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Business Licenses for Handymen

Getting licensed will immediately make you a "man among boys" in the handyman business. Guys who are serious and do good work and have real businesses are licensed. Guys who are filling in until they move on to the next town or find a "real" job are not. Even if you may not want to be a handyman for the rest of your life, its just good business to get licensed. You'll be able to charge more and you'll get better clients.

The very first question a prospective handyman usually asks is "Do I have to get a contractor's license?" Short answer: no. Longer answer: no, but you will have to figure out which license your county offers that best fits what you want to do. You want to avoid having to get a contractor's license because they're expensive and have a lot of requirements. Unless you're doing really big jobs like wiring an entire house or remodeling a whole bathroom, you don't need a contractor's license.

In California you can avoid the contractor title by doing only doing jobs that cost $500 or less. For most of the states along the eastern seaboard if you just go in and describe what you want to do - keeping it in its humblest, simplest terms and making yourself sound like you're just doing maintenance - you'll probably walk out with a nice general maintenance license, which should suit your needs perfectly. When you're talking with the clerk, just make it 100% clear that you're doing very small jobs - jobs that are too small for a contractor to bother with.

To get any license you'll need to have chosen a business name and a business entity. Getting a business name is pretty easy - just don't use anybody else's business name, even if they're in a different state. Weird things have been know to happen, like a lawyer calling from nowhere and telling you you can't use your business name any more. If you're a one man shop and don't want to go into a $100,000 legal battle to keep using "Sonny's Handy Shack", it may be time to buy new business cards. And if you've got advertising running in a phonebook that can only be changed once a year, that's your tough luck. So pick an original name that has no trademark issues.

The business entity part is a bit trickier. "Business entity" means either an LLC (limited liability company), incorporating, or having a partnership. LLCs can be either a sole proprietorship or a partnership. The simplest option, and the one chosen most often, is a Sole Proprietorship LLC. If you have any doubts at all, call a lawyer and a CPA - there are tax and legal ramifications to each business entity option.

In most areas you'll also need a business license or a business permit. This will also be required to get a bank account, and probably needed again when you get insurance. If you don't know where to get a business license, try calling your local Chamber of Commerce, or just calling your town or city hall. If at all possible, talk to someone in the office where you'll be getting the license or permit before you go there - its a pain to wait 2 hours to see someone and then learn you didn't bring the right documentation to get what you want.





More articles about starting a handyman business:

How to Start a Handyman Business

Are You Cut Out to Be a Handyman?

Tools for a Handyman Business

Payment Options for Handymen

How To Advertise a Handyman Business

Customer Service Tips for Handymen

Choosing a Name for a Handyman Business

Record Keeping Basics for Handymen

Being a Handyman Versus Having a Handyman Business or a Franchise

Getting a Website for Your Handyman Business

Getting Paid Upfront: Deposit Policies for Handymen

How Much To Charge Per Hour

Should You Charge by the Hour, or by the Job?

Insurance for Handymen

The Handyman Guide: How to Fix and Build 1000s of Things Around the House