- No state license at any job size. Home jobs over $3,000 need a written contract.
Do you need a state license in Maine?
Maine does not issue a statewide handyman license. Any license you need comes from the city or county where the job is, so the rules can change from one town to the next.
No state license at any job size. Home jobs over $3,000 need a written contract.
Towns with more than 4,000 residents must enforce the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code. Ask the local code office whether your job needs a permit.
How to get set up in Maine, step by step
- Keep to repair work outside the licensed trades, or hire licensed plumbers, electricians and fuel technicians.
- Use a written contract for any home job over $3,000.
- Use the Attorney General's model contract and change order if you want a form that meets the law.
- Check with the town code office about permits for each job.
What it costs in Maine
There is no state license fee for handyman work in Maine. Ask the city or county where you work about any local fees.
Good to know in Maine
- Maine licenses plumbers and electricians at the state level.
- Installing or servicing oil, gas, propane or solid fuel heating equipment needs a Maine Fuel Board license.
- A proposed state residential contractor license (LD 1226) died in April 2026.
Once you are cleared to work
The license lets you take the work. Getting the work is the next job.
- Register the business. If you work under a name other than your own, register it where your state asks (often the Secretary of State, sometimes the county), and keep the name the same on your license, your truck and your invoices.
- Claim your Google Business Profile. It is the listing people see when they search for a handyman near them. Fill in your service area, hours and real photos of your work.
- Put up a website that shows the license. Customers look for it before they call. Koira builds a contractor website for you and keeps it current.
- See where you stand. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where this comes from
Every fact on this page comes from the Maine Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division (home construction contracts) and the official pages below, checked October 8, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm with the board before you file.
More for your trade: how handyman businesses run on Koira.