Quick facts: Oregon requirements
- Licensing board
- Construction Contractors Board (CCB)
- Application fee
- $400, plus a separate $60 exam fee
Fees, bond amounts, and rules change. Verify every item with the responsible agency before you rely on it.
Oregon licenses contractors through the Construction Contractors Board, and the process has a real training requirement most states skip: you cannot just pass a test, you have to sit through instruction first.
Want this filed correctly the first time? Build your free Contractor Lane roadmap.
What starting an Oregon contracting business actually involves
The training comes before the exam, not instead of it. Applicants complete at least 16 hours of pre-license training from an approved provider, then sit the Oregon exam separately: 80 multiple-choice questions, 70% to pass, $60 to take. The person who completes the training becomes the Responsible Managing Individual (RMI) - an owner, officer, partner, or an employee with real management authority over the construction work, not just anyone on staff.
The bond amount depends on what you are licensed to do. Residential contractors carry a $15,000 to $25,000 bond; commercial contractors carry $25,000 to $80,000. The bond has to include a Power of Attorney and use the CCB's own official bond form - a generic surety bond from another state's process will not be accepted as-is.
Insurance minimums are tied to your specific endorsement, and they are not small. A Residential General Contractor needs $500,000 per occurrence in general liability coverage. A Residential Specialty Contractor needs $300,000 per occurrence. A Commercial General Contractor Level 1 needs $2,000,000 aggregate. In every case, the Construction Contractors Board itself has to be listed as the certificate holder on the policy - a policy that exists but does not name the CCB as certificate holder does not satisfy the requirement.
The application fee has a real number attached, and it changed recently. The current application fee is $400. Processing runs 4-6 weeks for electronic applications and 6-8 weeks for paper - plan the timeline backward from when you actually need to start bidding work, not forward from when you submit.
Where people get stuck
The most common mistake is treating the 16 hours of training as a formality to get through quickly rather than budgeting real time for it before the exam. The second is underestimating the insurance minimum for the endorsement actually needed - a contractor planning residential work assumes the lower residential-specialty number applies, then discovers their actual scope requires the higher general-contractor minimum instead.
Not sure which endorsement, bond tier, and insurance minimum apply to your scope? Contractor Lane sorts it out before you apply.
Where Contractor Lane comes in
Contractor Lane helps you figure out which CCB endorsement actually matches your planned work before you commit to a bond and insurance tier that is either more than you need or, worse, not enough.
Build your free roadmap to see the full Oregon sequence, from pre-license training through your first job.
General educational information for people starting a business in Oregon. Requirements and fees change. Contractor Lane is not a law firm or tax advisor.
Common questions
How much does an Oregon CCB contractor license cost?
The application fee is $400. The exam itself, taken after 16 hours of pre-license training, costs $60 separately - 80 multiple-choice questions, 70% to pass. Source: Oregon Construction Contractors Board, CCB License page.
What bond and insurance does Oregon require for contractors?
Both vary by endorsement. Bonds run $15,000-$25,000 for residential contractors and $25,000-$80,000 for commercial. General liability insurance minimums are $500,000 per occurrence for a Residential General Contractor, $300,000 per occurrence for a Residential Specialty Contractor, and $2,000,000 aggregate for a Commercial General Contractor Level 1 - with the Construction Contractors Board listed as the certificate holder in every case.