How to Check a Home Builder's License in Alabama
In Alabama, building a house for someone else generally takes a state license from the Home Builders Licensure Board (HBLB), and the Board lets anyone look a builder up. Here's when the rule applies and how to check, in general terms.
When a license is required
Alabama law defines a residential home builder as someone who builds, or offers to build or supervise building, a residence of up to three floors and four units for another person when the cost of the job is over $10,000. Cost means everything: materials, labor, supervision, overhead and profit.[1]
- Advertising counts. The same section says anyone who offers to do this work, through advertising or otherwise, is treated as being in the business of residential home building.[1]
- Your own house is different. Nothing in the definition stops a person from doing the work on their own residence or other real estate they hold.[1]
How to look up a builder
- Get the exact name. Ask for the name the license is held under (a person or a company) and the license number. Licensed builders carry a state-issued wallet card that shows when the license expires; HBLB tells consumers to ask for it, plus a second ID.[2]
- Run the Licensee Search. The Board's FAQ links to its online search for checking a builder's license status.[3][4] Search by name or number and check that the name, status and expiration date match what you were told.
- Not listed? Call. No match online doesn't settle it: phone the Board at 1-800-304-0853 and ask whether that builder holds a current, valid license.[3]
- Check it again at signing. Licenses expire. The date that matters is the day you sign the contract.
The Board recommends checking a license before you hire anyone or sign a contract over $10,000.[5]
Why it matters: the Homeowners' Recovery Fund
If you hire a licensed builder, win a court judgment against them and can't collect, Alabama's Homeowners' Recovery Fund can pay up to $30,000 toward the actual economic damages in that judgment. The builder must have been licensed both when the contract was signed and when the work was done; if not, the fund doesn't pay.[3]
The Board can't order any builder, licensed or not, to refund money. Only an original homeowner can file a complaint against a licensee, within six years of substantial completion or of taking possession.[3]
What to put in the contract
- The builder's license number, written in. HBLB's point: if it's in the contract you can expect it; a verbal promise may not hold.[2]
- Start and finish dates, the payment schedule and any finance charges.[6]
- Specific materials, colors, brands and models, plus any warranties in writing.[6]
- Proof of liability insurance, and workers' compensation coverage where it applies.[6]
Take your time: HBLB warns against hiring the first contractor who comes along and urges checking references.[2] To report suspected unlicensed building, the Board's Builder Watch Hotline is the same 1-800-304-0853 number.[3]
Sources
- Code of Alabama § 34-14A-2, Definitions (HBLB) (accessed Oct 17, 2026)
- Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board, Do's and Don'ts of Hiring a Contractor (accessed Oct 17, 2026)
- Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board, Consumer FAQ (accessed Oct 17, 2026)
- Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board, Licensee Search (accessed Oct 17, 2026)
- Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board, How to Hire a Builder (accessed Oct 17, 2026)
- Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board, Before the Contractor Begins Work (accessed Oct 17, 2026)