North Carolina requires a state license for a roofing job only once the job costs $40,000 or more. The license comes from the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors, whose roofing-only classification, S(Roofing), takes an open-book exam plus proof of working capital or a surety bond. Below that line the state requires no license, though a city or county can.
If you also work in other states, Roofing License Requirements by State, and How Qualifiers Work compares them.
The $40,000 line turns on the job’s cost and who hired you
The statute treats as a general contractor anyone who bids on or builds a building, improvement or structure “where the cost of the undertaking is forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more.” It covers that work when done “on his own behalf or for any person, firm, or corporation that is not licensed as a general contractor.”
A roofing sub on r/GeneralContractor asked the question that wording raises: “would I need my GC license if the amount is over 40,000?” On that wording, a sub hired by a licensed general contractor falls outside the definition. A sub hired by the homeowner or by an unlicensed company falls inside it. Call the Board to confirm before you bid a job on that reading.
The homeowner exemption covers an owner building or altering a house on their own land for their own family to live in. To use it for a permit, the owner swears an affidavit that they will manage the job and attend inspections. It does not reach a roofer that owner hires, so a homeowner pulling the permit leaves your own license question unchanged.
Ask the city or county what it requires below $40,000 before your first job in a new town.
Roofing has its own license class, called S(Roofing)
The Board’s rules define S(Roofing) as “the installation, demolition, and repair of roofs and decks” on residential, commercial, industrial and institutional buildings, using materials that form a water-tight, weather-resistant surface. That includes composition shingles, metal of every type, wood shakes, clay tile, single-ply and built-up roofing, coatings, flashings, gutters, downspouts and torch-down systems.
A Building license already covers roofing, and so does a Residential license on homes. If you hold either, you need no separate roofing classification.
Every license, roofing included, caps the size of a single project. Limited goes up to $750,000, Intermediate up to $1,500,000, and Unlimited has no cap. Land costs don’t count toward it. Pick the tier by the biggest single job you expect to bid, because each step up asks for more working capital and a higher fee.
Each tier needs proof of working capital or a surety bond
A Limited applicant shows current assets exceeding current liabilities by at least $17,000, or a total net worth of at least $80,000.
Intermediate needs $75,000 of working capital and Unlimited needs $150,000, shown in a CPA’s agreed-upon procedures report or an audited financial statement. A bankruptcy in the past five years, by a Limited applicant or by any owner, principal or qualifier, means filing one of those reports at the Limited tier as well.
The other route is a surety bond in place of working capital: $175,000 for Limited, $500,000 for Intermediate and $1,000,000 for Unlimited.
The surety must be rated A- or better by A.M. Best, and the bond has to stay in force for as long as the license relies on it. If the bond is cancelled and new proof isn’t filed within 30 days, the license is suspended. Roofing Contractor Bonds: Which States Require One and What It Costs covers what a bond runs. Get prices on the bond and the CPA report before you book the exam.
The roofing exam is 60 open-book questions, and 70% passes
To sit it, you must be at least 18 and of good moral character as the Board judges it. You also show financial responsibility and pay the application fee, and the Board can require a criminal background check. The statute lists no minimum years of trade experience.
PSI gives the exam on computer, with 120 minutes to answer. Steep-slope roofing is the biggest section at 18 questions. The rest cover substrate, elastomeric and built-up roofing, safety, repairs, sheet metal and flashing, plus a block on business law, licensing, the building code and liens. Every applicant is tested on the Board’s laws and rules.
You can bring the reference books, highlighted and permanently tabbed but with no written notes. The roofing list includes the NRCA Roofing Manuals, “Roofing Construction & Estimating,” and the Board’s Laws and Regulations book. The list changes as editions update, so download the current PSI bulletin before you buy anything.
Exam and Board fees start at $154 for a Limited license
As of October 2026, PSI charges $79 for each attempt, first try or retake, and won’t refund or transfer it.
The Board’s application fee is $75 for Limited, $100 for Intermediate and $125 for Unlimited, also non-refundable, plus the cost of any background check.
Licenses expire every January 1. Renewal costs the same as the application fee and needs fresh proof of financial responsibility. A late renewal adds $10 for each month or part month after January, and a license not renewed within 60 days becomes invalid.
The statute requires 8 hours of continuing education a year from holders of a building, residential or unclassified license. It doesn’t name S(Roofing), so ask the Board whether a roofing-only license needs the hours.
Put the renewal on your calendar for early December.
The license depends on the qualifier who passed the exam
A licensed company names a qualifier, the person who passed the Board’s exam. The qualifier must be a responsible managing employee, officer or member of the company, and can qualify no more than two licenses. North Carolina sets no ownership share for the qualifier.
A company can name more than one qualifier, and it takes a separate exam for each classification it wants. Pass them all and the license is called “unclassified.” A qualifier who serves no active licensee for four straight years has to retake the exam.
When a qualifier leaves, the company must tell the Board in writing within 10 days. The license stays valid for 90 days, but in that time the company “shall not bid on or undertake any additional contracts.” After that it is invalid until reinstated.
If the person who sat the exam is a partner or a salesperson rather than you, have a second person pass it, so one resignation doesn’t stop new contracts.
Permits check for the license, and unlicensed work is a misdemeanor
State law requires no building permit for work of $40,000 or less on a single-family home, farm building or commercial building, unless the work is on a list of exceptions. One exception is “the addition of roofing, excluding replacement,” so a like-for-like reroof under $40,000 needs no state permit unless another exception applies. Repairs to load-bearing structure, such as replacing decking that bears load, are one of those and still need a permit.
On a permit for work of $40,000 or more, the building inspector needs proof that you or the person managing the job is licensed or exempt. You also need proof of workers’ compensation insurance as Chapter 97 requires, and an inspector who issues the permit without both commits a misdemeanor, so expect to be asked. Roofing Workers’ Comp and General Liability: What It Costs and How Audits Work covers what that coverage costs.
Bidding or contracting at $40,000 or more without a license is a Class 2 misdemeanor. So is using someone else’s license certificate, or falsely claiming or suggesting a business is licensed. The Board can also get a court injunction and recover attorney’s fees up to $5,000 plus costs.
Keep “licensed” off your truck and website until the Board issues the license, then look yourself up on the Board’s license search at nclbgc.org.
Six steps get a North Carolina roofer licensed
- Price each job against the $40,000 line before you bid, and ask the city or county what it requires below it.
- Pick Limited, Intermediate or Unlimited by your biggest single job.
- Line up the working-capital proof or the surety bond.
- Apply through NCCLiC.org and book the PSI exam, with the books on the current bulletin. The Board answers questions at 919-571-4183 or [email protected].
- Name a qualifier, and a second one if the first isn’t you.
- Renew before January 1 every year.
Once the license lets you bid the bigger jobs, the next question is whether homeowners searching for a roofer near you find your business. The free Google Maps heatmap answers it: pick your Google profile and a search, and in a few minutes you’ll see where you rank at 49 points around your office.