Louisiana Contractor Continuing Education

CE Requirements to Renew a LA Residential Building Contractor License

Continuing education is due by 12/31 every year. You must renew your license by the anniversary of licensure the following year.

The Louisiana contractor license renewal process can feel a little complicated. Some licensees need CE, while others don't. And you can even pick your renewal date, making things more complex.

If you want to know all the ins and outs of maintaining your Louisiana residential contractor license — including when continuing education is required — here are your answers.

When to renew a Louisiana residential contractor license

When you first get your license, it's valid for one year. The first time you renew — and every time after that — you have the option to renew for either a one, two, or three-year period. Choosing a longer renewal period will make less work for you overall, but you'll still need to take CE annually (more on that in a minute). Whichever renewal term you choose, keep an eye on your expiration date to make sure you renew before then.

How to renew your residential license

You should get a renewal notice in your email inbox or through the mail 60 days before your residential license is set to expire. If you don't renew at that point, the state will send you another notice 15 days before expiration.

Don't wait for an email or piece of mail, though. Even if you don't get the renewal notice, the burden still falls on you to renew before your expiration date.

In order to renew, you need to:

• Keep your address current. If you didn't get a renewal notice, outdated info could be to blame. The state requires you to keep current contact info on file with them, so if you've moved or changed email addresses, update your information here.
• Meet the insurance requirements. You need to maintain the same level of general liability and workers' comp insurance that was required for you to initially get your license. To show the state you're still properly insured, you can email your insurance certificates to insurance@lslbc.louisiana.gov.
• Maintain your qualifying party. This is the person who passed the contractor exam (it could be you). You need to have a qualifying party, i.e., someone who has passed the relevant exams, for all of your license classifications.
• Complete CE annually. Most residential building contractors need six hours of continuing education each year. Note: this is an annual requirement. So even if you opted for a two or three-year renewal cycle, you're still required to take six hours of CE before each year ends.

You probably noticed that we said most contractors need CE. The exception here is for contractors with major classifications in:

• Building construction
• Highway, street, and bridge construction
• Heavy construction
• Municipal and public works construction

With any of those major classifications, your CE requirement is automatically met. In other words, you don't need to take any CE.

If you don't meet the requirements for that exception, make sure you stay on top of your CE or your license could get suspended or revoked. Fortunately, you can take your six hours online and on-demand with us to easily knock them out.

Once you finish your CE, keep your certificate of completion. The state requires that you hang onto it for five years.

When you've met the requirements we just outlined, you can renew your Louisiana residential contractor license in the state's online portal.