How to become a general contractor in North Dakota

The path in North Dakota, step by step

North Dakota licenses general contractor work at the state level through the North Dakota Secretary of State, contractor licensing. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Register your business entity or trade name with the Secretary of State if needed.
2. Pick the license class that covers your largest single project.
3. Get liability insurance naming the Secretary of State and a WSI workers compensation certificate.
4. Apply through the FirstStop portal and pay the class fee.
5. Renew by March 1 each year.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: general contractor license in North Dakota.

Finding an apprenticeship in North Dakota

North Dakota has no recognized State Apprenticeship Agency, so the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship registers and oversees programs there through a state field office. Apprenticeship.gov lists the North Dakota Apprenticeship Office as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. New construction managers are usually hired as assistants and work under an experienced manager for up to a year, sometimes longer.

License levels and exams in North Dakota

The license to aim for: North Dakota Contractor License (Class A to D).

Keeping it. Every year by March 1. List projects over $50,000 from the prior year and certify that payroll taxes and insurance premiums are paid.

What the North Dakota license costs

The fees the North Dakota Secretary of State, contractor licensing lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What general contractors earn in North Dakota

The median general contractor in North Dakota earned $49.07 an hour in May 2025, 40th of 51 states, with 1,450 on payrolls. The national median was $55.28.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of general contractors in North Dakota earned under $37.56 an hour and a tenth under $30.51. At the top, a quarter earned over $62.97 and a tenth over $81.04.

BLS has no separate wage figure for general contractors. These are its numbers for construction managers, the group BLS files general contractors under. They count managers on a payroll, so owners who run their own contracting business are not in them. Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: general contractor salary in North Dakota.

Jobs ahead in North Dakota

North Dakota's labor market office projects jobs for general contractors growing from 1,040 in 2022 to 1,180 in 2032, a change of 13.5%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 90 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 13.5% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 4.5% projected nationally, ranking 17th of the 49 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group construction managers.

Starting your own general contractor business in North Dakota

To contract on your own in North Dakota, the license is the North Dakota Contractor License (Class A to D).

Insurance. A certificate of liability insurance naming the Secretary of State as certificate holder, plus proof of workers compensation coverage from Workforce Safety and Insurance (or a letter of good standing if you have no ND employees).

Bond. No state contractor bond. The bond section of the contractor law was repealed in 1995.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the North Dakota median of $49.07 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $156.76 per billable hour. Try your own in the labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start a general contracting business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.