County Building Commission as a Concrete Footing and Flatwork Contractor. You can say you are bonded and insured when you hold the bond and the policy. One statement is not safe. Claiming to be a state licensed concrete contractor in Indiana describes a credential the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency does not issue, since contractors appear nowhere on its profession list or in the state license verification system. Verification routes exist, they are just not one page. A customer can call the local building commission that issued the license and confirm it is current. A customer can confirm worker's compensation coverage through the Worker's Compensation Board's online services. A customer can check the Indiana license verification system for a plumbing, architect or engineer credential if one is claimed. Put the issuing authority's name and your license number on estimates and let customers verify at the source.
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These are common details other guides publish about Indiana, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
No. The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency lists every profession it regulates and no contractor, concrete or masonry category appears on it. Plumbing is the only construction trade the agency licenses. Your legal authority to pour comes from the city or county building department that licenses contractors where the job sits, not from the state.
Scope. A Concrete Footing and Flatwork Contractor may form, pour, place and finish only flatwork and footings, including mesh reinforcement, vapor barriers, slab insulation and crack control joints. An Unlimited Concrete Contractor may batch and place concrete, erect vertical or horizontal forms, and install associated reinforcement. Vertical and structural work needs the unlimited classification.
No. Brick and Masonry Contractor is a separate classification covering installation, maintenance, repair or alteration of brick, block or other masonry materials including glass block and the accessories needed for support and moisture resistance. It carries its own $180.00 new fee and $90.00 renewal. Holding a concrete license does not authorize masonry work there.
Four years. The Building Commission requires three letters of recommendation proving at least four years of experience in the field you are applying for, submitted together with the application. The board reviews the file, approves you to test, and you then schedule the exam through Ivy Tech and pay the exam fee for each test.
Seventy percent or higher passes for concrete and the other trade categories. Electrical Masters, Master Mechanical, Sheet Metal, Ventilation and Refrigeration require 75 percent on each part. You get your score immediately at the end of the exam. The Licensing and Disciplinary Board then reviews scores on the fourth Thursday of the month.
A $25,000 surety bond in the applicant's name on the commission's form, and general liability of not less than $300,000 for subcontractor licenses, which is the tier concrete falls into. You also provide proof of worker's compensation coverage or an affidavit that Indiana law does not require it, within six months of passing.
Evansville adds a $25.00 late fee to any license applied for after January 31 of the year it is effective, so treat January 31 as the deadline. Renewal is $90.00 for either concrete classification and the packet needs a certificate of insurance, worker's compensation documentation, the $25,000 bond and a continuing education certificate.
Sometimes. Indiana allows a foundation release under 675 IAC 12-6-14, which permits work to grade level only, including slab on grade and underground mechanical, electrical and plumbing. The fee is $80. It must be requested when the documents and fees are first filed, and corrective work found during later plan review is at your expense.
It can. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security treats site improvements that affect accessibility to a Class 1 structure as part of that structure. Accessible routes, ramps and landings serving a commercial building fall inside the design release requirement. Plan review staff will confirm whether a specific project is exempt by use or size.
Possibly. INDOT prequalification is required to bid or subcontract more than $300K in local government work involving the construction, improvement, alteration, repair or maintenance of a highway, street, road or alley. That reaches municipal street projects, not just state highways. Below that amount on INDOT work, prequalification is not required.
It depends on your contract type. Under Sales Tax Information Bulletin #60, a lump sum contractor pays sales or use tax on construction material and does not collect tax from the customer. A time and material contractor is a retail merchant, must register with the Department of Revenue, collects tax on the material portion, and buys for resale.
Name the authority. Say licensed by the specific city or county building commission that issued it, with the classification. Do not advertise as a state licensed concrete contractor, because the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency issues no such credential and it appears nowhere in the state license verification system. Bonded and insured is fine when both are true.
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