Missouri contractor license requirements
What you need before your first paid job in Missouri, one page for each trade. The license, the least insurance you must carry, whether the state asks for a bond, when you charge sales tax, and the deadlines that protect your right to be paid.
Plumbing in Missouri
- License you need
- Master Plumber certificate (Springfield)Renews every year
- Insurance you must carry
- No state minimumcustomers usually ask for $1,000,000
- Workers' comp
- Required
- Missouri has never set up a state plumbing license. St. Louis County, the City of St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield each license plumbers their own way, so ask before you cross a city or county line.
- In Springfield the business does not hold the plumbing certificate. One master plumber does, works for the company full time, and can stand behind only one company at a time.
HVAC in Missouri
- License you need
- Master Mechanical certificate (Springfield)Renews every year
- Insurance you must carry
- No state minimumcustomers usually ask for $1,000,000
- Workers' comp
- Required
- There is no Missouri HVAC license to apply for. Cities and counties license the trade, mostly under the name mechanical, and Springfield, Kansas City and St. Louis County each have their own paperwork.
- In Springfield the gas line is a separate trade. A master in mechanical work still needs a Master Gas certificate, or a certified gas fitter, to run gas pipe to a furnace.
Electrical in Missouri
- License you need
- Statewide Electrical Contractor licenseRenews every three years
- Insurance you must carry
- $500,000liability, at least
- Workers' comp
- Requiredonce you have one employee, because wiring buildings is construction work
- Missouri has one statewide trade license, and it is for electrical contractors. Every city and county has to accept it, and none can make you sit its own exam on top.
- The statewide license is optional. If you only work where there is no local electrical license, or you already hold the local one, the law says you do not need it.
Across states
Can you charge sales tax on labor? The rule in 25 states. Which states tax the work itself, which tax only the parts, and how a repair differs from a new install.