Contractor licensing, compared by state
Use these rankings to see the state-level licensing patterns in the record set, then open the state and trade pages to check the applicable board before relying on a requirement.
Scope
51
state-level records
Coverage
20
trade categories
Use
Verify
with the board
Highest state-level coverage
Trade lens
Where licensing reaches the most states
Rank each tracked trade by the number of jurisdictions whose record is marked as requiring a state-level license.
Open trade coverage ranking →State lens
Where fewer tracked trades need a state license
Compare counts in the dataset only. A lower count is not a safety, quality, business-cost, or local-rule verdict.
Open state count ranking →How to use this page
A comparison is a starting point, not a clearance.
- 1Choose the state where the work will occur and the trade that matches the project scope.
- 2Read the state/trade record for the specific requirement and its linked board information.
- 3Confirm current requirements and a contractor’s status directly with the relevant public authority before hiring or starting work.
What the counts do not answer
The rankings do not assess a contractor, predict project quality, or replace local permitting rules. Requirements can vary by classification, project and municipality, and the underlying record may change after its shown vintage.
Read the data boundary and methodology →Preview
State strictness index
Source: PlainHireCheck state licensing-board record set State-level licensing coverage and ranking inputs · 2026-06-27 Counts summarize the site’s tracked records. Open the linked state and trade pages to inspect the associated board information and data boundary.
Every figure on PlainHireCheck is rendered directly from state licensing board source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page summarizes state-level licensing fields from the site record set; open linked records for their listed board context. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.
| Publisher | PlainHireCheck |
| Sources | Public state contractor licensing board records |