Most trades carry one license and one rule about where its number goes. General contracting comes in classes, and the class decides what an ad is allowed to offer. We read every ad against yours before it runs. What follows is how we read the rules in October 2026. It is not legal advice; confirm with counsel or your licensing board before a campaign goes live.
California. A B General Building contractor may not take a prime contract unless the job requires at least two unrelated building trades other than framing or carpentry. The B-2 Residential Remodeling class needs at least three unrelated trades on a single contract, in an existing residential wood frame structure. CSLB’s advertising guidelines say A and B licensees can advertise as general contractors, that nobody may advertise work outside their own classification, and that no ad may mention being bonded. Small jobs under $1,000 can go without a license only when they need no permit and the business has no employees, a line that moved up from $500 on January 1, 2025.
Florida. Under section 489.105, a certified general contractor is unlimited as to the type of work. A building contractor is limited to buildings of up to three stories, or to remodeling of any size that leaves the structural members alone. A residential contractor covers one-, two- and three-family homes of no more than two habitable stories. Each class should advertise only the work it covers, and section 489.119 puts the certification or registration number on every offer, bid, contract and ad. The exemption for minor jobs under $2,500 in section 489.103 is lost by anyone who advertises as a contractor, and it never covers a job split into smaller contracts to stay under the line.
Arizona. Arizona’s chapter of the Associated General Contractors says work valued at $1,000 or more needs a license from the Registrar of Contractors. A.R.S. 32-1124 puts the number, preceded by “ROC”, on bids, estimates, published ads and letterhead. Since September 29, 2021, a broadcast, internet or billboard ad may leave it off if it gives a web address that links to a site prominently showing the name and number, which attorney Jason Clark explained in AZ Big Media means on the home page and outside the footer.
Texas. The Texas Residential Construction Commission was abolished when House Bill 2295 failed to pass in the 2009 session, according to the state’s Sunset Advisory Commission. In Texas we start with the city’s own rules before the first ad runs.
Older houses, in every state. Under the EPA’s lead renovation rule, a firm without certification may neither advertise nor carry out covered renovation work in housing built before 1978. Additions and whole-house remodels open walls in older neighborhoods all the time, so that certificate belongs on the site beside the license number.
Contracts signed in the living room, in every state. The FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR Part 429) covers any in-home sale priced at $25 or more, invited or not, and the buyer may cancel any time before midnight on the third business day. It does not reach a deal that follows negotiations at your permanent office or showroom, or one the buyer can already rescind under Truth in Lending, which usually means a loan secured by the house. California stretches the window to five business days for buyers 65 and older, per CSLB’s contract guide. So the follow-up after a kitchen-table bid confirms the cancel date in writing rather than racing it.
Six more states, each with a page of its own.
- Minnesota licenses residential work in two kinds: a BC license builds new homes and may remodel, a CR license works only on existing ones (Minn. Stat. 326B.802). The number goes in every ad, websites and internet ads named in the statute (326B.87). More on the Minnesota general contractor page.
- Nevada makes it unlawful to advertise as a contractor without a license in the right classification, and the board can have the utilities commission disconnect the phone number printed in an unlawful ad (NRS 624.720). More on the Nevada page.
- North Carolina draws the general contractor line at projects costing $40,000 or more (G.S. 87-1), and bidding on that work unlicensed, or suggesting a license you do not hold, is a misdemeanor (G.S. 87-13). More on the North Carolina page.
- Tennessee wants a contractor license before you bid, offer or name a price on a project of $25,000 or more (TDCI), and nine counties, Davidson, Shelby, Knox and Hamilton among them, add a home improvement license for remodels from $3,000 to $24,999 (TDCI). More on the Tennessee page.
- Virginia treats offering the work as contracting, so the ad itself needs the license (Va. Code 54.1-1103), and the class sets the job size: C over $1,000 and under $30,000, B up to $150,000, A above that (54.1-1100). More on the Virginia page.
- Washington wants the registration number on any ad that shows your name or address, mailers, door hangers and internet ads included (RCW 18.27.100), and L&I’s rules list a “bonded and insured” boast that rests on the state bond as an infraction. More on the Washington page.
In practice that comes down to a short routine before any campaign starts:
- The license number and class read the same on the site, the Business Profile, Local Services Ads, proposal templates and the truck.
- Ad groups stop at the work your class and dollar limit allow, so a B-2 or a Class C never bids on a search it cannot contract for.
- No “bonded” claim where the state forbids it, and no “licensed” claim without the number beside it.
- In-home bids carry the cancellation notice, and follow-up waits for the window to close before anything is ordered.
A notice from a licensing board costs more than any campaign saves, which is why this check happens before the first ad, not after the first complaint.
