Mississippi Contractor Licensing Law and Board Rules
Licensing Law and Board Rules
This domain tests whether you know who must hold a Mississippi license, which classification fits a roofing job, and how the State Board of Contractors enforces those rules.
- Mississippi Code Title 73, Chapter 59 gives the Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) authority to license contractors, investigate complaints, and discipline licensees.
- Licensure threshold: any project at or above the statutory cost threshold requires a licensed contractor; splitting a job into phases to duck the threshold is itself a violation.
- Classifications: residential, commercial, residential roofing, and specialty credentials each limit the work and contract size a licensee may take; the license is issued to a qualifying individual, not to a truck or a phone number.
- Certificate of Responsibility (COR): project-specific, bearing the license number and project name; it must be secured before bidding and attached to the bid on public work. A bid submitted without a COR is invalid.
- Change of name, ownership, or qualifying party must be reported to the Board; letting a license lapse stops you from contracting, bidding, and pulling permits.
- Unlicensed contracting carries criminal penalties and, under the licensing statute, bars the contractor from suing to collect on the contract.
Worked example. A county solicits bids to replace a courthouse roof, estimated at $240,000. A roofer holding only a residential license submits the low bid. Result: the bid is nonresponsive. The work is commercial, the amount exceeds residential limits, and the contractor has no COR for the project. The county rejects the bid; the roofer cannot cure the defect after bid opening.
Traps. Assuming a municipal business license satisfies state law; assuming "handyman" status covers a tear-off and re-roof; bidding in an individual's name instead of the licensed entity; and ignoring that a Board complaint can suspend a license mid-contract.