Louisiana minor work: below $7,500 no LSLBC license or registration attaches; from $7,500 up to $75,000, repair/modernization of a pre-existing residence falls in the Home Improvement registration band (no exam, $25,000 net worth, $100,000 liability + workers' compensation, the § 2159 written contract); above $75,000 the Residential Construction license is required. Owner-builders may build their personal residence once per year with a board affidavit for the permit. Unlicensed contracting costs lien rights and carries misdemeanor and 10% civil penalties. Every claim sourced and dated.
License thresholds by classification (rule default $50,000; residential family lower) — Rule §301.F verbatim: 'A license is required when the project cost exceeds $50,000 except where otherwise noted.' Otherwise noted: Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing — 'A license is required when the value exceeds $10,000' (rules §301.14, §301.38, §301.47; Hazardous Materials work > $1 with LDEQ credentialing, §301.21); Residential Construction — 'the construction of a residential structure … when the cost of the undertaking exceeds $75,000' (§301.50); Home Improvement — 'A license is required when the value exceeds $7,500. Home improvement is limited to a value of $75,000' (§301.26); Residential Swimming Pools > $7,500 (§301.51); Mold Remediation > $7,500 with 24 hours of board-approved training (§301.39); Solar Energy Equipment ≥ $10,000 (§ 2156.3). FAQ: thresholds include labor AND materials; 'A Commercial license does not allow you to build a single residential home.' S-LA-BLUE-BOOK
Exemptions (§ 2157) — owner-builders, federal projects, employees, dewatering — § 2157 highlights: public utilities regulated by the LPSC; owners supervising construction on their own property for their own use (not for sale or rent); owners building their personal residences 'if the homeowner does not build more than one residence per year' (one-year period from the certificate of occupancy; marital-status and employment-relocation exceptions; board affidavit of exemption required for the permit); persons donating labor for church construction; farmers on leased or owned land; projects totally owned by the federal government; rail or pipeline construction on owned/leased property; volunteers on LCDBG/STEP projects; assemblers/repairers of patented or proprietary equipment; the manufactured-housing industry (chassis-mounted dwellings); Oilfield Site Restoration Fund / CARES-funded projects; dewatering or water mitigation (rule §307: removal of water-damaged materials needs no license); employees of any licensee; persons doing residential-contractor work in areas without a permitting authority. FAQ: an owner 'cannot build a home to rent or sell without a license.' S-LA-BLUE-BOOK
Written contract required; no work before all signatures; lien denial — § 2159(A): every agreement requiring licensure or registration must include the complete agreement (with a clear description of incorporated documents), the full names, addresses and the LICENSE NUMBER of the contractor, a description of the work, the total price (or an approximation of the owner's cost under a cost-plus or time-and-materials contract), the signature of all parties, and current insurance certificates (workers' compensation and liability). § 2159(B): 'At the time of signing, all parties shall be furnished with a copy of the signed contract. No work shall begin prior to the signing of the contract by all parties.' § 2159(D): 'No contractor who fails to obtain a license … shall be entitled to file a statement of claim or a statement of lien or privilege' for sums owed under a contract requiring a license. S-LA-BLUE-BOOK
Unlicensed contracting: misdemeanor ≤ $500/day; civil penalty up to 10% — § 2163(C)(1): anyone contracting without a license 'shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined a sum not to exceed five hundred dollars per day of violation, or three months in prison, or both.' § 2163(C)(2): where the violator 'causes harm or damage to another in excess of three hundred dollars,' a fine of 'not less than five hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not less than six months nor more than five years, or both.' § 2164(A): a civil penalty 'of up to ten percent of the total contract or the value of the work bid or being performed,' plus administrative costs and attorney fees; cease-and-desist orders and injunctions follow (§ 2164(C)-(G)). S-LA-BLUE-BOOK
Amounts are statutory caps (§ 2156.C) — the board's current actual fees and all parish/municipal permit fees (LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED) are not published here.