Since January 1, 2026, Louisiana requires a Residential Roofing or Residential Construction license before you advertise, bid, quote or work on any part of a home’s roof on a job worth $7,500 or more. The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) issues it once your qualifying party meets the board’s Business & Law requirement and passes the trade exam. The company also has to show net worth and carry liability and workers’ comp coverage.
Fourplexes count as homes, and commercial roofing starts at $50,000
Residential Roofing (classification 9.2) is a subclassification of Residential Construction, created by Act 422. Either one covers a home reroof, so a company that already holds Residential Construction needs nothing new. The trigger in La. R.S. 37:2156.4 reads “advertises, solicits, bids, quotes or performs,” so door knocking or running ads for a home roof in that range needs the license just as the install does.
Since August 1, 2026, a building used mainly as a residence with up to four units in one structure counts as residential, so a fourplex reroof falls under the residential license. A home improvement registration doesn’t cover roofs at any price, because the statute bars home improvement contractors from “roofing systems to any type.”
Commercial roofs fall under “Roofing and Sheet Metal, Siding,” classification 1.11 within Building Construction. It covers roof systems, including roof decks, waterproofing of parapet walls and flashings, general sheet metal and all siding. The commercial license applies once a job on commercial property reaches $50,000, and a smaller commercial roof still needs the permit covered below.
A sub who contracts directly with a Residential Construction license holder is exempt from licensing, and roofing isn’t on the statute’s list of trades left out of that exemption. Ask LSLBC in writing whether it still applies the exemption to roofing subs after Act 422 before a crew relies on it. The exemption doesn’t reach a sub working under a roofing-only licensee or straight for a homeowner.
Your qualifier must meet Business & Law and pass the trade exam
Every license names a qualifying party for each classification and for the Business & Law requirement. That person has to be a principal or a full-time employee. LSLBC counts a sole proprietor or their spouse, and any full-time employee as the IRS defines one. If your qualifier leaves, tell the board within 30 days, and a new qualifier has to qualify within 60.
Trade exams moved to PSI Services on August 5, 2025. LSLBC’s August 2025 memo said the Residential Roofing trade exam was not yet available, so check PSI’s schedule before you plan around a test date. A qualifier who already holds Residential Construction or Building Construction is exempt from that exam, and so is one who holds Commercial Roofing. For how qualifiers work elsewhere, see Roofing License Requirements by State, and How Qualifiers Work.
The applicant, each principal and each qualifier also go through a background check covering bankruptcy, judgments, insolvency, liens and criminal convictions, including guilty and no-contest pleas. Each must be a US citizen or legal resident. Pick a qualifier with a clean record who will stay on your payroll.
Beyond the capped fees, you need $50,000 in net worth and $500,000 in coverage
The $50,000 net worth goes on the board’s own financial statement form, current within 12 months and signed by an accountant, bookkeeper or CPA. The statute keeps that statement confidential. If you come up short, an irrevocable letter of credit can cover the requirement plus any negative net worth.
Since August 1, 2026, residential licenses, residential roofing included, must carry at least $500,000 in liability coverage through a policy or an authorized liability trust fund, plus workers’ comp. Your insurer or broker sends proof covering at least six months, with LSLBC as certificate holder and no exclusions for the work you’re licensed to do. The coverage has to stay in force without a gap.
LSLBC’s checklist page still showed $100,000 in general liability in October 2026. Give your broker the figure from the statute and the board’s July 2026 memo instead. What the policies cost is in Roofing Contractor Insurance: What Coverage a Roofing Company Needs and What It Costs.
The law caps the exam fee at $50 and the license and renewal fees at $100 each.
Exam and administrative fees for each classification and for Business & Law are charged on top. A renewal also adds a $100 dedication fee you can opt out of, and a late renewal carries a delinquent fee capped at $50.
Licenses expire on the anniversary of issue. Multi-year terms exist, but the statute says “Licenses dependent on insurance requirements or certifications shall not be eligible for multiple-year renewal,” so plan on renewing a residential license every year. There’s a 15-day grace period, and a license left unrenewed for a year past expiry can’t be renewed at all. Set a reminder a month before the anniversary.
A roof permit and the contract both need your license
Roof construction and reroofing on homes and commercial buildings need a permit and inspections for projects started on or after August 1, 2025. Skipping the permit, starting before it’s issued, misstating the job’s value or scope, or skipping a required inspection is now a violation.
A local building department “shall not issue a building permit to any person who does not hold an active license in the appropriate classification.” LSLBC staff may also check each local permit list monthly for unlicensed contractors.
Any contract that needs a license must list your name, address and license number, describe the work, give the total price, carry every party’s signature and include current certificates for workers’ comp and liability. No work may start until everyone has signed. Add the license number and both certificates to your contract template now.
Working without the license costs your lien rights and draws fines
A contractor who needed a license and didn’t have one can’t file a statement of claim or a lien for money owed under the contract.
The board can fine up to 10% of the contract or the value of the work bid or done, or up to $10,000 where no value applies, plus its costs and attorney fees. It can also issue a cease and desist order.
Unlicensed contracting is a misdemeanor too, punishable by up to $500 a day of violation, three months in prison, or both.
If an unlicensed contractor causes more than $300 in harm, the maximum fine rises to $5,000 and the maximum prison term to five years.
Say “licensed” only once the classification is issued
Louisiana’s contractor law makes it unlawful for any contractor, licensed or not, to publish a false or misleading claim about a license or classification “in any medium, including but not limited to digital platforms.” A website or ad that says “licensed” without the roofing classification falls inside that wording. Keep “licensed” off your site and ads until the number is issued, then put the number on the site.
Google’s Local Services Ads list a state business license and a state owner license among the roofing requirements “where applicable by local law,” and Louisiana now licenses residential roofing. An owner on r/smallbusiness said their Local Services account was suspended for a period because they didn’t submit new licensing in time. Upload the license to your Local Services account the day it’s issued.
Louisiana bars roofers from acting as the homeowner’s adjuster
A Louisiana contractor may not interpret what a policy covers, act or advertise as a public adjuster or “insurance claims specialist,” take referral fees from attorneys, require a homeowner to sign an attorney representation agreement, or take an assignment of benefits.
The contractor answers for violations by its employees and by paid non-employees such as door-knockers, so what a paid canvasser says on the porch counts against the company. Take coverage talk out of your canvassers’ script before storm season. The wider rules on claims are in What a Roofer Can Legally Do on an Insurance Claim, From Deductibles to Contingency Agreements.
Check these off before you bid a Louisiana home roof
- Hold Residential Roofing or Residential Construction for home roofs, and the commercial license for commercial jobs of $50,000 or more.
- Name a qualifier who is a principal or a full-time employee.
- Book Business & Law and the trade exam, unless your qualifier already holds an exempt classification.
- Get the net worth statement signed, or arrange a letter of credit.
- Have your broker send liability and workers’ comp proof with LSLBC as certificate holder.
- Put the license number and insurance certificates in your contract.
- Pull a permit before every reroof.
- Keep “licensed” out of ads until the number is issued, then upload it to Google.
- Set a renewal reminder a month before the anniversary.
The license lets you bid the job, and homeowners still have to find the business when they search for a roofer. Run the free Google Maps heatmap: pick your Google profile and a search, and in a few minutes you’ll see your rank at 49 points around your office.