Blog

RocketCert Staff

01.25.2023

02.22.2024

#How to Renew

Sections:

Notable Changes
Requirements
CE Classes

*Updated 2/1/2023

The NCLBGC Renewal Requirements for 2023

Contractors in North Carolina are required to renew their licenses before the deadline to avoid late fees and extra continuing education course hours.

While you may know that taking continuing education courses is required to renew licenses with the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors (NCLBGC), you may not know that completing those requirements doesn’t automatically renew your license.

Notable Changes to NC Contractor Laws & Rules

Permits

No permit is required for construction, installation, repair, replacement, or alteration less than $20,000 on any single-family residence, farm building, or commercial building unless the work includes any of the following:

The addition, repair, or replacement of load bearing structures. However, no permit is required for the replacement of windows, doors, exterior siding, or pickets, railing, stair treads, and decking of porches or exterior decks.
The addition or change in design of plumbing. However, no permit is required for the replacement of existing plumbing as long is it does not change the size or capacity.
The addition, replacement, or change in design of heating, air-conditioning, or electrical wiring, devices, appliances, or equipment other than like-kind replacements of electrical devices and lighting fixtures.
The use of materials not permitted by the North Carolina State Building Code.
The addition (excluding replacement) of roofing.
Any changes where the North Carolina Fire Prevention Code applies.

Solar Panels

A building permit is required for any project, including Residential Solar Photovoltaic Panel (SPVP) installations that cost $20,000. In North Carolina, SPVP installations are classified as electrical work unless the scope of work includes structural or other improvements that are over $30,000 and includes work typically performed by a licensed general contractor.

Plans & Specifications

Effective until December 31, 2024: If the project is in one of these following categories you are not required to have an architectural license for the preparation, sale, or furnishing of plans, specification and related data:

A family residence which is not part of or physically connected with any other buildings or residential units
A building on any farm for the use of any farmer, unless the building is intended for such uses as to substantially involve the health or safety of the public
An institutional or commercial building if it does not have a total value exceeding $300,000
An institutional or commercial building if the total building area does not exceed 3,000 square feet
Alteration, remodeling, or renovation of an existing building or building site that does not alter or affect the structural system or exit pattern
The preparation and use of details and shop drawings or graphic descriptions utilized to detail or illustrate a portion of work required to construct the project

*This rule is a test rule. These limitations will be set until December 31st, 2024 and are likely to change at that time or be set into law.

Wood Studs

At the beginning of 2021, the NC residential code was updated with some new rules and a chart regarding the size, height, and spacing of wood studs. You can view this change in the code by clicking HERE.

Continuing Education Does Not Automatically Renew Your License

The NCLBGC requires licensees to renew their licenses by going to the NCCLiC website and registering for or logging into their license accounts. You must fill out an online license renewal application and submit the license renewal fee prior to any license application being processed or renewed.

The NCLBGC also requires that the entire eight-hour CE requirement be met by at least one qualifier before the 2023 license renewal is completed. A $10 late fee will accrue starting in January 2023 for each month CE is not completed until the license is renewed.

Requirements for Continuing Education Renewal

So what are the requirements in 2023 for contractor license renewal? The CE year starts on January 1 and ends on November 30th. If you don’t renew by November 30th, you’ll need to wait until January, when penalties will begin to accrue. The state does not allow continuing education to be completed during the month of December.

The board requires that licensees complete eight hours of continuing education every year. Two of those hours must be taken in a state-specified course. The other six hours can cover a wide scope of topics.

Some of those topics can include:

North Carolina lead safety
North Carolina building code updates
North Carolina residential code updates

Other possible topics include North Carolina business and project management, North Carolina OSHA Focus, and more.

Renewing Your Contractor License in North Carolina

It’s recommended that you take your CE courses online through a state-approved provider, like RocketCert. The NCLBGC requires that renewal CE courses are completed within 30 days of purchasing them.

With each renewal, you are allowed to take six hours of CE online. The state requires that the two-hour mandatory course be taken as a scheduled webinar.

Once you complete all eight required hours, you will receive a certificate of completion from RocketCert immediately, and RocketCert will also notify the board of your accomplishment the next business day.

Sign Up with RocketCert Today

The state of North Carolina approves RocketCert to offer six hours of CE and the mandatory two-hour CE webinar. Sign up today and take care of your general contractor license renewal in with RocketCert.