State counts for tracked licensing requirements
This list orders jurisdictions by how many tracked trades are marked as requiring a state-level license. A smaller count is not a verdict about safety, cost, contractor quality, or municipal requirements.
The State Licensing Board records summarized here cover 50 states plus Washington, DC, across 20 tracked trade categories. This State Coverage Ranking is a count of state-level flags only; each linked record carries its own board context and dataset vintage.
The bar to make this list
Where the top-5 cutoff (Iowa at 3 tracked trades) sits against every jurisdiction's own count.
State licensing-count distribution
Tracked trades requiring a state-level license, all 51 jurisdictions
3 Among the fewest tracked-trade requirements fewer requirements than 88% of 51 jurisdictions
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more jurisdictions. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainHireCheck state licensing-board record set · 2026-09-24
| # | State | Trades Licensed | Licensing Board | State License Required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 2 | Kansas local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 2 | Nebraska | 2 | Nebraska local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 3 | South Dakota | 2 | South Dakota local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 4 | Wyoming | 2 | Wyoming local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 5 | Iowa | 3 | Iowa local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 6 | Missouri | 3 | Missouri local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 7 | Idaho | 4 | Idaho Division of Building Safety | No state license |
| 8 | Indiana | 4 | Indiana local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 9 | Ohio | 4 | Ohio local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 4 | Pennsylvania local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 4 | Wisconsin local jurisdictions (DSPS licenses | No state license |
| 12 | Texas | 5 | Texas local jurisdictions (TDLR licenses | No state license |
| 13 | New York | 6 | New York local jurisdictions (NYC | No state license |
| 14 | Colorado | 7 | Colorado local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 15 | Illinois | 7 | Illinois local jurisdictions | No state license |
| 16 | Delaware | 14 | Delaware Division of Revenue | Yes |
| 17 | Maine | 15 | Maine Office of Professional and | Yes |
| 18 | Montana | 15 | Montana Department of Labor and | Yes |
| 19 | North Dakota | 15 | North Dakota Secretary of State | Yes |
| 20 | Vermont | 15 | Vermont Secretary of State Office | Yes |
| 21 | West Virginia | 16 | West Virginia Division of Labor | Yes |
| 22 | Alaska | 17 | Alaska Division of Corporations, Business | Yes |
| 23 | New Hampshire | 17 | New Hampshire Division of Licensing | Yes |
| 24 | Kentucky | 18 | Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings | Yes |
| 25 | Alabama | 19 | Alabama Licensing Board for General | Yes |
| 26 | Arkansas | 19 | Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board | Yes |
| 27 | Connecticut | 19 | Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection | Yes |
| 28 | Louisiana | 19 | Louisiana State Licensing Board for | Yes |
| 29 | Michigan | 19 | Michigan Department of Licensing and | Yes |
| 30 | Minnesota | 19 | Minnesota Department of Labor and | Yes |
| 31 | Mississippi | 19 | Mississippi State Board of Contractors | Yes |
| 32 | New Mexico | 19 | New Mexico Regulation and Licensing | Yes |
| 33 | Oklahoma | 19 | Oklahoma Construction Industries Board | Yes |
| 34 | Rhode Island | 19 | Rhode Island Contractors' Registration and | Yes |
| 35 | Arizona | 20 | Arizona Registrar of Contractors | Yes |
| 36 | California | 20 | California Contractors State License Board | Yes |
| 37 | District of Columbia | 20 | DC Department of Consumer and | Yes |
| 38 | Florida | 20 | Florida Department of Business and | Yes |
| 39 | Georgia | 20 | Georgia State Licensing Board for | Yes |
| 40 | Hawaii | 20 | Hawaii DCCA Contractors License Board | Yes |
| 41 | Maryland | 20 | Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) | Yes |
| 42 | Massachusetts | 20 | Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs | Yes |
| 43 | Nevada | 20 | Nevada State Contractors Board | Yes |
| 44 | New Jersey | 20 | New Jersey Division of Consumer | Yes |
| 45 | North Carolina | 20 | North Carolina Licensing Board for | Yes |
| 46 | Oregon | 20 | Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB) | Yes |
| 47 | South Carolina | 20 | South Carolina Contractors' Licensing Board | Yes |
| 48 | Tennessee | 20 | Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors | Yes |
| 49 | Utah | 20 | Utah Division of Professional Licensing | Yes |
| 50 | Virginia | 20 | Virginia Board for Contractors | Yes |
| 51 | Washington | 20 | Washington State Department of Labor | Yes |
Data boundary: The count reflects the tracked state-level records, not every local registration, permit, insurance, bond, or classification rule. Open a state record for its listed board and verification path before relying on it.
Source: PlainHireCheck state licensing-board record set State counts of tracked licensing flags · 2026-09-24 Open each state record for its associated board context. Confirm current and local requirements directly with the relevant authority.
According to state licensing boards, NCSL, and NASCLA, contractor-licensing rules are published by public authorities. Every figure on PlainHireCheck is rebuilt from those board-sourced tables; no number is typed in by an editor. This page summarizes state counts in 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 |