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Alabama: up to $10,000 a job without a contractor license (roofing: $2,500)
In Alabama a job up to $10,000 on a home needs no state contractor license (home roofing over $2,500 needs a license). Plumbing, electrical and HVAC: state license. Read from Alabama's own pages, checked November 6, 2026.
The limit in Alabama
The limit: Up to $10,000 per job (homes); home roofing over $2,500 needs a license. In short: residential work up to $10,000 per job (labor + materials + overhead + profit) needs no home builder license; roofing over $2,500 does; electrical, plumbing, gas and HVAC work need their own state license at any price.
What counts: "when the cost of the undertaking exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000)"; "COST OF THE UNDERTAKING. The total cost of the materials, labor, supervision, overhead, and profit." Materials count toward the limit, not just your labor.
Conditions: residential roofing over $2,500 needs a license; electrical, plumbing/gas fitting and HVAC work require their own state license/certification regardless of job size; applies to residential structures up to three floors / four units.
Alabama has no 'handyman license'. The $10,000 line comes from the residential home builder law; commercial work is governed by the General Contractors Board from $100,000.
Licenses in Alabama
General contractors: State license. Commercial/general: license from the General Contractors Board when the undertaking is $100,000 or more (raised from $50,000 by Act 2024-277, effective Oct 1, 2024). Residential: Home Builders Licensure Board license when the cost exceeds $10,000 (roofing: over $2,500).
Plumbing: State license. Plumbers & Gas Fitters Examining Board: anyone doing plumbing or gas fitting must hold a Board certification; companies must register.
Electrical: State license. Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors; unlawful for an unlicensed person to solicit or perform electrical contracting (Ala. Code § 34-36-16(b)).
HVAC: State license. Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors certifies HVAC/refrigeration contractors (Ala. Code § 34-31-24).
Your license number in Alabama
Your license number: Home builders must show the number on contracts and advertising. HVAC contractors must show the number on invoices, estimates, quotes, letterhead, all documentation, advertising and vehicles.
In the rule's words: “Residential builders: "the contract shall contain the licensee's license number issued by the board. (g) Whenever a licensee engages in advertising, the licensee shall ensure that the licensee's valid license number issued by the Board is displayed." HVAC (Ala. Code § 34-31-24(a)(2)): "shall display the contractor's certification number and the company name on all documentation, forms of advertising, and on all service and installation vehicles"; HVAC Board FAQ: "all invoices, estimates, quotes, letterhead, etc."” (Ala. Code § 34-14A-7(f)-(g) (home builders); Ala. Code § 34-31-24(a)(2) and Ala. Admin. Code r. 440-X-5-.07 (HVAC))
Where Alabama's own pages disagree
Two of the heating and air board's own pages cite the license-number rule under different subsections of the same law. The rule is the same.
Alabama's board, and when this was checked
The board: Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board (residential); Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (commercial). As of November 6, 2026. Dates on the state's pages: HBLB law effective June 1, 2025, GC Board Act 2024-277 page posted 2024-09-30, updated 2025-06-03 and HACR law/rules file 10-17-2024.
This is a summary of each state's own pages as of November 6, 2026, not legal advice. Rules change, and cities and counties add licenses of their own. Check with your state's board, linked on this page, before you rely on it.
Compare Alabama with every state's limit.
Next door to Alabama
- Florida: under $2,500 per job (minor work only)
- Georgia: up to $2,500 per job
- Mississippi: up to $10,000 per job
- Tennessee: under $25,000 per job ($3,000 in 9 counties)
Official sources for Alabama
10 of Alabama's own pages, each quoted with its link:
- Home Builders Licensure Board law, effective June 1, 2025 — § 34-14A-2(16) definition (Ala. Code § 34-14A-2(16)): “to be used by another as a residence when the cost of the undertaking exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term includes a residential roofer when the cost of the undertaking exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).”
- Home Builders Licensure Board law — § 34-14A-2(5) (Ala. Code § 34-14A-2(5)): “(5) COST OF THE UNDERTAKING. The total cost of the materials, labor, supervision, overhead, and profit.”
- Home Builders Licensure Board law — § 34-14A-7(f)-(g) (Ala. Code § 34-14A-7(f)-(g)): “(f) Each licensee shall use a valid written contract when engaging in the business of residential home building. In addition to any other requirements provided by law, the contract shall contain the licensee's license number issued by the board. (g) Whenever a licensee engages in advertising, the licensee shall ensure that the licensee's valid license number issued by the Board is displayed.”
- HBLB Frequently Asked Questions: “construction, remodeling, repair, improvement, or reimprovement of a residential structure where the cost of the undertaking including labor and materials exceeds $10,000”
- Changes to the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors section of the Code of Alabama (Ala. Code § 34-8-1; Act 2024-277): “Legislative Act 2024-277, effective October 1, 2024, will have the following changes ... where the cost of the undertaking is one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or more”
- Understanding Plumber/Gas Fitter Licensing Types and Requirements (PGFB): “Any person performing plumbing and/or natural gas fitting MUST hold a certification with the Board.”
- Examiners of Public Accounts Sunset Report — Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors (quotes § 34-36-16) (Ala. Code § 34-36-16(b)): “(b) It shall be unlawful, except as otherwise provided, on or after December 31, 2011, for a person not licensed as an electrical contractor to solicit, represent, seek to perform, or perform those tasks and functions that can only be performed by a licensed electrical contractor”
- Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors — Law, Rules and Regulations (Ala. Code § 34-31-24(a)): “(a)(1) No person may advertise, solicit, bid, obtain permits, do business as, or perform the function of a certified contractor unless the person in responsible charge, is a certified contractor. (2) Every contractor licensed under this chapter shall display the contractor's certification number and the company name on all documentation, forms of advertising, and on all service and installation vehicles”
- Ala. Admin. Code r. 440-X-5-.07 Display of Certification Number and Business Name (Ala. Admin. Code r. 440-X-5-.07(2)): “certification number and company name on all documentation and forms of advertising, including but not limited to letterhead, proposals, estimates, service tickets, contracts, work orders, receipts, business cards”
- HACR Frequently Asked Questions (Ala. Code § 34-31-24(b) (as cited by the FAQ)): “A certification number must be displayed on all vehicles associated with a heating, air conditioning, or refrigeration entity; as well on all forms of advertising ... all invoices, estimates, quotes, letterhead, etc.”
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