How to check a contractor license in Alabama

For work on a home, search the contractor in the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board's license lookup, because Alabama requires a home builder license when a residential job costs more than $10,000. For projects of $100,000 or more, also search the Licensing Board for General Contractors, which shows the license number, specialty and whether the license is inactive.

How do I check a contractor license in Alabama?

Start with the Home Builders Licensure Board for any job on a home, then check the Licensing Board for General Contractors if the job is $100,000 or more. The two boards keep separate records, so a contractor can show up in one search and not the other.

Ask the contractor for a license number and the exact business name that will go on the contract.
Open the Home Builders Licensure Board's licensee search and look up the contractor. If a link preview shows an error, open the search in a regular web browser instead.
Confirm that the name on the record matches the business on your contract.
For a project of $100,000 or more, or a swimming pool of $5,000 or more, open the General Contractors Board's license verification search. Its one search box looks across name, license number, city, state, specialty and phone number.
Read the specialty column. It lists the kinds of work the license covers, and it reads "INACTIVE" when the license isn't active.
Click the Details link on the record to see more about that licensee.

We last checked this lookup on 2026-10-19. If the home builders search won't load at all, call the Home Builders Licensure Board in Montgomery at 334-242-2230, weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or start from its main site at hblb.alabama.gov. For other states, see how to check a contractor license, state by state.

Does Alabama require a license for home remodeling?

Yes, once the job costs more than $10,000. The Home Builders Licensure Board says a residential home builder is anyone who builds, remodels, repairs or improves a home when labor and materials together exceed $10,000.

The General Contractors Board starts much higher. Under Section 34-8-1 of the Alabama Code, its license applies when construction, repair or demolition costs $100,000 or more in labor and materials, and when swimming pool construction costs $5,000 or more. Subcontractors working under a prime contractor need the license at those same amounts. That's why a large project on a home is worth checking in both searches.

What should you check on a job under $10,000?

Below $10,000, the home builder license doesn't apply, so there may be no state record of the person at all. Ask for a written contract that names the business, the price and the work. Ask for a current certificate of insurance as well. If the job involves wiring, plumbing, gas or heating and cooling, check the trade boards below too.

Who licenses electricians and plumbers in Alabama?

Three trade boards do, and each keeps its own records. A home builder license tells you nothing about the person doing the wiring or running the gas line, so check the trade license separately.

The Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors licenses electrical contractors and journeyman electricians. Ask the electrician for a license number and check it with the board through aecb.alabama.gov.
The Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board licenses plumbers and gas fitters. Its individual lookup searches by license number, name, county, license type and status, and it shows whether a license is active, lapsed or inactive. The board's phone number is (205) 945-4857.
The Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors has a "Find a Licensed Contractor" link on its consumer page, next to a brochure of tips for hiring a contractor.

What does an Alabama license lookup not tell you?

It doesn't tell you whether the work will be any good. A license shows the contractor met the board's requirements, and that's where it stops.

It says nothing about quality. Only past customers can tell you whether a builder is slow, hard to reach or careless.
It may not show current insurance. Ask for a certificate of insurance before a large job starts.
Complaints only appear if someone filed them. A clean record can mean unhappy customers never called the board.
Each search covers one board. A home builder license says nothing about the electrician or plumber on the job.
It doesn't confirm who's at the door. Make sure the person on site works for the business on the license.

A job near a state line can involve a contractor based next door, so check that state's records too. The lookups for Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida are on their own pages.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm details with the Home Builders Licensure Board.

Sources

Agents can keep these contractors in Proferral

Proferral is a free app real estate agents use to keep a go-to list of the providers they trust and to remember every referral they send. Its license checks cover Oregon and Washington only, so for Alabama you still run the lookup above by hand. Here's how Proferral's license checks work.

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