Does Missouri Require a Contractor License Bond?

The statewide electrical contractor license

Missouri offers an optional statewide electrical contractor license through the Division of Professional Registration, within the Department of Commerce and Insurance. A statewide license lets the holder practice in any jurisdiction, regardless of local licensing requirements. To qualify, you pass a standardized, nationally accredited electrical examination and show practical experience — for example, twelve thousand verifiable practical hours installing equipment and associated wiring. The license is optional: where a local license or no license applies, you are not required to hold the statewide license.

The statewide license does not carry a state bond. Instead, you provide proof of liability insurance in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars, and you post a bond with each political subdivision where you will work, as that subdivision requires. So the license is recognized everywhere, but the bond stays local. Cities and counties may keep their own electrical contractor licenses, but they must recognize the statewide license in place of a local one. The Division sets the applicable fees, which go to the Missouri electrical industry licensing fund; the amounts are not in the sources we checked.

Local licenses and bonds

Cities and counties may keep their own electrical contractor licenses, and Springfield, for example, asks for proof of bond and/or insurance before it issues certain trade licenses. In Springfield, electrical contractors, gas fitters, mechanical contractors and plumbing contractors are among the license categories that must provide proof of bond and/or insurance before the city issues the license. The city's Business Licensing page does not state a bond amount, so ask the city what form and amount it wants. Springfield also notes that any contractor carrying a workers' compensation policy must submit proof of it as a condition of the license — that is a workers' compensation requirement, not a bond. Bonding for work done under contract for the City itself is a separate matter from a license bond. Other cities and counties may set their own requirements, so check with your local building or licensing office.

Steps

1. Name your trade and place. Write down the trade you do (for example electrical or plumbing) and every city and county you will work in, since Missouri's requirements are set by trade and by locality, not by one statewide license.
2. Check the statewide electrical option. If you do electrical work, see whether the optional statewide electrical contractor license from the Division of Professional Registration fits you; it carries no state bond, but you post a bond with each city or county where you work if that city or county requires one.
3. Check county plumbing rules. If you are a master plumber or drainlayer, ask whether your county is a first-class county that has adopted the plumbing code, which carries a $2,000 surety bond filed with the county plumbing supervisor.
4. Call your local office. Contact the building or licensing office in each city and county on your list, since local rules such as Springfield's proof of bond and/or insurance come from them, not the state.
5. Confirm the exact bond and amount. Ask each office what form it wants and what amount, because the statewide electrical statute and Springfield's page do not state bond amounts.
6. Line up a surety. Once you know the bond and amount, work with a surety so the bond is ready when you file it with the office that requires it.

Sources

• Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 324.900
• Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 324.910
• Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 324.920
• Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 324.925
• Missouri Revisor of Statutes, Title XXII (Occupations and Professions)
• Missouri Revisor of Statutes, Chapter 324
• Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 341.010
• Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 341.100
• Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 341.200
• City of Springfield, Business Licensing
• City of Springfield, Get Your Business Insured and Bonded

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