Louisiana licenses contractors through one statewide agency, the State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC), and it licenses work by dollar value: once a project crosses the threshold for its type, you need the license before you bid. The path is an online application, a financial statement showing the required net worth, a qualifying party who completes the online Business and Law course and exam, and — for most classifications — a trade exam taken at PSI. This guide walks that path using only what the Contractors Licensing Law, the Board's rules and PSI's Louisiana bulletin actually say, and it says plainly where the Board publishes no number.
The Contractors Licensing Law defines a contractor by the value of the project, and it counts everything: labor, materials, rentals and all direct and indirect expenses, no matter who pays for the materials or whether they are donated (La. R.S. 37:2150.1). The thresholds are $50,000 or more for commercial construction and for a new residential structure; $7,500 or more for improvements or repairs to an existing home and for mold remediation; $10,000 or more for mechanical, electrical and plumbing work, on residential, commercial and industrial projects alike; and one dollar for hazardous materials. Cutting a job into smaller contracts does not help: section 37:2158(B) tells the Board to treat the divided parts as one contract.
The Board's FAQ adds three practical points. Subcontractors need a license on the same thresholds as the prime contractor. There is no temporary license, so the license must be issued before you bid, contract or perform the work. And an owner may build his own primary residence without a license, but not a house to rent or sell.
The LSLBC issues four basic types: Commercial, Residential, Home Improvement (a registration for home improvement projects of at least $7,500 but less than $50,000) and Mold Remediation. A license carries one or more classifications. The statute lists the major ones (section 37:2156.1): Building Construction; Highway, Street and Bridge Construction; Heavy Construction; Municipal and Public Works Construction; Electrical; Mechanical; Plumbing; Hazardous Materials; Residential Construction; Mold Remediation; and Home Improvement. The Board's rules add subclassifications and specialties, and a major classification lets you bid any work in its own subclassifications (LAC 46:XXIX §301). The Board's classification list marks each one as requiring a trade exam, a credential from another agency, or neither.
Keep the lines between types in view. The FAQ is explicit that a commercial license does not let you build a new single-family home, which takes a Residential license with the Residential Construction classification. It is just as explicit that a city or parish occupational license, or a registration with the Secretary of State, is not a contractor's license.
Everything starts with the online application on the LSLBC site. Section 37:2156.1 and the Board's application instructions require a financial statement on the Board's form, current within twelve months and prepared and signed by an accountant, bookkeeper or CPA; a net worth of at least $50,000 for commercial and residential licenses, or $25,000 for home improvement, mold remediation and labor-only (an irrevocable letter of credit can satisfy it instead); and a background investigation of the applicant, each principal and each qualifying party, covering financial matters such as bankruptcies, judgments and liens and any criminal conviction. LLCs, corporations and limited partnerships must be registered with the Louisiana Secretary of State.
Insurance depends on the license type. Residential, home improvement and mold remediation applicants must have their insurance agent email certificates of general liability, at least $100,000, and workers' compensation to the Board; commercial applicants do not submit certificates, according to the Board's application instructions. Fees are nonrefundable, and an application stays active for one year from submission; after that it is written off and you start again. The license statute and the Board's rules list no minimum years of experience for these licenses; what they require instead is the financial showing, the background check and a qualifying party who meets the examination requirements.
Every license needs a qualifying party: a natural person designated to meet the licensing requirements for the company, and, in the FAQ's words, the person who holds the exam scores (section 37:2150.1(18)). One must be designated for each classification and for the Business and Law requirement (section 37:2156.1(D)). The qualifying party can be any principal, meaning an owner, officer, partner, member or manager, or a full-time employee; the Board's rule sets full time at at least 32 hours a week and requires a qualifying-party verification before the exam (LAC 46:XXIX §109). If the qualifying party leaves, the licensee notifies the Board within 30 days and must qualify a replacement within 60 days, or risk suspension, revocation or loss of the classification.
Business and Law is required of every license applicant. After the Board approves the qualifying party it emails an Examination Approval Notice; the qualifying party completes the online Business and Law course in the LSLBC Contractor Portal and takes the exam there: 50 questions, about 30 to 45 minutes, a score of 70 or above to pass. Our Business and Law guide covers it in detail.
Trade exams moved to PSI Services on August 5, 2025. Once the Board approves you, PSI emails an eligibility notice, and you create an account, schedule and pay on PSI's Louisiana page; eligibility is valid for one year. The trade exams we cover are open book: each PSI content outline lists the references allowed in the room, and the March 2026 bulletin says you bring your own copies, which may be highlighted, annotated and permanently tabbed beforehand but not written in during the exam. Only a silent, non-programmable calculator without an alphabet keyboard is allowed, and no scientific calculators. PSI lists Louisiana test centers in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Sulphur, Metairie, Monroe, Pineville and Shreveport. Fail a trade exam and the Board's rule makes you wait 30 days before you retake it (LAC 46:XXIX §111).
PSI's fees differ by exam: $175 for Building Construction and $140 each for Mechanical Work and for the HVAC subclassification, with the same amount again for a retake. PSI's bulletin and content outlines are published in English and mention no translated version, so plan on taking the exam in English; LICENA's Spanish and Russian text is a study aid.
We did not find a fee schedule for a brand-new application on the Board's public pages, so confirm current amounts with the LSLBC (225.765.2301) before you apply. The Board's current form for adding a classification to an existing license does print its own figures: $95 per classification per year, a $40 processing fee per classification and $150 for Business and Law, plus a $150 Exam Research/Waiver Fee where no trade exam is taken because of reciprocity or a previously passed exam. The statute also lets the Board add a surcharge of up to $400 for a contractor not domiciled in Louisiana (section 37:2156(D)). PSI's exam fees are paid to PSI, not to the Board.
Under a notice dated October 23, 2024, the LSLBC accepts a passing exam from another state when you hold a classification there that required the test and you passed it with no waivers, exemptions or grandfathering. The exam is credited to the equivalent Louisiana classification, and every other licensing requirement still applies, including the Business and Law course. The Board also credits NASCLA exams, narrowly: its form says the NASCLA Building exam counts only toward the Building Construction and Residential Construction exams, and the NASCLA Electrical exam only toward Electrical.
A Louisiana license expires on the anniversary of the date it was issued, and at renewal you choose a one-, two- or three-year term; licenses that depend on insurance or certifications cannot renew for multiple years (section 37:2156(H)). Renewal notices come by email 60 and 15 days before expiration, and you cannot renew earlier than 60 days out. You have 15 days after expiration to renew without penalty; after that a delinquent fee applies, and once a license has been expired for a year it cannot be renewed at all. In between, report changes to the information on your application within 30 days, keep your records for five years and produce them within five business days of a Board request (section 37:2156.2), and bid, contract and work only in the exact name on the license; the Board does not recognize DBAs. Commercial licensees have no continuing-education requirement, while residential construction licensees need six hours a year from a Board-approved provider.
Practice for the Louisiana exams LICENA has Louisiana banks for Business and Law, Building Construction, Mechanical Work and HVAC & Refrigeration (6.1), with a written explanation on every answer in English, Spanish and Russian. The sample is free, no sign-up.
Try the free practice test → Louisiana Business and Law exam guide