District of Columbia · Checked October 22, 2026
State license. DC has no roofing trade license or exam. Roofing a home for a homeowner requires a Basic Business License with a Home Improvement Contractor endorsement from the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), a $25,000 surety bond, set liability insurance minimums and a designated licensed home improvement salesperson. Larger or commercial roofing is done under a General Contractor/Construction Manager license, which is classed by single-project value and carries much higher insurance minimums.
Checked in part. The load-bearing facts on this page (regime, threshold, exam) are sourced below, but one or more figures for District of Columbia could not be confirmed on a primary board or statute page in the October 22, 2026 pass. Anything unconfirmed is printed as “Not published” — never estimated. Confirm the open figures with the board before you file.
| Item | District of Columbia |
|---|---|
| Regime | Basic Business License — Home Improvement Contractor (residential roofing) or General Contractor/Construction Manager (DLCP) |
| Exam | None. DC does not require general contractors or home improvement contractors to pass an examination. |
| Experience | No state experience requirement published |
| Application fee | Included in the Basic Business License totals below |
| License / registration fee | Home Improvement Contractor: $288.20 for a two-year license. General Contractor/Construction Manager: $654.50 for a two-year license. Home Improvement Salesperson: $154 |
| Total state cost | $288.20 for a two-year Home Improvement Contractor license, plus the $154 salesperson license the business must designate, the $25,000 bond premium, and insurance premiums. — DLCP category-fee schedules are also published in smaller components (e.g. a $99 two-year category fee in Harbor Compliance's DLCP summary); the $288.20 / $654.50 figures are the all-in two-year totals reported by ServiceTitan/Surety Bonds Direct from DLCP information. Verify the current total in the My DC Business Center portal before publishing a single dollar figure. |
| Bond | $25,000 surety bond required for the Home Improvement Contractor license. No bond requirement for the General Contractor/Construction Manager license itself (a bond may be imposed as a license condition in individual cases). |
| Insurance minimums | Home Improvement Contractor minimums: $50,000 bodily injury/death for one person, $100,000 for more than one person in one accident, and $10,000 property damage. General Contractor minimums are set by class: Class A $2,500,000 per occurrence, Class B $1,500,000, Classes C/D/E $500,000 per occurrence (with a $1,000,000 aggregate formulation for some classes in DLCP summaries). |
| Who qualifies | A Home Improvement Contractor business must designate at least one person holding a DC Home Improvement Salesperson Basic Business License. There is no exam-taking qualifier for either contractor license. |
| Timeline | Online applications are fastest; DLCP processing for mailed Basic Business License applications can take up to 30 business days, and applicants are subject to a background investigation (criminal history report no older than 30 days) after filing. |
| Renewal | Every two years, renewable starting 90 days before expiration, with bond and liability insurance kept continuous for the Home Improvement license. |
| Credential | Scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Business License — Home Improvement Contractor | residential | The normal route for residential roofing: improvements to an already-occupied home, including roofing and siding. Requires a designated Home Improvement Salesperson licensee. |
| Basic Business License — General Contractor / Construction Manager, Classes A-E | both | Classed by the value of a single project: Class A unlimited, B up to $10 million, C up to $5 million, D up to $2 million, E up to $500,000 (per Fullerton & Knowles summary of the DLCP regime; some current guides describe the classes differently, so verify the class table with DLCP before applying). |
A firm contracting directly with a DC homeowner for roofing needs its own Home Improvement Contractor license; a roofer working purely as a subcontractor to a licensed prime on a larger project is generally covered by the prime's General Contractor license, but regulated trade work (electrical, plumbing, gas, refrigeration, asbestos) always needs its own trade license.
DC is a single city-district, so the DLCP license is both the state and local layer. Building permits are now issued by the Department of Buildings (DLCP's predecessor DCRA was split in October 2022), and work in historic districts needs Historic Preservation Review Board approval on top of permits.
No specific deductible-waiver statute found. no state statute specifically banning deductible waivers found in this pass; general insurance-fraud and unfair-practices law still applies
Run the compliance checker for District of Columbia →
Thresholds and classes turn on your contract value and your role. Run the checker with District of Columbia preselected:
Confirm with the board before you file: fees and rules change, and the board — not this page — decides your application. Information only, not legal advice.
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.
