Louisiana · Checked October 22, 2026
License above a job-value threshold. Louisiana licenses contractors by project value through the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC): commercial work at $50,000+, new residential construction over $75,000, and home improvement registration for residential remodel work from $7,500. From January 1, 2026 (Act 422 of 2025), residential roofing at $7,500 or more specifically requires the new Residential Roofing classification (a subclassification of Residential Construction) or a Residential Construction license, with a residential roofing trade exam — the old idea that a roofer could sit entirely inside home improvement registration for roof work is over.
| Item | Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Regime | State license by project value (LSLBC) — new Residential Roofing classification from Jan. 1, 2026 |
| Exam | LSLBC trade examination for the classification (Residential Roofing trade exam from 2026) + mandatory Business & Law course/exam — pass mark Not published. Home Improvement Registration has NO trade exam — that is its key difference from a license. Commercial/Residential/Roofing license applicants designate a qualifying party who passes the trade exam and completes the Business & Law requirement. No passing score was published in the LSLBC FAQ material reviewed, so none is stated. |
| Experience | No fixed years-of-experience rule was verified in LSLBC primary material for roofing/residential classes (secondary guides claiming '2 years residential / 5 years commercial' were not adopted). Applicants must submit a financial statement demonstrating capacity for the scope sought, references, and business documents. |
| Application fee | Not published as a single LSLBC schedule in the material reviewed |
| License / registration fee | Home Improvement Registration: $75 initial and $75 renewal (Harbor Compliance summary of LSLBC). License renewals reported at $100 per year, with 1-, 2- or 3-year renewal terms available after the first year. |
| Total state cost | Not published — LSLBC fees vary by classification, domicile and number of qualifying parties; publish only the verified pieces (HIC registration $75; license renewal $100/year as reported) until the Board's fee schedule is read directly. — Sources disagree: older statute summaries cap the home improvement registration fee at $50, while the LSLBC's current listing shows $75. The current agency figure ($75) is used here, with the disagreement shown rather than hidden. |
| Bond | No general LSLBC surety-bond requirement for residential/commercial/home-improvement licensees was verified in Board material (a secondary guide's '$10,000 bond for all tiers' claim was NOT adopted). Financial responsibility is shown by financial statement/net-worth review, not a standard bond. |
| Insurance minimums | LSLBC FAQ (primary): home improvement, residential and mold applicants must show proof of general liability insurance of at least $100,000 AND workers' compensation — 'absolutely no exceptions' to workers' comp — with certificates naming LSLBC, 600 North Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802 as certificate holder, emailed by the agent to the Board; coverage must be maintained continuously and re-proved at renewal. |
| Who qualifies | Each license applicant designates a qualifying party who passes the trade exam and completes Business & Law; a company may have more than one qualifying party. The license belongs to the licensee entity/individual regardless of the qualifying party's status, per LSLBC FAQ. |
| Timeline | Online application with documents, financial statement and insurance certificates, then qualifying-party exam/Business & Law scheduling — realistically several weeks to a few months. Anyone needing the new Residential Roofing classification should have applied ahead of the Jan. 1, 2026 effective date. |
| Renewal | Licenses/registrations expire after the first year, then may be renewed for 1, 2 or 3 years at a time with current insurance certificates. Residential Construction licensees must complete 6 hours of board-approved continuing education per year; commercial, mold and home improvement holders have no CE requirement (LSLBC FAQ). |
| Credential | Scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Roofing (subclassification of Residential Construction) | residential | Required on and after Jan. 1, 2026 for anyone who advertises, solicits, bids, quotes, supervises or performs any construction/modification/repair/maintenance of any part of a roofing system on a residential structure at a project value of $7,500 or more (R.S. 37:2156.4, Act 422). Must pass the residential roofing trade examination and meet all other residential contractor requirements. Holders of Residential Construction, Building Construction or (commercial) Roofing classifications are exempt from the new trade exam per LSLBC/JD Supra summaries. |
| Residential Construction (Residential license) | residential | Covers new 1-4 family residential construction over $75,000 and, from 2026, also satisfies the residential roofing requirement at $7,500+. Requires trade exam + Business & Law course/exam, financial statement, insurance, and 6 hours/year continuing education. |
| Home Improvement Registration | residential | Registration (not a full license, no trade exam) for home improvement work of $7,500 or more but less than $50,000 per the LSLBC's current FAQ — including non-structural roofing work within those dollar limits. Home improvement contractors may NOT perform structural work integral to structural integrity, expressly including roofing systems (structural roofing work belongs to licensees). Fee $75 initial/renewal per Harbor's LSLBC summary; statute historically capped the registration fee at $50 — see fees note. Holders of Residential Construction or Building Construction licenses are exempt from this registration. |
| Commercial license — Building Construction / Roofing specialty | commercial | Required for commercial projects of $50,000 or more (labor + materials). Commercial roofing work at that value needs the appropriate commercial classification; trade exam + Business & Law required. |
License trigger: $7,500 — Project value (labor + materials combined, whoever supplies the materials) — the residential roofing trigger from Jan. 1, 2026; general tiers: home improvement registration $7,500-<$50,000, commercial license $50,000+, residential license (new construction) >$75,000. Contracts may not be split to evade a threshold — the LSLBC treats divided contracts as a single scope of work. Act 239 (2025) additionally requires a local permit and inspection for ALL roof construction/reroofing on residential and commercial structures for projects beginning on/after Aug. 1, 2025, regardless of the licensing threshold.
Subcontractors are measured by total project value (labor + materials combined, whoever supplies materials). Labor-only subs must contract with a licensed contractor, never directly with an owner, and need their own license/registration when the project crosses the tier thresholds (commercial >$50,000 license; home improvement >$7,500 registration); a commercial 'Furnishing Labor Only' specialty exists with no trade exam. There are no licensing requirements for labor-only subs on new residential construction projects (LSLBC FAQ).
A local occupational license is NOT a contractor's license and does not replace the LSLBC credential (LSLBC FAQ). Parishes/municipalities issue the now-mandatory roofing permits and inspections (Act 239, from Aug. 1, 2025) — e.g. Baton Rouge / East Baton Rouge Parish and New Orleans permit offices — on top of the state license.
Paying, waiving or advertising a deductible waiver is an offense. Citation: La. R.S. 51:451 and R.S. 51:452 (Acts 1991 No. 608; Acts 2022 No. 734). No seller of goods or services may, without the insurer's consent, pay, waive, absorb or decline to charge/collect the insured's deductible, provide a rebate offsetting the deductible, or in any way assist the insured in avoiding paying it, in a transaction paid from property-insurance proceeds — and may not inflate the charge by the deductible amount. Violation: fine up to $500 and/or up to 30 days per offense. R.S. 51:452 requires every insurance-paid contract of $1,000+ to carry the bold statutory notice that the insured must pay the deductible and that helping them avoid it violates Louisiana law. LDI Advisory Letter 2024-01 applies this directly to roofing/contractor deductible ads.
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