How to Get a Contractor License in Utah

Section 58-55-501 makes it unlawful to work in a construction trade, act as a contractor, bid on licensed work, or pull a building permit without being licensed or exempt. Section 58-55-305 exempts alteration, repair, remodeling or additions with a contracted value under $7,000 in labor and materials, counting all change orders.

The exemption has strings attached. Plumbing and electrical work on such a job must still be done by licensed people, HVAC work must be done by a licensed HVAC contractor, and radon mitigation needs a licensed contractor. On a project over $3,000, the unlicensed person must file a one-time affirmation with DOPL that they carry public liability insurance, and workers' compensation if it applies.

Utah's general classifications include B100 General Building, E100 General Engineering and R100 Residential and Small Commercial. Plumbing contractors (P200 General, P201 Residential) and electrical contractors (E200 General, E201 Residential) are licensed alongside them and must have a master plumber or master electrician as qualifier. Everything else falls under specialty contractor classifications, whose scopes are listed in DOPL's rule, R156-55a.

The difference matters. Under section 58-55-302, a specialty contractor needs no division-administered exam and no employment experience. The general, plumbing and electrical classifications need both the Business and Law exam and two years of construction experience. HVAC contracting became its own track in 2026: DOPL says H100 applications filed on or after April 20, 2026 require a qualifier with Rocky Mountain Gas Association (RMGA) or equivalent certification, two years of HVAC-specific experience verified by W-2 forms, and passing both the Business and Law exam and an HVAC exam through Prov.

Every contractor applicant completes a pre-licensure course from an approved provider, and DOPL names only three: Associated Builders and Contractors, Associated General Contractors of Utah, and the Utah Home Builders Association, each with several locations, and HBA also runs Spanish and night classes. Specialty contractors take the 25-hour course. General, plumbing and electrical contractors take 30 hours, the 25-hour course plus a five-hour business and law course.

Section 58-55-302 says the 25-hour course may cover construction business practices, bookkeeping fundamentals and mechanics lien fundamentals, and that it ends with a provider-administered exam at no extra fee. Anyone who finished the 25-hour course before mid-2019 is excused from the five-hour add-on; the statute uses July 1, 2019 while DOPL's page says October 1, 2019, so confirm which date DOPL applies to you.

DOPL's general contractor page asks for two years, or at least 4,000 hours, of paid construction work at any point in your life, which you self-certify. It need not be supervisory and can be in any classification. DOPL accepts other routes instead: two years as qualifier on a Utah contractor license, a two- or four-year construction management degree, a Utah professional engineer license, or a passed NASCLA Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors.

Two statutory variations are worth knowing. A building inspector can count two years of full-time inspection work, including a year as a licensed combination inspector. And section 58-55-302(3)(o) describes four years of relevant full-time experience for general engineering applicants, so E100 applicants should ask DOPL how that provision is applied.

The Business and Law exam is given by Prov, Inc., and DOPL says no pre-approval is needed to sit for it. You register and pay Prov directly, pass, and then attach your results to the license application; DOPL tells applicants not to submit until they have passed. Two alternatives can replace the exam for general classifications: one year of licensed experience in another U.S. state or territory in a similar scope, with that license active and in good standing, or having been a qualifier on a Utah contractor license before May 9, 2017.

ContractorPrepHQ offers Utah Business and Law practice for $99: original questions written from the Prov outline and its listed references, a diagnostic, topic drills with explanations, and timed practice exams with a readiness score. It is separate from the required 25- or 30-hour pre-licensure course, which only DOPL's listed providers teach.

DOPL's checklist for all contractor applicants includes a general liability certificate of at least $1,000,000 per incident and $2,000,000 aggregate with DOPL as certificate holder. Entities must be registered with the Utah Division of Corporations, and applicants need a federal EIN, a Utah withholding tax registration and an unemployment insurance registration. You file a workers' compensation certificate, or, with no employees, a coverage waiver from the Utah Labor Commission.

The statute also requires evidence of financial responsibility and a criminal background check for the qualifier and each person with at least a 10 percent voting interest in a business entity. DOPL's HVAC notice adds that a fingerprint-based background check requirement takes effect January 1, 2027.

Utah contracting licenses expire on November 30 of odd-numbered years, on a two-year cycle. DOPL emails renewal notices at least 60 days before expiration, and renewal is done online through UtahID and the My License One platform on a desktop or laptop, not a phone. You must upload a current liability insurance certificate and workers' compensation proof or waiver.

Section 58-55-302.5 requires six hours of approved continuing education per two-year cycle, and one hour may be energy conservation. DOPL's CE page says at least three hours must be core, and no more than three may be completed online, with its renewal page counting live webinars as live instruction. Providers report hours to DOPL, and DOPL cannot add missing hours for you.