North Dakota · Roofing licensing · official-source guide
North Dakota has no roofing-specific license. Instead, the Secretary of State licenses all contractors under Century Code chapter 43-07 for any job over $4,000, in Classes A through D that cap single-project value. Roofers must also follow the residential storm-repair statute, chapter 26.1-39.2, which bans deductible rebates, and cannot act as public adjusters without an Insurance Department license.
Verified against agency sources on 2026-09-28. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
North Dakota does not issue a license that says roofing on it. The state instead requires a general contractor license for nearly all construction work above a dollar threshold, and roofing falls inside it. North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-07 defines a contractor as any person in the business of construction, repair, alteration, dismantling, or demolition of buildings and every other type of structure or improvement to real property. A roof replacement on a house, a hail repair on a strip mall, and a tear-off on a warehouse all fit that definition. The Secretary of State administers the program and calls the person who runs it the registrar. Section 43-07-02 says a person may not act as a contractor in the state when the cost, value, or price per job exceeds four thousand dollars without first holding a license. The Secretary of State's contractor page repeats the same $4,000 line in plain language and adds that it covers subcontractors, general contractors, public contractors, and nonresident contractors. For a roofer, that means the license is per company and per legal name, not per trade. There is no roofing exam, no roofing classification, and no separate roofing board at the state level. The chapter does carve out one group: a person who only furnishes a finished product or material that the person does not affix to real property. A supplier who drops shingles at a curb is outside the chapter. The crew that nails them down is inside it. Two other layers sit on top of this license: a residential storm-repair statute written specifically for roof work, and city licenses such as the re-roofing license in Fargo. Later sections cover both.
Sourcesndlegis.gov 1sos.nd.gov 2
The one license comes in four classes, and the class caps the value of any single contract project. Under section 43-07-07, a Class A holder has no limit on the value of a single project. Class B is capped at five hundred thousand dollars per project, Class C at three hundred thousand dollars, and Class D at one hundred thousand dollars. The Secretary of State's page lists the same fee tiers and describes Class A as over $500,000 per job. For roofing, the class is a bidding ceiling, and it matters most on commercial work. A residential re-roof in most markets sits well under the Class D ceiling, so a small residential crew can operate on the lowest class. A commercial roofing contractor that wins a large low-slope or membrane job needs a class that covers the full contract value, and the statute measures by single contract project, not by annual volume. Section 43-07-10 lets a contractor renew under a different class than the one previously issued. The new class is issued on payment of the fee for the class applied for. That gives a growing company a clean path: renew one class up before bidding a bigger job. Public work adds a hard check. Section 43-07-12 says bids on public contract projects must include a copy of the license or current-year certificate in the bid bond envelope, and no contract may be awarded unless the contractor holds a license in the class within which the project value falls. A bid missing that copy may not be read. The contractor must also hold the license at least ten days before bids are received. The bid rule has exceptions for the Department of Transportation, the Public Service Commission, and certain federal-aid highway bids.
Sourcesndlegis.gov 1sos.nd.gov 2
The fees come straight from section 43-07-07 and match the Secretary of State's fee table. An original license costs $450 for Class A, $300 for Class B, $225 for Class C, and $100 for Class D. Renewal costs $90 for Class A, $60 for Class B, $45 for Class C, and $30 for Class D. The license runs on a contractor year, which section 43-07-01 defines as March second through March first. A license issued on an original application lasts until the March first that ends the current contractor year, except that an initial license issued in January or February is valid until March first of the following year. Every renewal is due before March second. The renewal application under section 43-07-10 has three parts. First, a listing of each project, contract, or subcontract the licensee completed in the state during the prior calendar year over fifty thousand dollars, with the nature of the work. The registrar forwards that list to the state tax commissioner. Second, a certificate of liability insurance naming the registrar as certificate holder, unless a current one is already on file. Third, a certification that payroll taxes, including North Dakota income tax, workforce safety and insurance premiums, and unemployment insurance premiums are paid. A contractor who misses March first is deemed unlicensed under section 43-07-02. The statute then gives a grace path: until June first, the contractor can renew by paying a fifty dollar penalty fee plus the renewal fee and filing the application. After June first, unrenewed licenses are expired. The chapter describes no continuing education requirement.
Sourcesndlegis.gov 1sos.nd.gov 2
Section 43-07-04 sets the application standard. The applicant must be at least eighteen and must file, on the registrar's form and under oath, a statement of experience and qualifications as a contractor. The application also needs a copy of a certificate of liability insurance and a statement from North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance that the contractor has secured coverage satisfactory to that agency. The Secretary of State's contractor page adds the practical detail. The liability insurance must be in the same name requested for the license, and the certificate must list the North Dakota Secretary of State at 600 E Boulevard Ave, Dept 108, Bismarck, ND 58505 as certificate holder. A contractor with employees residing in North Dakota supplies a current certificate of payment from Workforce Safety and Insurance. A contractor with no North Dakota resident employees, and without significant contact with the state, supplies a letter of good standing from that agency instead. The name on the application must match the business registration on file with the Secretary of State, and an entity that is not a sole proprietor must register first. The registrar may also require criminal history record information for the applicant or its officers, members, or partners, at the applicant's expense, and may refuse a license for incomplete information. If refused, the applicant gets written notice and ten days to cure the defect, and can appeal to district court in the applicant's county or Burleigh County. Neither the statute nor the agency page sets a dollar minimum for the liability policy, so that figure is not stated here. The chapter names no exam.
Sourcesndlegis.gov 1sos.nd.gov 2
Working above the threshold without a license carries consequences well beyond a fine. Section 43-07-02 makes acting as a contractor without a license a class A misdemeanor. It also lets the registrar assess a civil penalty of up to three times the fee amounts in section 43-07-07, collected before any license issues. It also bars the unlicensed contractor from maintaining any claim, action, suit, or proceeding in a North Dakota court related to the contracting business. For a roofer, that last piece means an unpaid invoice on a roof cannot be pursued in court until the license is in place. The same section creates the crime of construction fraud: receiving payment through deception, taking payment for materials and not paying the supplier, or willfully abandoning a project after payment. Abandonment is defined by clocks. Failing to start within sixty days of a written start date, or within ninety days of the contract date when no start date is written, counts. So does failing to finish within ninety days of a written completion date, or within one hundred eighty days of the contract date when none is written. A license can also slip without any misconduct. Under section 43-07-04, the registrar classifies a license as not in good standing, after twenty days written notice, if the contractor lets liability insurance lapse or lets its fictitious name, corporation, or limited liability company registration go inactive. A contractor in that status must stop soliciting or entering new contract projects. If the problem is not fixed within thirty days of the notice, the registrar uses the chapter 28-32 procedure to revoke the license.
Sourcesndlegis.gov
North Dakota Century Code chapter 26.1-39.2 is titled Residential Contractor Contracts, and its definition section names roofing first. A residential contractor is a person in the business of contracting, or offering to contract, with an owner or possessor of residential real estate to repair or replace a roof system or perform other exterior repair, replacement, construction, or reconstruction. It also covers interior or exterior cleanup, and anyone who arranges, manages, or processes that work. Residential real estate means a building, including a detached garage, built for habitation by at least one but no more than four families. The statute defines roof system to include roof coverings, roof sheathing, roof weatherproofing, and insulation. That definition reaches the whole package of a typical hail claim. Section 26.1-39.2-02 applies when a written contract for goods or services will be paid from the proceeds of a property and casualty policy. The homeowner may cancel before midnight on the later of two dates: the fifth business day after entering the written contract, or the fifth business day after receiving written notice from the insurer that all or part of the claim or contract is not a covered loss. The written contract must state that cancellation right. Cancellation needs a signed, dated written notice, though no particular form is required, and mailed notice is effective on deposit in the mail. Within ten days of cancellation the contractor must tender back every payment, partial payment, and deposit. The exception is goods or services the homeowner agreed in writing were necessary to prevent damage to the premises, which the contractor may bill at reasonable value. Section 26.1-39.2-07 voids any contract entered by a residential contractor that violates the chapter.
Sourcesndlegis.gov
Section 26.1-39.2-03 is the rule most storm-restoration roofers have to design their sales process around. A residential contractor may not promise to rebate a portion of an insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale of goods or services. The statute defines a rebate promise broadly: granting an allowance, offering a discount against the fees to be charged, or paying the insured or a person associated with the property a form of compensation, except for an item of nominal value. Marketing that says the company will cover the deductible, waive it, or absorb it in a discounted price all fit that language. The North Dakota Insurance Department repeated the point in an August 2024 consumer warning after summer storms, stating that consumers reported contractors offering to pay or cover deductibles in exchange for the repair contract and that the practice is illegal under state law. Section 26.1-39.2-06 attaches a paperwork duty. Any written contract, repair estimate, or work order prepared by a residential contractor for work paid from insurance proceeds must include a prescribed notice in capitalized fourteen-point type. The notice says rebating a deductible violates North Dakota insurance laws, that the homeowner is personally responsible for the deductible, and that violations may be punishable by civil or criminal penalties. The named insured must sign it, and it must be sent to the insured's insurer before payment of proceeds under the policy. A contract entered in violation of the chapter is void under section 26.1-39.2-07, which puts the contractor's ability to collect at risk. Writing the deductible into every estimate as a plain line item, collected from the homeowner, is the compliant approach.
Two more provisions in chapter 26.1-39.2 shape how a roofer handles the paperwork of an insurance job. Section 26.1-39.2-04 covers a post-loss assignment of rights or benefits to a residential contractor under a property and casualty policy on residential real estate. The statute allows the assignment to authorize the contractor to be named as a copayee for benefit payments. The assignment must reach the insurer within five business days after it is signed. It must include a statement that the contractor made no assurance the claimed loss will be fully covered, and a notice in capitalized fourteen-point type warning that the homeowner is assigning certain policy rights, that the insurer has not agreed to the itemized work, and that the insurer may pay only to repair or replace damage caused by a covered peril, subject to policy terms. The assignment may not impair the interest of a mortgagee on the declarations page. It may not prevent or inhibit the insurer from communicating with the named insured or the mortgagee. It must also state the homeowner's right to cancel under the five business day rule. The Insurance Department lists asking a homeowner to sign an assignment of benefits among the warning signs of contractor fraud in its 2024 notice, so expect skepticism at the door. Section 26.1-39.2-05 adds a document duty. Before repair or replacement work begins, the contractor must give both the insured and the insurer an itemized description of the work, materials, labor, and fees, and the total itemized amount agreed to be paid. The description may not limit the insured or the contractor from identifying other goods and services needed to finish repairs tied to a covered loss.
Storm roofing is often sold at the front door, and chapter 51-18 of the Century Code regulates that. It calls the transaction a personal solicitation sale: a sale of consumer goods or services in which the seller or the seller's representative solicits by telephone or in person, and the buyer's offer or agreement is made at a place other than the seller's place of business. A deal that follows prior negotiations at a fixed business location is not covered. Section 51-18-02 gives the buyer until midnight of the third business day after signing a compliant agreement to cancel. A buyer aged sixty-five or older can cancel a sale of a product priced above fifty dollars until midnight of the fifteenth business day. The seller must also orally tell the buyer of the right to cancel when the deal is made. Section 51-18-04 makes the agreement unenforceable unless it is in writing, dated, signed by the buyer, and carries a conspicuous Notice to Buyer, with a notice of cancellation form attached in duplicate. Section 51-18-04.2 stops the seller from charging a credit card or bank account, or accepting any advance payment, until the seller has received an original copy of a compliant contract. Section 51-18-04.3 declares a noncompliant agreement unenforceable and void. This chapter and the five business day insurance-contract cancellation right in chapter 26.1-39.2 can both apply to one storm job, and the text does not say which controls. A roofer selling door to door should give the homeowner the longer window and the notices from both chapters, and confirm the form with a North Dakota attorney.
Sourcesndlegis.gov 1ndlegis.gov 2
North Dakota separately licenses temporary sellers through the Attorney General. Chapter 51-04 defines a transient merchant as anyone, as principal or agent, who transacts temporary or transient business in the state, in one place or by traveling from place to place, selling or soliciting orders for goods, merchandise, and personal services. The definition names painting or repairing buildings or structures, and it excludes someone who intends to become a permanent merchant of the place. The license fee under section 51-04-03 is two hundred dollars, and the applicant must post a surety bond or cash deposit of not less than one thousand dollars and not more than fifty thousand dollars. The Attorney General's licensing page confirms the $200 fee, says the bond amount comes from the licensing section at (701) 328-2329, and says all business entities must be registered with the Secretary of State. The application lists every employee, agent, or representative who will do business in the state, with a photo of each person's driver's license, and each person gets an individual license that must be in their possession and is not transferable. The license is valid for one year from issue. Violations of chapter 51-04 are a class B misdemeanor under section 51-04-10. The Attorney General's Hiring a Contractor page tells homeowners that a contractor or service provider not originally from the local area also must hold a Transient Merchant License, and points to a public list of licensees. The Insurance Department lists out-of-state arrival after a storm as a fraud warning sign. Whether a particular North Dakota licensed roofer with an out-of-state headquarters counts as a transient merchant is a fact question the sources reviewed do not answer.
Sourcesndlegis.gov 1attorneygeneral.nd.gov 2attorneygeneral.nd.gov 3insurance.nd.gov 4
Roofers are not adjusters, and North Dakota draws that line in a felony statute. Chapter 26.1-26.8 defines a public adjuster as a person who, for compensation, acts for or aids an insured in negotiating or settling a first-party claim for loss or damage to real or personal property, advertises for that employment, or solicits the business of investigating or adjusting losses or advising an insured about first-party claims. Section 26.1-26.8-03 says no one may operate as or represent themselves as a public adjuster without a license. A person who willfully violates that rule, or who misrepresents to an insured that they are an insurer's adjuster, is guilty of a class C felony. The exemptions are narrow: attorneys acting as attorneys, people handling life or health claims, licensed health care providers, subrogation settlements, and individuals employed for the limited purpose of obtaining facts or giving technical assistance to a licensed public adjuster, such as estimators and engineers. Contractor sales language is where the risk sits. Telling a homeowner the company will negotiate the claim, argue scope with the carrier, or get the claim approved describes adjuster activity. Preparing a repair estimate and itemized description under section 26.1-39.2-05 for the homeowner and insurer describes contractor activity. The Insurance Department says anyone acting as a public adjuster must be licensed by the department, and that valid adjusters carry the license. Roofers who want to advise on claims can obtain the license, but the next section shows what the license forbids.
Chapter 26.1-26.8 puts firm walls between adjusting and repairing. A licensed public adjuster may not solicit or enter an agreement for the repair or replacement of damaged property on which the adjuster has engaged to adjust or settle the claim. The adjuster may not have a financial interest in any aspect of the claim beyond the written compensation, and the statute says a financial interest includes ownership of, employment by, or consideration received from a business that performs work on damage related to the insured loss. The adjuster may not refer or direct the insured to repairs or services from a person with which the adjuster has a financial interest or from which the adjuster may receive compensation for the referral. The adjuster also may not accept a contract or power of attorney that gives effective authority to choose who does the repair work. A roofing company and an adjuster in a referral arrangement should read those lines closely. Other rules protect the homeowner. An adjuster may not solicit an insured during a loss-producing occurrence, may not charge or accept ten percent or more of settlement proceeds from a catastrophic disaster, and may not take a fee or retainer before settlement unless the claim is handled on a time-plus-expense basis. The contract must carry a right for the insured to rescind within three days after the claim is submitted to the insurer. Licensing requires a surety bond of at least twenty thousand dollars, an office in the state with public access, a written exam unless exempt, a criminal history check, and a passing trustworthiness review. Nonresident adjusters need a home-state license in good standing and reciprocity.
Sourcesndlegis.gov
The state license does not end the local paperwork. The City of Fargo Inspections Division tells homeowners that all contractors doing business in North Dakota must be licensed through the Secretary of State, and that in addition home roofers, plumbers, and heating and air conditioning contractors must be licensed through the City of Fargo. It directs residents to verify those city licenses through the City Auditor's Office at 701.241.1300. The Fargo licensing page lists a Re-Roofing license among the online licenses, with a December 31 expiration and a fee of $125 per year. A roofer licensed with the state but without the Fargo re-roofing license is missing a document the city says home roofers need. Bismarck handles solicitation differently. The City of Bismarck accepts applications for door-to-door sales and solicitation licenses, sends each completed application to the Police Department for review and approval, and says the process takes about seven to ten business days. A roofing crew canvassing a Bismarck neighborhood after a hailstorm should treat that license as a separate item from the state contractor license and the Attorney General's transient merchant license. Fargo's own guidance also tells homeowners to be wary of door-to-door contractors, to check for a permanent place of business, and to ask whether the contractor will buy the required permits and request inspections. North Dakota has many other cities and counties, and each may have its own permit, solicitation, or licensing rules. The sources reviewed do not confirm reroofing permit requirements in Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot, or West Fargo, so check with the building department before pricing a job in a new city.
North Dakota's chapter 43-07 does not include a rule requiring the license number on trucks, signs, websites, or ads, and the sources reviewed did not find one elsewhere. The number still has to appear in specific places. Under section 43-07-24, a contractor applying for a building permit must supply the permit issuing official with its license number, and the official enters it on the permit. An owner who acts as their own general contractor must supply the license number of each subcontractor doing work covered by the permit. On public projects, section 43-07-12 requires a copy of the license or current-year certificate inside the bid envelope. The Attorney General's consumer guidance tells homeowners that the contractor's business information and license number should appear on the contract, along with the start date, duration, a detailed description of the work, materials, the down payment for materials, the name and license number of any subcontractors, warranty details, and who is responsible for permits. A roofer who wants to win storm work should build those items into a standard proposal. Wording matters as much as numbers. A contractor whose license is not in good standing has to stop soliciting new projects, so ads and door hangers running during a lapse create a revocation risk. Calling the company a public adjuster, or promising to handle the insurance claim in a way that sounds like adjusting, invites the felony risk covered above. Promising to cover the deductible breaks section 26.1-39.2-03. Stating the state license number and the city license where one applies, and saying only what the license authorizes, is the safe pattern.
Sourcesndlegis.gov 1attorneygeneral.nd.gov 2ndlegis.gov 3ndlegis.gov 4
A homeowner, insurer, or general contractor can check a roofer in the Secretary of State's FirstStop portal contractor search, which the agency says shows whether a registered contractor's license is in good standing. Section 43-07-13 also requires the registrar to keep an indexed public record of applications, licenses, revocations, and expirations. Transient merchants appear on a separate Attorney General list, and public adjuster licensing sits with the Insurance Department. Complaints split by subject. The Secretary of State accepts complaints on abandonment, diversion of funds, fraud where damage combined exceeds $3,000, false statements, work without a required trade license, and failure to refund an advance payment after abandonment. It does not accept complaints about workmanship or quality because it has no authority to investigate them. The complaint uses form SFN 16999. After a hearing, section 43-07-15 lets the registrar suspend or revoke the license, order a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars, and order restitution of not more than five thousand dollars. A suspension can run up to sixty months, and a revoked licensee may not be relicensed for up to five years. Suspected storm-repair fraud goes to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at (701) 328-3404, and claim questions go to the Insurance Department at (701) 328-2440. One more rule affects roof warranties. Section 43-07-26 requires an owner of a one-family or two-family dwelling, or of an improvement over two thousand dollars, to give the contractor written notice by mail of a defect within six months after learning of it. The contractor then has thirty business days to inspect, respond, and fix.
Sourcesfirststop.sos.nd.gov 1sos.nd.gov 2sos.nd.gov 3ndlegis.gov 4insurance.nd.gov 5insurance.nd.gov 6
These are common details other guides publish about North Dakota, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
North Dakota has no roofing-specific license. It requires a contractor license from the Secretary of State for any job over $4,000 under chapter 43-07. Roofing work on houses and commercial buildings falls inside that requirement, so a roofer working above that price needs the general license.
An original license costs $450 for Class A, $300 for Class B, $225 for Class C, and $100 for Class D. Renewals cost $90, $60, $45, and $30 in the same order. Class limits are per project: no cap for A, $500,000 for B, $300,000 for C, $100,000 for D.
The contractor year runs March second through March first, and renewals are due before March second. A late renewal can still be filed until June first with a $50 penalty fee plus the renewal fee. After June first the license is expired.
No. Section 26.1-39.2-03 bars a residential contractor from promising to rebate any part of a deductible, including discounts, allowances, or payments to the homeowner, apart from items of nominal value. The contract must also carry a signed notice in fourteen-point capital letters saying so.
Until midnight of the fifth business day after signing the written contract, or after receiving the insurer's written notice that the loss is not covered, whichever is later. The contractor must refund deposits within ten days, though it may bill reasonable value for work agreed in writing to prevent further damage.
Only with a public adjuster license from the Insurance Department. Chapter 26.1-26.8 makes acting or representing yourself as a public adjuster without a license a class C felony when willful. A licensed adjuster also cannot solicit the repair work on the claim they are handling.
A public adjuster may not charge or accept a fee equal to or more than ten percent of the insurance settlement or proceeds from a catastrophic disaster. An adjuster also may not take a fee or retainer before settlement unless the claim is handled on a time-plus-expense basis.
Possibly. The Attorney General says a contractor or service provider not originally from the local area must hold a Transient Merchant License. The license costs $200 with a bond set by the licensing section. Chapter 51-04 covers temporary sellers of building repair services, and violations are a class B misdemeanor.
Yes for home roofing. The City of Fargo says home roofers must be licensed through the city in addition to the Secretary of State license. The city lists a Re-Roofing license at $125 per year expiring December 31. Verify through the City Auditor's Office at 701.241.1300.
Working over $4,000 without a license is a class A misdemeanor, can bring a civil penalty of up to three times the license fee, and blocks the contractor from suing in North Dakota courts over the business. Construction fraud, including abandonment after payment, is a separate offense.
Search the Secretary of State's FirstStop contractor lookup, which shows whether a registered contractor is in good standing. For door-to-door sellers, check the Attorney General's transient merchant list. For anyone offering to handle your claim, ask to see the public adjuster license issued by the Insurance Department.
No. The office accepts complaints about abandonment, diversion of funds, fraud over $3,000, false statements, missing trade licenses, and unrefunded advance payments. It says it has no authority to investigate workmanship or quality. Suspected storm fraud can go to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at (701) 328-3404.
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