North Carolina General Contractor Licenses
Every general contractors working in North Carolina must hold a license from the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors. A general contractor license carries two separate pieces of information: a limitation that caps the value of a single project, and one or more classifications that say what kind of construction they may perform. SafeHire NC tracks 32,866 of them across 771 North Carolina cities and communities.
L, whatever the limitation. Unlike the electrical board, the limitation is not encoded in the number, so a license reading L.74882 may well be Unlimited. The classification is listed separately on the license record. What each classification allows
| Class | What it covers | Scope | In NC |
|---|---|---|---|
Unlimited |
Unlimited No cap on the value of a single project. |
No dollar limit | 10,772 |
Intermediate |
Intermediate Single projects valued up to $1.5 million. |
Up to $1,500,000 | 1,702 |
Limited |
Limited Single projects valued up to $750,000. The most common limitation in the state. |
Up to $750,000 | 31,161 |
Classifications you will see
- Building. Whole-home builds, additions and major remodels, and commercial work too.
- Residential. Home builds, additions and major remodels. Residential construction only.
- Highway. Road, bridge and highway construction.
- Public Utilities. Water and sewer lines, fuel distribution, communications and electrical ahead of the point of delivery.
- Specialty. A single trade carried out as a general contractor: roofing, swimming pools, masonry, concrete, insulation, interior construction, grading and excavating, asbestos or metal erection.
How to verify a license before you hire
- Ask for the license number before work begins. A licensed contractor will give it without hesitation. Reluctance is itself an answer.
- Check that it is active, not merely issued. Licenses lapse. 0 NC general contractors licenses expire within the next 90 days.
- Check the classification against your project. This is the check people most often skip, and it is the one that decides whether the work is legal.
- Confirm the name matches. The license belongs to the qualifier and the company named on it, not to whoever is holding it up.
Hiring an unlicensed contractor can void your homeowner insurance on any resulting claim, and unpermitted work routinely surfaces during a sale. What you risk with an unlicensed contractor · Report unlicensed work · All NC license types
Look up a licensed general contractor
Browse all 32,866 NC general contractors →
By city
Charlotte (1860) Raleigh (1505) Wilmington (864) Greensboro (608) Asheville (529) Durham (459) Winston-Salem (419) Mooresville (393) Concord (355) Fayetteville (346) Cary (319) Monroe (292)
Common questions
Does a general contractor license number tell me their limit?
No. Every NC general contractor license begins with L regardless of limitation. You have to read the classification and limitation from the license record, which is what this site shows on each profile.
When does a homeowner need a licensed general contractor?
North Carolina requires a licensed general contractor for projects above a statutory dollar threshold. Most whole-home builds, additions and major remodels are well over it.
What does an Unclassified license mean?
It indicates the license is not currently carrying one of the standard classifications. Ask the contractor what work their license actually authorises before hiring.
Other trades
North Carolina Electrical Contractor Licenses North Carolina Plumbing Contractor Licenses North Carolina HVAC and Heating Contractor Licenses North Carolina Fire Sprinkler Contractor Licenses North Carolina Home Inspector Licenses North Carolina Structural Pest Control Licenses