Kansas · Concrete licensing · official-source guide
Kansas has no statewide concrete contractor license. No state board licenses flatwork, foundations or masonry, and there is no state exam. Licensing is local. Johnson County Contractor Licensing covers the Kansas City suburbs through Class A, B and C general building licenses, Lawrence issues a Class D Concrete Contractor License, and Wichita issues a cement contractor license requiring a test and bond.
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Kansas does not license concrete contractors at the state level. No state board issues a license for flatwork, foundations or masonry, there is no statewide concrete exam, and there is no state license number to print on a truck door. The only construction trade Kansas registers statewide is roofing, which the attorney general administers under the Kansas roofing contractor registration act. Concrete sits entirely with local government, so the answer to whether you need a license changes at the city limit sign. Johnson County runs a countywide contractor licensing program that issues eleven license types and is used by cities including Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, Shawnee, Leawood, Prairie Village, Gardner, De Soto and Merriam. Lawrence writes its own contractor licensing regulations and issues a Class D Concrete Contractor License, the one license in the state named for the trade. Wichita licenses cement contractors through its Public Works and Utilities Engineering Division for sidewalk and driveway approach work. Topeka licenses all trades through its Development Services Division. Kansas City, Kansas requires a city occupational tax license from general contractors and subcontractors working in Wyandotte County and reserves master licenses for electrical, plumbing and mechanical. A pour in Olathe, a pour in Lawrence and a pour in Wichita are three different licensing problems. Contractors who work both sides of the metro line carry more than one credential. Before quoting a job, confirm which jurisdiction the address sits in and which office issues the license there, because building permits in these cities are issued against the local credential and the permit clerk checks it first.
Sourcesjocogov.org 1jocogov.org 2assets.lawrenceks.org 3wichita.gov 4topeka.gov 5wycokck.org 6ksrevisor.gov 7
Johnson County Contractor Licensing is a division of the Department of Planning, Housing and Community Development, and it issues and tracks eleven types of construction contractor license. None of the eleven is called concrete. Concrete, flatwork and foundation work falls under the general building classes. A Class A General Contractor License lets the company construct, remodel, repair and demolish any structure regardless of occupancy or height. A Class B Building Contractor License covers the same work on structures not exceeding three stories in height. A Class C Residential Contractor License covers single family or duplex residences and buildings accessory to them. All three allow the licensed company or its full time employees to perform framing, roofing, swimming pool construction, non structural remodeling, tenant finish and repairs within those limits. None of the three allows HVAC, plumbing, electrical or fire protection work, which require the separate DM, DP, DE and DF licenses. The specialty classes that do exist are electrical, fire protection, fire alarm, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, swimming pool and wood framing. A contractor pouring foundations under a new house in Olathe is doing Class C work at minimum. A contractor pouring a commercial building pad is doing Class A or Class B work depending on the height of the structure. The license belongs to the company, not the individual, and the company designates a qualifying individual who meets the education requirement for each class held. A company may apply for more than one license type, and each type carries its own qualifying requirement and its own fee.
Sourcesjocogov.org 1jocogov.org 2
Johnson County charges a $100 application fee on new licenses only, plus a new license fee of $225 for each license type. One license type therefore costs $325 to start. Two types cost $550, because the application fee is charged once and the license fee is charged per type. Renewal is $225 per license type. A late renewal fee of $75 per license type is applied on February 1. A company name change costs $25 and a license verification costs $25. New license applications cannot currently be submitted online; they go in person or by mail to the Contractor Licensing office at 111 S. Cherry, Suite 1000, Olathe. Payment is accepted in cash in the exact amount, by check, money order, cashier check, Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express, and the office cannot take payment over the phone. Active renewals can be paid online through the contractor portal. The application package needs a general liability certificate on an ACORD form, workers compensation insurance if the company has employees or a notarized waiver if it does not, a certificate of good standing from the Kansas Secretary of State where applicable, government issued photo identification for the qualifying individual, and proof of the education or examination required for the license type. Incomplete applications get delayed. Contractor licenses are valid for one year. The county publishes the new application, renewal application, qualifying individual change form, company name change form and workers compensation waiver form on its forms page.
Sourcesjocogov.org 1jocogov.org 2
Johnson County recognizes standard examinations defined by Kansas statutes or by its Contractor License Review Board, and it names the specific International Code Council exams it accepts. For a Class A General Contractor License the exam is the Standard General Building Contractor, exam identifiers 550 and KGA. For Class B it is the Standard Building Contractor, 551 and KGB. For Class C it is the Standard Residential Building Contractor, 552 and KGC. Those three are the exams a concrete and foundation contractor sits for in Johnson County, since the county has no concrete class. The trade classes use different exams: Standard Master Electrician 554 and KGD for DE, Standard Master Mechanical 556 and KGL for DM, Master Plumbing with Gas 557 and KGF for DP, Roofing Contractor and Subcontractor 553 and KGP for DR, and Framing Contractor 846 and KGJ for DW. The DF fire protection class has no approved ICC exam and instead requires the qualifying individual to hold a NICET Automatic Sprinkler System Layout Level III or IV certification, or NICET Water Based Sprinkler Layout Level III or Level IV. The county will also consider ICC national exams where a score of 75 percent or higher can be verified. ICC exams are administered by Pearson VUE and testing is arranged through them. Topeka accepts the same three general contractor exams, 550 for Class A with unlimited stories, 551 for Class B up to three stories and 552 for Class C residential only, which is why one exam result often travels between Kansas jurisdictions.
Sourcesjocogov.org 1topeka.gov 2
Every Johnson County qualifying individual must complete a minimum of eight hours of continuing education per license classification each calendar year, as required by the Contractor Licensing Review Board. A company holding two license types needs eight hours for each, not eight hours in total. The county delivers that education itself. Single day sessions run in April, May, June, August and September, are held online by Zoom with a one hundred participant cap, and are free to Johnson County qualifying individuals. Credit requires the attendee to be visible on camera. A Fall Training Conference is held in person at the Overland Park Convention Center. The attendance rules are strict. For a two hour class, late arrival or early departure totaling more than fifteen minutes means no credit. For a four hour class the limit is thirty minutes. For an eight hour class it is sixty minutes. Licenses run one year and the $75 per type late renewal fee lands on February 1. Topeka runs a parallel system with different numbers. Topeka licenses must be renewed each year by December 14 to avoid late fees. Contractors with Class A, B or C licenses must obtain eight hours of continuing education each year, while trade contractors need six hours a year of which three must be earned in their trade. Topeka does not prorate license fees and issues no refunds, and its licensing period runs from the date the license is processed until December 14 of that year.
Lawrence is the Kansas city that names the trade. Its contractor licensing regulations, Chapter 5, Article 15 of the city code as enacted by Ordinance 9634, create six classes of contractor license, and one of them is a Class D Building Specialty Contractor License for concrete. A Class D Concrete Contractor License entitles the licensee to perform general concrete work, including the installation of steel or bars for the reinforcement of concrete work. The other three Class D specialties are framing, roofing and swimming pool. Above them sit Class A General Contractor, Class B Building Contractor and Class C Residential Contractor, each of which includes the functions a Class D license covers. Separate from them are Class E trade specialty licenses for mechanical, plumbing, electrical and mechanical fireplace work, which a Class A through D license does not include, plus a Class L Limited Specialty Contractor License. Qualification is based on experience rather than a city written exam. A Class D applicant or qualifying party must have a minimum of two years of qualifying experience performing Class D work within the specialized industry for which the license is sought, so two years of concrete work earns the concrete license. Class C requires two years, Class B four years and Class A six years. A Class D roofing applicant must also submit proof of a current, valid State of Kansas Roofing Contractor Registration Certificate, which is the one place where the state registration and a city license meet.
Sourcesassets.lawrenceks.org
Lawrence charges an annual contractor license fee of $75.00, due at the time of application or renewal, and the fee is neither prorated nor refunded. A new application carries a $75.00 application fee as well. Renewal must happen before January 1 of the succeeding year. A renewal application received after January 1 but before May 1 is approved only with an additional $75.00 late fee. A license not renewed before May 1 has expired and cannot be extended, and the contractor must apply for a new license from the beginning. Insurance is not optional. A Lawrence licensee must maintain general liability insurance, including completed operations and products coverage, in an amount not less than $1,000,000.00 per occurrence, single limit for bodily injury and property damage, plus workers compensation insurance as required by state law. Certificates of insurance go in with the application and with every renewal, and the policy must be endorsed so the city receives written notice of any change. Two exemptions exist. A natural person employed by and working under the supervision of a contractor who holds a valid license for the work being undertaken is exempt. A natural person who owns and personally occupies, or will occupy, a detached dwelling may undertake construction, alteration, repair or maintenance of that dwelling or an accessory structure, though building permit rules still apply. Anyone who undertakes new construction of a detached dwelling more than two times in any five year period is deemed a contractor and loses that exemption. An appeal carries a $25.00 docketing fee.
Sourcesassets.lawrenceks.org
Wichita licenses the work directly through the Public Works and Utilities Engineering Division, and it calls the credential a cement contractor license. The city cement contractor booklet states that contractors doing private sidewalk or driveway approach work in the right of way must possess a current City of Wichita concrete contractor license and must be bonded. Getting it takes three steps. First, read and study the cement contractor booklet on city specifications for sidewalk and driveway work. Second, take the test, which carries a one time fee of $70.00. A failed first attempt may be retaken at no charge after waiting one week. A failed second attempt means paying the $70.00 testing fee again and waiting another week before retesting. Third, after passing the test and before the license is issued, provide a $5000.00 bond made to City of Wichita, Engineering, 455 N. Main, 7th floor, with an original power of attorney giving the agent authority to draw on the bond, and submit annual bond renewal certificates even where the bond is continuous. A concrete license is then issued for a period of one year for $60.00. If the license is not renewed within 30 days of the expiration date, an additional fee of $60.00 is required. If the license has been expired for more than one year, the contractor must take the test again and pay the $70.00 test fee. Wichita also requires an excavation bond of $5,000 on file with city engineering for excavation and pavement cutting work.
Sourceswichita.gov
In Wichita the license is only the entry ticket. Each job in the right of way also needs a permit, and the city publishes the fee schedule by address or by block. A sidewalk permit is $90.00 for zero to twenty linear feet per address and $105.00 for over twenty linear feet per address. Curb cuts, curb, gutter and paving, flumes and wheelchair ramps are each $100.00 per address for residential or commercial work. Pavement cuts are $100.00 per block and dirt cuts are $150.00 per block. A temporary asphalt or unpaved permit is $60.00 per address. A use of right of way permit carries a $125.00 one time processing charge and a use of easement permit carries a $335.00 one time processing charge. Permits for specialty driveways are issued to the property owner rather than the contractor, require the owner's information and signature, and carry a $125.00 administrative fee. Working outside those rules has teeth. Under the city specifications a contractor may receive a summons to appear in Municipal Court and pay a fine up to $500 in accordance with city ordinance. Without a current license, no permits or inspections will be granted, which stops a flatwork crew cold on anything touching the public right of way. Driveway approaches, public sidewalks and the apron where a new slab meets the street all sit inside that zone, so a large share of residential concrete work in Wichita falls under the cement contractor license.
Sourceswichita.gov
Topeka takes a third approach. Its Development Services Division is responsible for issuing all contractor and trade licenses, and the city states that all trades are required to be licensed and to pull permits to work in the City of Topeka. Topeka publishes lists of its licensed general, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, excavation and specialty contractors. The specialty list contains fire alarm contractors, demolition contractors and roofing contractors only. There is no concrete category. Concrete, foundation and flatwork therefore runs under the general contractor license, and work in the public right of way runs under the excavation contractor license. The general contractor classes map to the same three ICC exams used across Kansas: exam 550 for Class A, Kansas Standard General Building Contractor with unlimited stories; exam 551 for Class B, Kansas Standard Building Contractor up to three stories; and exam 552 for Class C, Kansas Standard Residential Building Contractor, residential only. An application needs the passing ICC certification or approved alternative education with transcripts, a qualifying party verification form, a general liability certificate of insurance, a workers compensation certificate of insurance or a notarized affidavit where state coverage is not required, and a certificate of insurance acknowledgement form. The City of Topeka Development Services address goes in the certificate holder section. Processing can take up to ten days. Letting the certificate of insurance lapse makes the license inactive after a thirty day grace period and costs a $30.00 reinstatement fee to restore. Returned licensing mail costs the licensee a $10.00 fee.
Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County are governed by the Unified Government, and the rule there is different again. The Unified Government states that general contractors and subcontractors are required to obtain a city occupational tax license, also called a business license, if working within Wyandotte County, and directs applicants to its Business License office. Trade masters are required to carry a master's license with building inspections, and the trades listed for master licensing and Prometric testing are mechanical, electrical and plumbing. Concrete is not among them. A concrete subcontractor working in Kansas City, Kansas is therefore looking at the occupational tax license plus building permits and inspections through the Neighborhood Resource Center, rather than a trade license and a trade exam. The Unified Government publishes lists of licensed subcontractors by trade and has updated them on the first of every month since March 3, 2010. For a crew working the Kansas side of the metro this creates a practical split. Work in Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, Leawood, Shawnee, Merriam, Mission, Mission Hills, Prairie Village, Roeland Park, Spring Hill, Gardner, De Soto, Edgerton or Westwood Hills runs through the Johnson County license. Work a few miles north in Kansas City, Kansas runs through the Unified Government occupational tax license. Work in Lawrence runs through the Lawrence contractor license. Three jurisdictions, three different filings, and the building permit in each one is issued against the local credential rather than a state one.
Insurance is where the local programs agree. Johnson County requires a general liability certificate on an ACORD form and workers compensation insurance if the company has employees, or a notarized waiver if it does not. Topeka requires a general liability certificate and a workers compensation certificate with the application and accepts a notarized affidavit where state workers compensation coverage is not required. Lawrence sets a hard number: general liability including completed operations and products coverage of not less than $1,000,000.00 per occurrence, single limit for bodily injury and property damage. On workers compensation the state statute draws the line. The Kansas workers compensation act applies to all employments in the state except, among other exclusions, an employer whose total gross annual payroll for the preceding calendar year was not more than $20,000 for all employees and who reasonably estimates that the current year payroll will not exceed $20,000 for all employees. Wages paid to an employee who is a member of the employer's family by marriage or consanguinity are excluded from that payroll calculation, and an employer with no payroll in the prior year is judged on the same reasonable estimate. Agricultural pursuits are excluded as well. Bonds are local and job specific rather than statewide. Wichita requires a $5000.00 bond payable to the city before a cement contractor license is issued, plus an excavation bond of $5,000 on file with city engineering. Johnson County, Topeka and Lawrence do not state a license bond amount in their published license requirements.
Sourcesjocogov.org 1topeka.gov 2assets.lawrenceks.org 3ksrevisor.gov 4wichita.gov 5
Kansas taxes some concrete labor and not other concrete labor, and the line matters when you write an estimate. The Kansas Department of Revenue publication for contractors, subcontractors and repairmen states the rule directly: services performed to install or apply tangible personal property are exempt from sales tax when the services involve original construction, reconstruction or restoration, and residential labor services are exempt. Original construction is exempt while commercial remodel labor is taxable. Construction of a building on a site previously occupied by a building that has been demolished, razed or dismantled still counts as original construction if the new building is totally new, whether or not the old foundation was also demolished, which covers a teardown and rebuild foundation pour. For a mixed use property the publication requires an allocation by square footage, so a job serving a building that is part private residence and part open to the public gets split. Contractors, subcontractors and repairmen who perform taxable labor services in Kansas must obtain a Kansas sales tax number to report and remit the tax collected from customers. Contractors or subcontractors who perform only original construction or residential labor services are not required to register to collect sales tax, so no tax number is needed for that work. Materials are a separate question from labor, and a contractor who also sells tangible personal property at retail must be registered as a contractor retailer. Rates vary by jurisdiction, and the department publishes jurisdiction codes and an online rate locator by street address or zip code.
Sourcesksrevenue.gov
A concrete contractor based in Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska or Colorado who takes Kansas work picks up an extra filing. The Kansas Nonresident Contractors Act requires nonresident contractors and nonresident subcontractors to register with the Director of Taxation for each contract performed in Kansas when the total contract price or compensation received is more than $10,000. That registration requirement is waived if the nonresident contractor or subcontractor is a foreign corporation authorized to do business in Kansas by the Kansas Secretary of State. Registration is completed in the nonresident contractor section of the CR-16 Kansas Business Tax Application. A bond comes with it. Every nonresident contractor or subcontractor required to register a contract must, before entering into performance, execute and file with the Director of Taxation a good and valid bond from a surety company authorized to do business in Kansas, or with sufficient sureties approved by the Director. As a general rule the bond must be 8 percent of the total contract amount or $1,000, whichever is greater. If the project is a tax exempt project the bond is 4 percent of the contract amount or $1,000, whichever is greater, and a copy of the Project Exemption Certificate must accompany a 4 percent bond. One surety bond can cover more than one contract where the other contracts start in the same calendar year and the bond was submitted as a blanket bond. Release forms should be requested sixty days before the expected completion date.
Sourcesksrevenue.gov
Penalties for unlicensed work are set locally and they are not trivial. In Lawrence it is unlawful for any person to operate as a contractor within the city without a license, and unlawful to perform any action for which a building permit is required without one. A conviction or plea of no contest carries a minimum fine of $500.00 and a maximum fine of $2,500.00 for each unlawful act, and the municipal court judge has no authority to suspend any portion of the minimum fine. In Wichita a contractor may receive a summons to appear in Municipal Court and pay a fine up to $500 under city ordinance, and without a current license no permits or inspections will be granted. Verification is public. Johnson County runs a contractor search where anyone can look up a company by name or company number, look up a person by name, or list every company holding a given license class. Topeka publishes current lists of its licensed general, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, excavation and specialty contractors as downloadable files. Those lookups are what a careful homeowner checks before signing. On advertising, the state level rule that exists applies to roofing rather than concrete: a roofing contractor registration certificate number must be submitted when applying for any permit issued by the state or a political subdivision and must be written on the permit, and the small project exemption does not apply to a person who advertises or puts out a sign, card or other device indicating they are a roofing contractor.
Sourcesassets.lawrenceks.org 1wichita.gov 2cls.jocogov.org 3files.topeka.gov 4ksrevisor.gov 5ksrevisor.gov 6
These are common details other guides publish about Kansas, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
No. Kansas has no state board that licenses concrete, flatwork, foundation or masonry contractors, and there is no statewide concrete exam. Roofing is the only construction trade the state registers, and the attorney general administers that registration. Everything else is handled by the city or county where the work sits.
Lawrence. Its contractor licensing regulations create a Class D Concrete Contractor License, which entitles the holder to perform general concrete work, including installing steel or bars for the reinforcement of concrete work. The applicant or qualifying party needs a minimum of two years of qualifying experience performing that Class D work.
Johnson County has no concrete class, so the work falls under the general building licenses. Class C covers single family or duplex residences and accessory buildings. Class B covers structures not exceeding three stories. Class A covers any structure regardless of occupancy or height. Pick the class that matches the structure you are pouring for.
The county charges a $100 application fee on new licenses only, plus a new license fee of $225 for each license type. One type totals $325. Two types total $550, because the application fee is charged once. Renewal is $225 per license type each year, and licenses are valid for one year.
The Standard Building Contractor exam, listed by Johnson County under identifiers 551 and KGB. Class A uses the Standard General Building Contractor exam, 550 and KGA. Class C uses the Standard Residential Building Contractor exam, 552 and KGC. Those exams come from the International Code Council and are administered by Pearson VUE.
A minimum of eight hours per license classification each calendar year, required of every qualifying individual by the Contractor Licensing Review Board. Two license types means eight hours for each. The county provides free online single day sessions in April, May, June, August and September, and an in person Fall Training Conference in Overland Park.
A $5000.00 bond made to City of Wichita Engineering, filed after you pass the test and before the license is issued. An original power of attorney must give the agent authority to draw on the bond, and annual bond renewal certificates are required even when the bond is written as continuous.
It is unlawful to operate as a contractor in the city without one, and unlawful to perform work requiring a building permit without one. A conviction or plea of no contest brings a minimum fine of $500.00 and a maximum of $2,500.00 for each unlawful act. The judge cannot suspend the minimum.
The Kansas workers compensation act covers employers in the state, with an exclusion for an employer whose total gross annual payroll for the prior calendar year was not more than $20,000 and who reasonably estimates the current year will stay under that figure. Wages paid to family members are left out of that total.
Residential labor services are exempt, and so are services involving original construction, reconstruction or restoration. Commercial remodel labor is taxable. A contractor performing only original construction or residential labor services is not required to register to collect Kansas sales tax, so no tax number is needed for that work alone.
A nonresident contractor or subcontractor must register each Kansas contract with the Director of Taxation when the contract price is more than $10,000, unless it is a foreign corporation authorized to do business in Kansas. A bond of 8 percent of the contract amount or $1,000, whichever is greater, goes with it.
The county runs a public contractor search. You can look up a company by name or company number, look up a person by last and first name, or list every company holding a given license class. Topeka publishes separate downloadable lists of its licensed general, excavation and specialty contractors.
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