Alabama · Remodeling licensing · official-source guide
Alabama licenses residential remodeling at the state level through the Home Builders Licensure Board. A license is required once the cost of the undertaking exceeds $10,000, or $2,500 for residential roofing. Multi trade or structural work needs the license without limitation, which requires passing the Alabama Business and Law and Skills exams.
Verified against agency sources on 2026-10-05. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Alabama regulates residential remodeling at the state level. The Home Builders Licensure Board licenses and regulates the residential construction and remodeling industries under Title 34, Chapter 14A of the Code of Alabama. No city or county issues the license that controls the work itself. The board office is at 445 Herron Street in Montgomery. The trigger is the cost of the undertaking. A residential home builder is any person who, for a fixed price, commission, fee or wage, undertakes the construction or superintending of the construction, or the repair, improvement or reimprovement, of a residence or structure not over three floors in height with no more than four residential units, when the cost of the undertaking exceeds $10,000. Cost of the undertaking means the total cost of materials, labor, supervision, overhead and profit. Remodeling is named in the statute itself. For residential roofing the threshold drops to $2,500. The definition reaches further than contracting. It covers anyone who manages, supervises, assists or provides consultation to a homeowner regarding the construction. It also covers advertising: anyone who engages or offers to engage in those acts through advertising is deemed to have engaged in the business of residential home building. You can trip the statute with a Facebook ad before you ever sign a job. Permit offices enforce this. Building officials have a statutory duty to refuse a building permit for any undertaking that would require a board license unless the applicant furnishes evidence of the license or an exemption, and to report suspected violators to the board.
Sourceshblb.alabama.gov 1hblb.alabama.gov 2hblb.alabama.gov 3
The board issues licenses without limitation, with limitation, and with limitation specifying a single trade. The three are priced and tested differently, and they do not cover the same work. A license without limitation, the unlimited license, lets you engage in residential home building regardless of the scope of the construction. New houses, additions, structural repairs, whole house remodels, anything in the chapter. A license with limitation, the limited license, only covers the repair, improvement or reimprovement of an existing residence or structure. It does not cover new construction, and it does not cover work that meets the definition of residential roofing. A license with limitation limited to roofing, the roofers license, covers only the installation of products or repair of surfaces on the external upper covering that seals, waterproofs or weatherproofs the residence. Two tests decide which one a remodeler needs: how many trades the job involves, and whether the work affects the structural integrity of the residence. Single trade work that leaves structure alone can run on a limited license. Multi trade work, or any work affecting structural integrity, requires the unlimited license. That matters for how you sell. A remodeler who quotes full kitchens, baths, additions or anything that moves a wall needs the unlimited license. A siding only or flooring only shop can operate on the limited license and skip the exam. Both the unlimited and limited licenses carry the Homeowners' Recovery Fund fee. The roofers license does not, and homeowners cannot claim against the fund over a roofer.
Sourceshblb.alabama.gov
The board's rules publish examples, and they are the clearest guide to the two tests. Reading them before you bid saves arguments later. A framer contracts directly with a homeowner to frame an addition for $30,000. One trade only, but framing affects structural integrity, so the framer needs the unlimited license. A foundation contractor contracts directly with a homeowner for a $15,000 foundation. One trade, structural, so the unlimited license again. A siding company contracts directly with a homeowner to install vinyl siding for $20,000. Over the threshold, so a license is required, but the work is one trade and does not affect structural integrity, so the limited license is enough. A builder contracts directly with a homeowner for painting and sheetrock replacement at $8,500. Two trades, but under $10,000, so no board license is required. The rules add that if the same job had exceeded $10,000, the unlimited license would be required because more than one trade is involved. A roofer contracts directly for a new roof plus replacement of damaged decking and fascia at $8,000. Over the roofing threshold of $2,500, one trade, no structural effect, so a roofers license covers it. Add one roof truss repair requiring a framer, at $11,000, and the unlimited license is required. Subcontractors are treated separately. A framer paid $30,000 by an unlimited licensee who holds the homeowner contract needs no board license, because the framer did not contract directly with the homeowner. Contract direct with the owner and the license question lands on you.
Sourceshblb.alabama.gov
Chapter 14A lists the exemptions, and remodelers should know them because competitors sometimes claim one they do not have. Employees of a licensee are exempt, as long as the employee does not hold himself or herself out for hire or engage in residential home building except as that licensee's employee. Authorized employees of the United States, the state, a municipality, a county or another political subdivision are exempt within their employment. General contractors holding a current and valid license issued before January 1, 1992 under Chapter 8 of Title 34 are exempt. Real estate licensees, licensed engineers and licensed architects are exempt when operating within the scope of their own licenses on behalf of clients. Property owners acting as their own contractor are exempt when they provide all material supervision themselves, on one family or two family residences on their own property, for their own occupancy or use, and not offered for sale. That exemption cannot be transferred to anyone else, including an agent under a power of attorney. If the owner sells or offers the structure for sale within one year of completion, that is presumptive evidence the construction was undertaken for sale, which defeats the exemption. Mobile homes and any structure installed, inspected or regulated by the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission are outside the chapter, including the repair, improvement or reimprovement of such a structure. Agricultural buildings are exempt except for any residence contained in them. Nothing in the chapter stops any person from performing this work on their own residence or their other real estate holdings.
Sourceshblb.alabama.gov
For the unlimited license you have to satisfy the board that you possess the experience and ability to engage in residential homebuilding, and that means passing the Alabama Home Builders exams. No authorization is required to sit for them. The board does not administer the testing; it contracts the exams out to Prov, and registration and testing sites run through the testing provider. There are two exams. The board publishes the passing scores: 70 on the Alabama Business and Law exam and 66 on the Alabama Skills exam. The rules give you a window. An applicant has three years from the year of a passing score to file a written application for a license. After three years, if you have not filed and obtained a license, you have to retake the exam and pass again. Written exams are given at least quarterly at places designated by the board. For a limited license or a roofers license there is no exam. Instead you show the board a currently held business or occupational license as a contractor, roofer or other related construction trade, issued by a municipality, township or county in the state, or one held on or before one year before the application date. The rules also accept, as evidence of qualification, a written recommendation signed by a builder holding a current unlimited home builders license from Alabama or any other state, or a recommendation from a building official in Alabama or any other state. The board also weighs character and willingness to serve the public, and may require more information case by case.
Alabama screens your finances, not just your skills. For the unlimited and limited licenses you have to satisfy the board that you possess the business related financial responsibility to engage in residential homebuilding, and you do that by having a credit reporting agency send a current credit report on the individual or business directly to the board. The rules set real thresholds. An applicant may have outstanding judgments, judgment liens or perfected liens only if the amounts do not exceed $500 in the aggregate. For judgments, judgment liens or perfected liens that are under dispute in court, with the taxing authority, or on appeal, the aggregate ceiling is $1,000. Business related collection or foreclosure accounts over $500 in the aggregate require documentation. Business related liens include any lien that can attach to real estate you take in your own name and then sell or deed to a consumer in a way that harms the consumer's title. A certified copy of the satisfaction and release from the court is sufficient proof of release. Disclosing a Social Security number is mandatory under the Alabama Child Support Act, and voluntary for the credit and public records search. If you decline for the credit purpose, the alternate format is five notarized business related credit letters from financial institutions, building suppliers or other creditors outlining specific payment history, plus a certified public records search. The roofers license replaces the credit review with a bond. It must be issued by a licensed bonding or surety company, be for not less than $10,000, name the board as obligee, and run from issuance to December 31 of the current licensure year.
Licenses go to individuals, partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies and not for profit organizations. An entity applying for a license has to designate a qualifying representative: a general partner of a partnership, an officer of a corporation, a member of a member managed LLC, or a manager of a manager managed LLC. That person either holds a license individually or meets the experience and ability requirements. The entity can rely on the qualifying representative's experience, ability and exam results, but has to satisfy every other licensing requirement itself. The entity name and the representative's name both appear on the face of the license. Losing your qualifier is a live risk. If the designated qualifying representative stops being a partner, officer, member or manager, the representative and the entity have to notify the board immediately. Unless a replacement who holds a license or meets the experience and ability requirements is designated within 45 days, the entity license is automatically revoked, subject to a show cause hearing. If the representative dies or becomes mentally or physically incapacitated, the entity may claim a hardship waiver, filed within 45 days with an obituary or death certificate, or physician documentation of the diagnosis and its date. A granted waiver lasts no more than 135 days from the death or incapacitation and cannot be extended. An individual who is the qualifying representative of one entity may only build through that entity. To work individually or through a second entity, that builder has to obtain another license, and satisfy the financial responsibility requirements again. Corporations, LLCs and limited partnerships also file a Certificate of Compliance from the Alabama Department of Revenue, and out of state entities file a Certificate of Existence from the Alabama Secretary of State.
The board publishes its fee schedule in its rules, so you can budget exactly. The annual license fee is $235 for a license without limitation and $235 for a license with limitation. A license with limitation limited to residential roofing is $150. New applicants pay a nonrefundable application processing fee of $100, which must accompany every new license application. Unlimited and limited licensees also pay an annual Homeowners' Recovery Fund fee of $15 with the application and with each renewal. That fund fee does not apply to roofing only licenses. If you want the paper application package mailed to you, that is $25, payable to the board by check or money order, and you state whether you want the unlimited, limited or roofers package. The same package is downloadable free from the board site, in which case you also download the statute and rules. Letting a license lapse is expensive. Reactivating an expired unlimited or limited license less than three years old carries a $350 nonrefundable application processing fee. For an expired roofing only license less than three years old it is $150. Renewal applications received on December 1 or later carry a $50 late fee. Other posted amounts: inactive license fee $125 for unlimited and limited, $75 for roofing only; examination records fee $15; bad check fee $30; lost or stolen replacement license $25; change of designated qualifying representative for a corporation, LLC or partnership $100; continuing education late fee $50; non traditional continuing education approval fee $50. Fees are paid by check or money order and are not refundable, except that the board may refund fees other than the application processing fee to an applicant who is denied or who does not finish the process.
Alabama licenses run on the calendar year. The annual license fee covers twelve months beginning January 1, and a license is valid only during the calendar year printed on it. At the end of that year it expires unless it is renewed on time. Renewal applications have to be filed by November 30 of the preceding year. Anything postmarked December 1 or later is late and carries the late fee. Continuing education is required and has been since the 2022 licensure year. Active individual licensees, and the designated qualifying representative of an active corporation, LLC or partnership, have to obtain six credit hours of continuing education each year, taught by a board approved provider or instructor, to keep the license active. The same six hour requirement applies to unlimited licenses, limited licenses and roofing only licenses. Two of the six credits must be in areas specific to Alabama as designated by the board. A credit hour means 50 minutes of instruction. You may carry over up to six hours from one licensure period to the next. Credit hours taken for similar professions and taught by board approved instructors can count. For a non traditional course, you submit the written request, documentation and the required fee for review within the current license year and before renewing for the following year. Remedial education ordered as part of a board disciplinary action does not count toward the six hours. Board approved instructors who are also licensees can use their own course instruction to satisfy the requirement, with evidence of what they taught and when, and they get credit for a given course only once. The board publishes its approved provider and course list.
Two statutory duties sit on every licensee before the first day of work, and both are written. First, the contract. Each licensee shall use a valid written contract when engaging in the business of residential home building, and the contract shall contain the licensee's license number issued by the board. The rules make it a disciplinary matter to fail to use a valid written contract including offer and acceptance indicated by the signing of all parties, including display of the active valid license number issued by the board. A handshake deal is not just risky, it is a violation. Second, insurance. Before residential home building starts, the builder has to disclose in writing to the homeowner whether the builder has obtained and is currently maintaining liability insurance. The disclosure has to be signed by the builder and the homeowner and attested by one witness selected by the homeowner. Failure to comply is a violation punishable by the board. Note what the statute does and does not do: it forces disclosure of your insurance status, it does not set a minimum limit. Failing to disclose the status is separately listed as grounds for discipline. There is a third written disclosure. If the work will comply with a program designed to enhance the resiliency of the structure beyond the requirements of the applicable building codes, the licensee has to disclose that compliance to the homeowner in writing before work starts. The board's own consumer guidance tells homeowners to ask for proof of workers compensation coverage where applicable and liability insurance, to get guarantees and warranties in writing, to agree on start and finish dates in the contract, and to make the contract specific as to materials, colors, brands and models. Quote that way and you look like the licensed option.
Alabama has no three day right of rescission written into the home builders chapter. The cancellation right lives in the Alabama Consumer Credit Act, the Mini Code, at Section 5-19-12, and it is narrower than most people assume. A buyer has the right to cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day following the buyer's execution of an agreement or offer to purchase. Notice is effective when delivered, or when deposited in the mail properly addressed to the seller with postage prepaid. A home solicitation sale is defined as a consumer credit sale of goods or services, other than motor vehicles, where the seller or someone acting for the seller personally solicits the sale away from the seller's place of business and the buyer's agreement or offer is given there. It excludes sales made under a preexisting open end credit plan, a closed end plan providing for a series of sales, and sales made after prior negotiations at the seller's place of business where goods or services are offered for sale. If it applies, the seller has to deliver and get the buyer's signature on a written agreement dated the day the buyer actually signs, carrying the conspicuous caption BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL and the prescribed notice with the seller's name and mailing address. Alternatively the seller may deliver the notice required by the Federal Trade Commission cooling off rule at 16 CFR Part 429. Until the seller complies, the buyer may cancel within one year of the sale. After cancellation the seller has 10 days to return payments, trade ins and any evidence of debt. The right does not apply if the buyer gives a separate dated and signed personal statement describing an emergency requiring immediate remedy and waiving it. Printed forms for that purpose are prohibited.
Sourcesbanking.alabama.gov
Alabama gives this real teeth, and the teeth matter to licensed remodelers because they are what you are competing against. Undertaking or attempting to undertake the business of residential home building without a current and valid license is a Class A misdemeanor. So is knowingly presenting or filing false information with the board to obtain a license, and violating any law or code adopted by a county commission under the chapter. Upon notice from the board, the unlicensed person has to stop immediately, and the written notice goes to the property owner or agent, to the builder, or to the person doing the work, and states the conditions under which work may resume. The board may levy and collect administrative fines not to exceed $5,000 for each violation of the chapter or its rules. The board summarizes its own options on unlicensed builders as fining up to $5,000, stopping the work, and pursuing criminal charges. It may also petition the circuit court in the county where the violation occurred for a temporary restraining order or other injunctive relief. The quiet penalty is the worst one. A residential home builder who does not have the required license cannot bring or maintain any action to enforce any contract for residential home building entered into in violation of the chapter. No lien enforcement, no suit for the unpaid balance. The board runs a Builder Watch Hotline at 800-304-0853 and takes unlicensed builder information forms from homeowners and tip forms from anyone else. Separately, home repair fraud is its own criminal offense under Alabama law, covering misrepresentation of material facts, deception or false promises used to induce a contract, concealment of the real name or business address, and coercion to modify contract terms.
Sourceshblb.alabama.gov 1hblb.alabama.gov 2judicial.alabama.gov 3
This is the part that touches marketing directly. Whenever a licensee engages in advertising, the licensee shall ensure that the licensee's valid license number issued by the board is displayed. Failing to display the valid active license number while advertising is listed in the board's rules as grounds for discipline. Advertising is defined broadly in the statute: offering for sale professional services by promoting them through print, radio or television media, on billboards, through social media, through promotional sponsorships, on vehicles, by placing signs in front of ongoing or completed worksites, or by displaying credentials including licensure. The rules then say exactly how to comply. In print, television and other visual advertisements, display the number as HBLB #: followed by your valid active license number, or Alabama HBLB #: followed by it, or an equivalent. In radio advertisements, narrate it the same way. For vehicle decals, signage and wraps, follow the print format. For social media pages, posts and websites, the valid active license number should be easily accessible for consumers and the general public to find within the page or post. There is no requirement on font size or placement, so long as it is easy to find. So the license number belongs in your website footer, on your Google Business Profile, on your truck wraps, on yard signs, and in your written contracts. Local jurisdictions may also have ordinances governing what has to be displayed with advertising and whether a type of advertising is allowed. Unlicensed advertising has its own enforcement track. The board may send a warning letter, then forward evidence of a repeat violation to its investigative committee, and on a probable cause finding refer the matter to the Attorney General for injunctive relief.
Sourceshblb.alabama.gov
Alabama runs a recovery fund, and it changes how you answer the trust question on a sales call. An aggrieved homeowner who contracts directly with a licensee holding a license without limitation or with limitation may recover actual economic damages sustained in Alabama caused by that licensee's gross negligence, incompetence or misconduct in residential home building, or by a violation of the board's rules. The board publishes the ceilings. The maximum payment based on a single transaction is $30,000. Payments for claims based on judgments or settlements against any one licensee cannot exceed $90,000 in the aggregate. Homeowners who contract with a roofing only licensee cannot claim against the fund at all. The path is strict. Payment can only be made after a valid judgment, excluding a consent judgment, from a court of competent jurisdiction, and only for actual economic damages. The homeowner has to show reasonable efforts to collect from the licensee first. Nothing is paid for pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, interest, attorney fees or court costs. Within 10 days of filing the civil complaint the homeowner notifies the board by certified mail and encloses the complaint, without naming the board as a party. The consumer complaint has to be submitted within six years of substantial completion or of the date the original homeowner took possession. Licensees fund it. Each licensee pays, on order of the board, a fee not to exceed $60 no more than once a year, and the current posted amount is $15 a year. Inactive licensees do not contribute. If the fund pays on your behalf, the board may revoke your license and refuse to recognize your qualifications until you repay in full plus 12 percent annual interest, and bankruptcy does not discharge that.
The state license does not replace local registration. Alabama cities license businesses, and permit offices check your state license before they issue anything. In Birmingham, the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits handles most permits and is moving applications to an Online Permit Center, with a Birmingham Permit Guide that walks you through what a given job needs. Business tax and licensing run through the city Tax and License Division. Huntsville is the clearest about contractors. The Inspection Department enforces building codes and issues building permits, and states its goal includes protecting the public from abuse by unlicensed contractors and subcontractors through enforcement of contractor licensing laws. The city requires that all contractors and subcontractors conducting any type of business within the corporate limits obtain a General Business License, and Zoning Administration checks zoning compliance before a business license is approved. The city publishes a contractor business license and fee schedule, a license classification page, and a contractors insurance certificate requirement. In Mobile, a business license is required for any person, firm or entity conducting business from, into or within the city and the police jurisdiction. Licenses expire December 31 regardless of when in the year they were issued, are due January 1 and are delinquent after January 31. Applicants confirm whether the address falls in the city or the police jurisdiction, then obtain zoning clearance before the application can be processed. Two points cut across all of them. Building officials must refuse a permit for work requiring a state license unless you show the license or an exemption. And the board's limited license path itself relies on your holding a municipal, township or county business or occupational license as a contractor, so the local registration is not optional paperwork.
Sourcesbirminghamal.gov 1huntsvilleal.gov 2huntsvilleal.gov 3cityofmobile.gov 4hblb.alabama.gov 5
The board maintains a public licensee search, linked from its own consumer pages, and it tells homeowners to use it before signing a contract for more than $10,000. It also tells them to ask to see the home builders license card, ask whether the builder carries insurance and ask for proof, check references, and call the board at 800-304-0853 for more information. The board publishes its disciplinary actions as well. Expect customers to check. The board's own guidance says homeowners can do more to protect themselves before hiring than the board can do after they are harmed, and it notes that home repair fraud is the number one complaint filed with the Attorney General's Consumer Affairs Division. Put your license number where a homeowner looking for it will find it in one step, and the check confirms you instead of raising a question. Two other state bodies come up. The Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors licenses general contractors, defined as those who undertake construction, alteration, repair or similar work on a building, structure or project where the cost including labor and materials is $100,000 or more, with a $5,000 threshold for swimming pool construction. Subcontractors on contracts of $100,000 or more under a licensed prime also need that license. That board runs its own license roster search. For residential remodeling your governing license is the home builders license. Chapter 14A also exempts general contractors holding a license issued before January 1, 1992 under Chapter 8 of Title 34, and exempts licensed engineers, licensed architects and real estate licensees acting within their own licenses. Workers compensation is administered separately by the Alabama Department of Labor Workers Compensation Division.
Sourceshblb.alabama.gov 1hblb.alabama.gov 2alhobv7prod.glsuite.us 3hblb.alabama.gov 4genconbd.alabama.gov 5genconbd.alabama.gov 6hblb.alabama.gov 7adol.alabama.gov 8
These are common details other guides publish about Alabama, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Yes. The Home Builders Licensure Board licenses residential remodeling under Title 34, Chapter 14A of the Code of Alabama. A license is required when the cost of the undertaking exceeds $10,000, counting materials, labor, supervision, overhead and profit. Residential roofing is licensed once the cost of the undertaking exceeds $2,500.
A license without limitation covers residential home building regardless of scope, including new construction. A license with limitation covers only repair, improvement or reimprovement of an existing residence, and only where the work is a single trade that does not affect structural integrity. The limited license requires no exam.
Usually yes. The board's tests are the number of trades and whether the work affects structural integrity. A kitchen remodel over $10,000 normally involves several trades, which the board's own examples say requires a license without limitation. Single trade work that leaves structure untouched can run on a limited license.
The unlimited license requires the Alabama Home Builders exams, administered by the testing provider Prov rather than the board. No authorization is needed to register. The board publishes passing scores of 70 on the Alabama Business and Law exam and 66 on the Alabama Skills exam. Limited and roofers licenses require no exam.
The annual license fee is $235 for a license without limitation and $235 for a license with limitation. A roofing only license is $150. New applicants also pay a $100 nonrefundable application processing fee. Unlimited and limited licensees pay an annual Homeowners' Recovery Fund fee of $15.
The license runs on the calendar year and expires at the end of it. Renewal applications have to be filed by November 30 of the preceding year, and anything postmarked December 1 or later is late and carries a $50 late fee. Six continuing education credit hours are required annually.
A bond of not less than $10,000 naming the board as obligee is required only for the roofing only license. Unlimited and limited applicants show financial responsibility through a credit report sent directly to the board. The statute requires written disclosure of your liability insurance status, not a minimum limit.
Yes. Whenever a licensee advertises, the valid license number has to be displayed. The rules accept the format HBLB #: followed by your active number, or Alabama HBLB #: followed by it, in print, television, vehicle wraps and signage, narrated in radio, and easily findable on websites and social media pages.
Unlicensed residential home building is a Class A misdemeanor. The board can order the work stopped, levy administrative fines up to $5,000 per violation, and seek an injunction. An unlicensed builder also cannot bring or maintain any action to enforce the contract, so the unpaid balance is unrecoverable.
Yes, through the Homeowners' Recovery Fund, after a valid judgment that is not a consent judgment and reasonable efforts to collect from the licensee. The maximum is $30,000 for a single transaction and $90,000 in the aggregate against one licensee. Claims against roofing only licensees are not eligible.
Only in limited circumstances. Section 5-19-12 of the Alabama Consumer Credit Act gives a buyer until midnight of the third business day to cancel a home solicitation sale, which is a consumer credit sale solicited away from the seller's place of business. The seller must supply the prescribed written cancellation notice.
No. They stack. Huntsville requires all contractors and subcontractors working inside the corporate limits to hold a General Business License, and Mobile requires one for any entity doing business in the city or its police jurisdiction. Building officials must still refuse permits unless you show the state license or an exemption.
We can review the local market, your current search visibility, and paid-search fit before recommending any marketing work.