General vs. Specialty Contractor Rules in Mississippi

What each major classification actually reaches

The Board publishes a scope definition for each major classification, and they are worth reading against your actual work rather than your job title. Building Construction "involves construction of commercial buildings and single-dwelling or multiple-dwelling residential structures", with a scope including "additions, alterations, conversions, expansions, reconstruction, renovations, and rehabilitations to an existing structure as well as the landscaping, earthwork, parking areas, driveways, sidewalks, etc."

Heavy Construction covers "construction, erection, installation, maintenance, or repair of water, sewer and gas pipelines, excavation and grading, paving, traffic control (non-electrical) welding, concrete, steel, piles and plant construction". Highway, Street and Bridge Construction covers "highways, roads, streets, bridges and other public ways used for vehicular travel, including any drains, tunnels, bridges and other appurtenances", and the Board notes that "this classification is the only classification that covers airport runway construction".

Municipal and Public Works covers "water and sewer pipelines and plants, installation of automated meter reading equipment for water meters and associated excavation, grading and paving", including "cess pools, storm drains and other sewage disposal and drain structures" and "TV or camera inspection of sewer lines". Mechanical is the broadest of the trade majors, covering "all aspects of heating, cooling, refrigeration and associated equipment piping and ductwork as well as plumbing work", along with pressure and process piping, gas lines and low-voltage HVAC control wiring - but the Board states it "does NOT include electrical power wiring".

Those boundaries are the point. The Excavation, Grading and Drainage specialty, for instance, covers box culverts "less than 20 feet", and the Board states that "box culverts greater than 20 feet require the major classification of Hwy, Street and Bridge". The Swimming Pools specialty excludes "direct connections to a sanitary sewer system or to potable water lines, or electrical work". If your normal job routinely crosses one of those internal lines, you need the classification on the other side of it before you bid.

Official sources: MSBOC Classifications

How specialty classifications work, and what they cost to add

A specialty classification is, in MSBOC's own words, "a division under a major classification for which a contractor may be licensed for a more specific trade, such as Drywall, Roofing or Process Piping". The Building Construction major alone lists fifty specialties beneath it, from Acoustical and Drywall Treatment through Masonry, Brick and Stone to Structural Steel and Swimming Pools. Some require a trade exam and some do not; the Classifications page marks each one.

One specialty deserves separate attention because it is the catch-all. Limited Specialty Services is defined as "any scope of work that exceeds $50,000 not specifically defined under any other classification", and the Board states plainly that for it "no examination or credential is required". Its examples include access flooring, bleachers and grandstands, chemical cleaning, construction cleaning, detention equipment, herbicide application, modular or mobile structures, passenger boarding bridges, playground equipment and precast erection. If your work is genuinely not on the Board's list, this is the route - but ask a licensing agent rather than assuming your trade is undefined.

The money follows the tier, not the trade. A commercial applicant for a major classification must prove "a net worth of $50,000 or greater"; an applicant for a specialty classification must prove "a net worth of $20,000 or greater". So the practical question when you are deciding between a major and a stack of specialties is not only scope but capital: a major classification is a $50,000 net-worth commitment, evidenced by a CPA-reviewed financial statement completed within the prior twelve months.

Adding classifications later is cheap in fee terms and slow in process terms. MSBOC states that "in order to add a classification to your license, you must complete an ADDITIONAL CLASSIFICATION FORM and pay $100.00 for each additional class you add to your license", after which "MSBOC will send you information about testing, if testing is required". Board Rule 1.1(6) allows a certificate holder to apply for a change in classification "on proof of qualifications satisfactory to the Board". Statute at Section 31-3-17 backs the fee with a special privilege licence tax "not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each additional classification".

Official sources: MSBOC Classifications; MSBOC Apply For A License; MSBOC Frequently Asked Questions; MSBOC Commercial Laws and Rules (Miss. Code Ann. ch. 31-3; Title 30 Part 802)

The 50% rule, which decides who may bid a mixed project

Mississippi resolves mixed-trade projects with a percentage test, and it is written into the Board's rules rather than left to the awarding agency's judgement. Board Rule 1.2(3) provides that "when the total cost of a project is at least 50% of a particular classification of work, as determined by the awarding entity or its engineer, architect or other representative, the awarding entity shall allow the holder of the certificate of responsibility in that particular classification to bid on or enter into a contract to perform work on the project in its entirety".

Rule 1.2(5) then draws the fences. When separate bids are received, "building contractors having only the classification of Building Construction shall not be permitted to bid on or be awarded the Mechanical or Electrical contracts", and equally "the Mechanical or Electrical Contractors shall not be permitted to bid on the building portion of a project when the building costs are at least 50% of the project". When combined building, mechanical and electrical bids are received, a Building Construction holder may bid a project that is at least 50% mechanical or electrical work - "provided, however, that the holder... shall also have the appropriate classification necessary to perform the mechanical, electrical or other classification of work".

Bidding outside your classification is not a paperwork error in Mississippi; it is a show-cause hearing. Rule 1.2(4) provides that where a certificate holder "has bid outside the classification contained in his, her or its Certificate of Responsibility", the Executive Director "shall notify each holder to appear before the Board at its next regular meeting and show cause, if possible, why Action should not be taken against the Certificate of Responsibility".

Joint ventures get their own treatment. Rule 1.2(8) requires that "either all contractors making up a joint venture or the joint venture itself must hold certificates of responsibility prior to submitting a bid or being awarded a contract", and where the joint venture itself is not certified, "all parties to the joint venture must hold certificates of responsibility and each must have the proper classification for the project". Each member then puts its own certificate number on the outside of the bid envelope.

Official sources: MSBOC Commercial Laws and Rules (Miss. Code Ann. ch. 31-3; Title 30 Part 802)

Where the residential list crosses into commercial work

The residential classifications are narrower by design, but one of them reaches across the line. MSBOC defines the Residential Builder classification as involving "construction, remodeling, repair or improvement of any residential building or structure to be occupied by fifty (50) or fewer families and not more than 3 floors in height or any commercial structure provided the prescribed job is not more than 7,500 square feet", adding that its scope "includes remodeling and roofing provided it does not exceed the stated limits" and "does not include any industrial or process piping work".

Statute grants the same thing in Section 73-59-19: a licensed residential builder may, "without being required to obtain an additional license under any other law of this state, construct, improve, repair, remodel or renovate any commercial structure, provided the prescribed contract job does not exceed seven thousand five hundred (7,500) square feet". Read from the commercial side, Section 31-3-1(e) excludes from ch. 31-3 "a new commercial construction project not exceeding seventy-five hundred (7500) square feet and not more than two (2) stories in height undertaken by an individual or entity licensed under the provisions of Section 73-59-1 et seq."

Those two provisions are not word-for-word identical, and the difference is worth naming rather than smoothing over: the commercial exclusion in Section 31-3-1(e) attaches a "not more than two (2) stories in height" condition and limits itself to NEW commercial construction, while the residential grant in Section 73-59-19 mentions only the 7,500 square foot ceiling and covers renovation as well as construction. If your job is a three-storey commercial structure under 7,500 square feet, or a large commercial renovation, do not resolve that yourself - ask the Board, whose Classifications page reserves the final call on scope questions to itself.

The rest of the residential list is deliberately sealed. Residential Remodeler covers "remodeling, repair or improvement of any residential building or structure that is not more than 3 floors in height", including roofing within limits. Residential Mechanical requires two exams - "Residential HVAC Test and Residential Plumbing Test Required" - and covers both trades. Residential Solar covers solar and photovoltaic installation, but MSBOC adds that "contractors must also hold the required classification to make electrical or mechanical connections", which means the solar classification alone does not let you tie in the system.

Official sources: MSBOC Classifications; MSBOC Residential Builders Law (Miss. Code Ann. ch. 73-59; Title 30 Part 803); MSBOC Commercial Laws and Rules (Miss. Code Ann. ch. 31-3; Title 30 Part 802)

Check the official page yourself before you file, bid or sign

Mississippi splits contractor rules across at least four agencies: MSBOC for the licence, the Secretary of State for the entity, the Department of Revenue for the sales tax permit and the contractor's tax, and the Workers' Compensation Commission for coverage. No single page carries all of it, and each changes on its own schedule. On top of that, Section 73-59-17 puts your local building official in the chain: that official "shall refuse to issue a permit for any undertaking which would classify the applicant as a residential builder or remodeler under this chapter" unless you show you are licensed or exempt, and shall report suspected violations to the Board.

One more reason to check rather than rely on a summary: MSBOC's own published fee schedule and the Board's own Rule 3.4 fee schedule currently disagree on the commercial renewal fee, at $400.00 and $200.00 respectively. We report both and pick neither. Before you send money, open the current fee schedule on msboc.us, or call the Board at 601-354-6161 or 800-880-6161 and confirm the figure for your licence type. MSBOC also warns that application fees are non-refundable and that "applicants have 180 days to complete the application process. After 180 days, incomplete applications are destroyed."

Official sources: MSBOC Fee Schedule (effective January 1, 2016); MSBOC Commercial Laws and Rules (Miss. Code Ann. ch. 31-3; Title 30 Part 802); MSBOC Apply For A License; Mississippi State Board of Contractors; MSBOC Residential Builders Law (Miss. Code Ann. ch. 73-59; Title 30 Part 803)