How to Get — And Keep — Your Alaska Residential Contractor Endorsement

About Kacie Goff

If you’re a general contractor and want to work on residences in Alaska, you’ll need to add a residential endorsement to your Alaska contractor’s license. But how do you get it? And how do you keep it active? 

Fortunately, getting and maintaining your Alaska residential contractor endorsement is a fairly straightforward process. Here’s everything you need to know. 

How to get your Alaska residential contractor endorsement

When you’re working to add a residential endorsement to your general Alaska contractor’s license, you’ll be glad to know that you can skip a step that plagues most contractors in other states. You don’t need approval from the State of Alaska to get started with your residential endorsement. You just need to take a few steps.

Step #1: Take your Residential Contractor Endorsement examination

The State of Alaska requires you to pass an exam that tests your knowledge. This Alaska Residential Contractor Exam is four hours long and comes with a fee of $150. 

You can learn more about the exam, including tips on how to prepare, in this bulletin. 

Step #2: Complete a state-approved Alaska residential contractor endorsement course

Next, you need to complete a residential contractor course approved by the Alaska Department of Commerce & Economic Development, like this 16-hour Residential Contractor Endorsement Course. You can take this course online from the comfort of your own home. You’ll get your certificate of completion as soon as you finish the course. 

Step #3: Submit your application

Now, you’re ready to send in your application. By mail, submit:

• Your signed and notarized Residential Endorsement Contractor License Application
• The appropriate fees ($100 application fee, $250 registration fee)
• Proof of your completed residential contractor endorsement course
• A copy of your examination results
• The name of the licensed general contractor (and their Alaska contractor’s license number) to which the residential contractor endorsement should be assigned

How to maintain your Alaska residential contractor endorsement

Once you have your endorsement to operate as a residential contractor, you’ll need to take some steps to maintain it. Specifically, you need to complete 16 hours of continuing education (CE) every two years. 

Fortunately, you can complete this CE requirement from the comfort of your home. There are a few different online general contractor course options to help you reach your 16-hour requirement, including a single 16-hour CE course, an 8-hour technical CE course, and an 8-hour business CE course, all available online. 

You need to complete this education and submit proof of completion before December 31st on even-numbered years. And submitting your CE hours to the state is simple thanks to their MY LICENSE online renewal system. You can renew online here.  

If you haven’t set up your myAlaska account yet, choose the “New User: Register for a myAlaska Account” under the Sign-In box on that page or click here. You’ll need your license number handy to set up your account. 

Armed with this information, you’re ready to secure your Alaska contractor residential endorsement and maintain its active status.