State requirements
Alabama contractors are licensed by Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors; Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board (residential). General liability is required to hold the license. Workers compensation is required once you reach the state's employee threshold. 5+ employees.
| Licensing authority | Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors; Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board (residential) |
|---|---|
| General liability required for license | Yes |
| Statutory GL minimum | No state minimum verified |
| Workers compensation | Required above a threshold |
| Contractor license bond | None verified at state level |
Verified against https://genconbd.alabama.gov/ in the October 2026 research pass. Where a figure is not stated, no authoritative source published one, and we say so rather than estimating.
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Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors; Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board (residential)
General contractor licensing is required by the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors for projects of $50,000 or more, while residential home building is licensed separately by the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board. Workers' compensation coverage is mandatory once an employer has five or more employees (Ala. Code 25-5-50).
No statutory minimum applies in Alabama. What you actually need is set by the contract in front of you. Most Alabama general contractors require one million per occurrence and two million aggregate from their subcontractors, plus additional insured status and a waiver of subrogation.
Workers compensation is required once you reach the state's employee threshold. 5+ employees. Operating without it where it is required exposes the business to penalties and to direct liability for an injured worker's medical costs.
Any vehicle used for business needs commercial auto. A personal policy excludes business use in every state, and it will not cover the tools inside the truck.
General liability never covers your own tools. Inland marine covers them in transit and on site, including theft, which is the most common loss contractors actually file.
Workers compensation is required once you reach the state's employee threshold. 5+ employees.
Workers compensation covers medical costs and lost wages for a work-related injury or illness. It is separate from general liability, which covers injury to other people. If an employee is hurt on a job site in Alabama, that is a workers compensation claim, and general liability will not respond to it.
This research did not verify a state-level contractor license bond for Alabama. Where a state does not impose one, cities and counties frequently do, particularly for work above a dollar threshold or on public projects. Confirm with the authority that issues your permit before you bid.
Beyond the license bond, bid bonds and performance bonds come up on larger and public work. Bid bonds are typically priced as a percentage of the bid amount rather than a flat fee, so the cost scales with the project.
Alabama requires general liability to hold a contractor license, but the research did not verify a specific statutory dollar minimum. Check with Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors; Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board (residential) for the limit that applies to your license class, and expect contracts to require more than the floor.
Workers compensation is required once you reach the state's employee threshold. 5+ employees.
This research did not verify a state license bond for Alabama. Some states have none at state level and impose requirements at the city or county level instead, so check with the local authority where you will be pulling permits.
Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors; Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board (residential).
The consequences run from losing the contract to losing the license. A general contractor who finds your certificate is not what the subcontract required will typically stop work and withhold payment until it is corrected, and an uninsured loss becomes a personal liability rather than an insurance claim.
Yes. A single policy can list every state you operate in. Pricing is driven by the highest-exposure state on the schedule, so tell us all of them rather than only your home state.
Requirements differ enough by state that it is worth checking before you bid.
Tell us your trade, payroll and what Alabama requires of you.
