How Do I Become A Licensed Contractor?

So you're finally ready to take the next step and become a licensed contractor. Before you do this, I would like to share a couple of things with you about contractors licensing schools and what it takes to become a licensed contractor in most states. Remember, there are some states that don't require contractors to have licenses.

The first thing you need to do, is contact your state's contractor licensing board and get all of the information that you can about becoming a contractor. It's usually not as hard as most people might think. When I took my test in 1986, you only needed to answer 62% of the questions correctly to pass and received your brand-new contractor's license.

If you can't find the licensing board, go to your state website, which is usually listed as state.gov.  The state of California's contractors licensing board is located at California.gov website. Arizona's can be located at az.gov. Just type the name of your state into any search engine and there's a good chance that it will take you to your state's homepage.

Most states require a four-year minimum as a journey man in the field that you are going to be applying for your contractor's license. I got my license as a general contractor with four years of experience as a framing carpenter, because they didn't have framing contractor licenses back then. Now they do.

Becoming a licensed contractor is one way to make more money and lead a better life. If you're a hard worker, success driven person and you don't mind working long hours, go for it. If you just want to make a lot of money without doing much work, maybe you should try your luck at something else, because most of the contractors I know, work for a living.

 

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