How to become a general contractor in Oregon

The path in Oregon, step by step

Oregon licenses general contractor work at the state level through the Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB). These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Take the 16 hour pre-license course and pass the Oregon contractor exam.
2. Choose your endorsement, residential general for most home builders and remodelers.
3. Register your business with the Oregon Secretary of State and get state and federal employer numbers.
4. Buy the $25,000 residential bond and a $500,000 per occurrence liability policy naming the CCB as certificate holder.
5. Set up workers comp if you have employees.
6. Apply online with the CCB and pay the $400 fee. Expect 6 to 8 weeks.

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

Finding an apprenticeship in Oregon

Oregon runs Registered Apprenticeship through its own State Apprenticeship Agency, recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor to register and oversee programs there. Its staff are state employees, and it may use the federal paperwork or forms of its own. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Oregon State Apprenticeship Agency 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 Oregon

The license to aim for: CCB Residential General Contractor (or Commercial General Contractor) endorsement.

Business exam. Yes. 16 hours of pre-license training and the Oregon contractor exam (80 questions, 70 percent to pass, open book), given through PSI.

Keeping it. Every two years. Residential contractors need 8 hours of continuing education per two year period: 3 hours on laws, regulations and business practices, and 5 hours of approved courses on topics like business practices, building codes or safety.

What the Oregon license costs

The fees the Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB) lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What general contractors earn in Oregon

The median general contractor in Oregon earned $63.18 an hour in May 2025, 8th of 51 states, with 4,300 on payrolls. The national median was $55.28.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of general contractors in Oregon earned under $46.76 an hour and a tenth under $35.00. At the top, a quarter earned over $79.50 and a tenth over $100.74.

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 Oregon.

Jobs ahead in Oregon

Oregon's labor market office projects jobs for general contractors growing from 7,970 in 2022 to 9,230 in 2032, a change of 15.8%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 730 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 15.8% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 4.5% projected nationally, ranking 10th 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 Oregon

To contract on your own in Oregon, the license is the CCB Residential General Contractor (or Commercial General Contractor) endorsement.

Insurance. Residential general: $500,000 per occurrence general liability. Commercial Level 2: $1 million aggregate. Commercial Level 1: $2 million aggregate. Workers comp if you have non exempt employees.

Bond. Residential general $25,000. Commercial Level 2 $25,000. Commercial Level 1 $80,000. Doing both residential and commercial work needs two bonds.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Oregon median of $63.18 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $181.54 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.