Guide · Checked October 22, 2026
The question has five different correct answers in America, and which one is yours depends on the state, the scope, the size of one contract, and whether you sign it or sub it. This is the map the checker computes from.
Illinois, California, Florida, Arizona, Minnesota, New Mexico and others license roofing as its own trade: an exam, a qualifying party with proven experience, a bond, insurance minimums. No license, no legal contract — at any job size in Florida's case.
Kansas registers roofers with the Attorney General (since 2013) and Washington registers all contractors with L&I. Paperwork, a bond, insurance — no trade exam. The trap is treating registration as optional: in Kansas an unregistered roofer cannot even sue to collect.
Oklahoma invented this on July 1, 2026: registration as before, plus a mandatory Residential Roofing Endorsement earned by exam (70%) — with a 12-month grandfather window (exam or 10 hours of CE). Guides published before that date are wrong today, which is why this site dates everything.
North Carolina requires a general contractor license (roofing specialty) at a $40,000 contract. Alabama licenses residential roofing at $2,500 (broader home-builder work at $10,000) and commercial work at $100,000. California and Arizona exempt small jobs under $1,000 — unless the work needs a permit, which pulls the license back in at any price.
Texas and Georgia license nothing at state level for roofers. The real requirements are local: city registrations (Dallas, San Antonio), permits, and insurance your customers and cities demand. Voluntary credentials like Texas's RCAT certification are marketing and competence signals — they are not licenses, and no city requires them.
The checker gives you the verdict. The kit gives you the paperwork, in filing order: the application walkthrough for your state's class, qualifying-party documentation templates, the bond and insurance spec sheet with your state's exact minimums, the city-registration checklist pack for no-license states, and the contract-compliance pack (deductible language and required contract notices, including Florida's deadlines calendar).
$49 one-time payment
Included in the $49 RoofingLicenseCheck Kit — every item below, for every state, one payment.
