How do you check a contractor license in Mississippi?

The Mississippi State Board of Contractors keeps a public contractor search on its website that takes a name or license number; the board says its information may have changed since publication and recommends contacting its office before you make decisions based on it.

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.

The license lookup is yours to run on the state's site.

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By InstaBids editorial team with AI research agents. Sources last read: 22 October 2026

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Key facts

The Mississippi State Board of Contractors offers a public contractor search by name or license number.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.
The board's search disclosure says its information may have changed since publication and recommends contacting its office before acting on it.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.
The board's FAQ gives cost lines for new homes, remodeling and roofing above which a board license is needed.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.

Where is the Mississippi contractor search, and how does it work?

The search is on the board's own search page, listed under Sources below; it takes a contractor's name or a license number, and the board adds a disclosure about how current its information is.

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.

The search page, read 22 October 2026, gives one instruction: "Search for a name or license number."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.

For a number search, the same page adds: "If searching using a license number, enter numbers only. Do not use the letter prefix or suffix."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.

Its disclosure reads: "While MSBOC has taken steps to ensure the accuracy and validity of the information provided, circumstances may have changed since the time of publication."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.

The disclosure goes on: "Therefore, we recommend you contact our office before making any decisions or taking actions based on the information provided here."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.

The board's FAQ gives the term of a license: "A license is valid for one year and must be renewed annually by the contractor."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.

Among the board's duties, section 73-59-11 of the residential law lists this one: "To maintain a list of residential builders and remodelers to whom licenses are issued, refused, revoked or suspended, which list shall be available to any interested person."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, residential law and rules as posted on its laws page, read 22 October 2026.

Which Mississippi home jobs need a state contractor license?

It depends on the kind of job and its total cost, and for four trades the cost does not matter. The cost lines and the trades come from the board's FAQ and from the copy of the residential law that the board posts on its laws page, quoted below.

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, residential law and rules as posted on its laws page, read 22 October 2026.

The board's FAQ, read 22 October 2026, sets the home-job lines for contractors "performing new residential construction over $50,000, residential remodeling or additions over $10,000, or residential roofing over $10,000, are required to have a license issued by MSBOC."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.

On trade subcontractors, the same FAQ says: "Subcontractors performing residential electrical, mechanical, HVAC, or plumbing work on a residential construction or residential improvement project are required to be licensed by MSBOC."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.

The FAQ adds: "A state license is also required for construction managers and residential solar contractors."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.

In the posted law, section 73-59-3 names, among those who need the board's license, this group: "Any subcontractor, of any tier, performing the following work or within the following trade, on any residential construction or residential improvement project, no matter the dollar amount of the construction or improvements:" The four items listed after it read, in order: Electrical; Plumbing; Mechanical; and Heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning.

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, residential law and rules as posted on its laws page, read 22 October 2026.

The board's unlicensed activity page says: "It is unlawful for a contractor to perform residential construction or residential improvement without a valid license."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, unlicensed activity page, read 22 October 2026.

What does the posted law say about permits and insurance?

Two sections of the copy the board posts speak to this, one on building permits and one on general liability insurance; both are quoted below, with the board's own warnings on permits.

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, residential law and rules as posted on its laws page, read 22 October 2026.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, owner risks page, read 22 October 2026.

On building permits, section 73-59-17 reads: "The building official, or other authority charged with the duty of issuing building or similar permits, of any municipality or county, shall refuse to issue a permit for any undertaking which would classify the applicant as a residential builder or remodeler under this chapter unless the applicant has furnished evidence that he is either licensed as required by this chapter or exempt from the requirements of this chapter."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, residential law and rules as posted on its laws page, read 22 October 2026.

On insurance, section 73-59-11 reads: "The holder of a valid license shall disclose to the owner or other person with whom the holder is contracting at the signing of a contract or the initial agreement to perform work whether the holder carries general liability insurance."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, residential law and rules as posted on its laws page, read 22 October 2026.

The list of exemptions in section 73-59-15 includes this one: "Any person who undertakes construction or improvement on his own residence, or who acts as his own general contractor in the performance of construction or improvement on his own residence;"

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, residential law and rules as posted on its laws page, read 22 October 2026.

The board's owner risks page warns: "If you do not intend to do the work yourself and have been asked by someone without a contractor’s license to pull a permit, you are at risk of financial harm."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, owner risks page, read 22 October 2026.

Its hiring tips add: "Any and all permits should be displayed by the contractor while the work is being done."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, tips for hiring a contractor, read 22 October 2026.

Its legal issues page notes: "It is important to know that each county and/or municipality may have additional requirements."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, legal issues page, read 22 October 2026.

What can a complaint to the Mississippi board do, and not do?

The board's FAQ keeps a board investigation apart from getting money back, and points to the courts for the second; both lines are quoted below.

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.

On what an investigation does not do, the FAQ says: "An MSBOC investigation does not guarantee restitution or require specific performance."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.

It continues: "If restitution or enforcement is the primary goal, the complainant should pursue the matter through the court system or consult an attorney."

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.

What should you ask a Mississippi contractor before you search?

Ask for the name the contractor works under and its license number, ask what the whole job will cost and which trades it includes, then search the board's records before you sign, as an optional public-record step. The search fields, cost lines and tips come from the board and the posted law; the order of the steps is a practical suggestion, not a board rule.

Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, residential law and rules as posted on its laws page, read 22 October 2026.

Ask for the contractor's name and license number; the search takes either, and for a number it asks for digits only, without the letter prefix or suffix.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.
Ask what the whole job will cost, and compare it with the lines in the board's FAQ, quoted above.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, frequently asked questions, read 22 October 2026.
If the job includes electrical, plumbing, mechanical or heating and air conditioning work, ask who will do it, and read the subcontractor wording from section 73-59-3, quoted above.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, residential law and rules as posted on its laws page, read 22 October 2026.
Search by name or license number on the board's search page, and, as the board's disclosure recommends, contact its office before you act on what you find.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, contractor search page, read 22 October 2026.
Ask whether the contractor carries general liability insurance, and ask for the answer in writing; the insurance wording of section 73-59-11 is quoted above.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, residential law and rules as posted on its laws page, read 22 October 2026.
Use the board's hiring tips, which say: "Ask your contractor for three references in writing."
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, tips for hiring a contractor, read 22 October 2026.
On paying up front, the same tips say: "Any down payment required before work begins should be minimal."
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, tips for hiring a contractor, read 22 October 2026.
If someone without a license asks you to pull the permit yourself, read the board's owner risks warning, quoted above, first.
Source: Mississippi State Board of Contractors, owner risks page, read 22 October 2026.

Who sees your contact details when you post a job on InstaBids?

One point about InstaBids follows. Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, live-page excerpts, read 22 October 2026.

Post your job on InstaBids, and contractors can bid in writing on one written scope.

Homeowners anywhere in the US can post a job; once you send it, InstaBids finds contractors to bid on it.

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How do you check a contractor license in Mississippi?

Key facts

Where is the Mississippi contractor search, and how does it work?

Which Mississippi home jobs need a state contractor license?

What does the posted law say about permits and insurance?

What can a complaint to the Mississippi board do, and not do?

What should you ask a Mississippi contractor before you search?

Who sees your contact details when you post a job on InstaBids?

Sources for the facts on this page