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The short answer for Mississippi

No. Mississippi requires no licence bond. What it requires is a Certificate of Responsibility, backed by a CPA-prepared financial statement, a minimum net worth and general liability insurance of $300,000 per occurrence and $600,000 aggregate.

Verified August 12, 2026 against primary sources from Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC). Requirements are subject to current state statutes and agency rules, which change without notice. Confirm the figure that applies to you before you file.

Does Mississippi require a contractor license bond?

No. Mississippi requires a Certificate of Responsibility for commercial work, and the statutory definition of contractor reaches prime contractors, subcontractors and sub-subcontractors of any tier, on public and private projects alike. Contracts under $50,000 are excluded, as are federal-aid highway projects and residential projects occupied by 50 or fewer families and no more than three stories.

Mississippi wrote a surety underwriter's checklist into its licensing statute

Read what the Board is directed to weigh before issuing or renewing a Certificate of Responsibility: experience and ability, character, the manner of performance of previous contracts, financial condition, equipment, personnel, work completed, work on hand, ability to perform satisfactorily work under contract at the time of the application, default in complying with this or any other law, and examination results. Strip the statutory language and that is a surety's prequalification file: backlog, capacity, balance sheet, track record and character. Most states check a fee and a form. Mississippi runs something close to an underwriting review, every year. The practical consequence is unusually good news for a well-run contractor. The work you do to keep a Certificate of Responsibility in good standing, current CPA statements, controlled backlog, clean performance history, is the same work that raises the limit a surety will write for you on performance and payment bonds. In Mississippi those two files are nearly the same file.

What the application actually requires

What the Board requires for a commercial Certificate of Responsibility:

  • Thresholds. A Certificate of Responsibility is required on commercial work of $50,000 or more, counting prime contractors, subcontractors and sub-subcontractors of any tier, on public and private projects alike. Private fire protection system work carries a lower $10,000 threshold. Residential projects occupied by 50 or fewer families and no more than three stories, and federal-aid highway projects, fall outside the chapter.
  • A reviewed or audited financial statement prepared and signed by a CPA within the last twelve months. A compilation is not accepted. Major classifications must show net worth of at least $50,000; all other applicants at least $20,000.
  • General liability insurance of $300,000 per occurrence and $600,000 aggregate, with MSBOC listed as certificate holder so the Board is notified on cancellation. The name insured must match the licence name exactly.
  • Workers compensation insurance if you have five or more employees.
  • Three reference letters, one of which must be from your bank or financial institution.
  • Examinations: a Law and Business Management exam for everyone, plus a trade exam where one applies. Building Construction and Electrical applicants may sit the Mississippi exam or the NASCLA national exam. Fire Sprinkler qualifiers must hold NICET Level III.
  • Fees of $400 for the first classification and $100 for each additional one, plus a $200 certificate fee under section 31-3-14. Applications not completed within 180 days are destroyed.

The ceiling to watch in Mississippi

Two things on this page are worth more than the licence itself. First, the bid mechanics. Section 31-3-15 says no contract for public or private projects may be awarded to a contractor who did not hold a current Certificate of Responsibility at the time the bid was submitted, and section 31-3-21 makes bidding without one unlawful, a misdemeanour carrying a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months imprisonment, or both. Then comes the detail that costs good contractors real jobs: on any bid over $50,000, the certificate number must appear on the outside of the envelope or container, or a statement that the bid does not exceed $50,000, and without it the bid shall not be opened or considered. A complete, competitive, properly priced bid is thrown away unopened over a marking on an envelope. Second, the insurance disclosure. A Certificate of Responsibility holder must disclose to the owner at contract signing whether the holder carries general liability insurance, in clear and conspicuous type larger than the rest of the contract. Mississippi made your coverage a term of the deal, in writing, in bigger letters. That is a strong reason to be carrying more than the $300,000 minimum, because the owner is going to read it. One more thing worth knowing if you are expanding into Mississippi. The Board holds trade-exam reciprocity agreements with the Alabama General Contractors, Electrical, Heating and Air Conditioning and Home Builders boards, the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, the Georgia Board of Residential and General Contractors, the Louisiana Licensing Board for Contractors, the North Carolina Electrical and General Contractors boards, the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board and Residential Builders Commission, and the Tennessee Board for Licensing General Contractors. Reciprocity waives the trade examination only, costs $50 per exam waived, and requires that you have held the licence a year and been free of disciplinary action for three. The Mississippi Law and Business Management exam and every other application requirement still apply.

A license bond is not a contract bond

This is the distinction that costs Mississippi contractors work. A license bond is what the state or the city requires before it will let you operate. It is a fixed amount, it renews annually, and it protects the public. It says nothing about whether you can bond a job.

A performance bond is different. That is job-specific, written at the full contract value, and it is what an owner requires before awarding you the work. Contractors who assume their license bond makes them "bonded" find out otherwise the first time they try to bid public work.

The two are connected in one direction that matters: the financial file that gets you a license bond easily is the same file a surety underwriter reads when you ask for a performance bond. Building it properly now is what makes the bigger bond reachable later. See how contractors qualify for bonds and how a bond program gets built.

A license bond is also not insurance. It does not protect you - if a claim is paid, you reimburse the surety. See surety bonds versus insurance.

Get bonded in Mississippi

Our team writes contractor license bonds nationally and we never decline a submission - our job is to find the path to yes. Tell us the classification you are applying for and we will tell you what it takes. If you are building toward bigger work, we will look at the whole program, not just the bond in front of you.

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Call the Grit team: (801) 505-5500

Mississippi contractor license bond FAQ

Does Mississippi require a contractor license bond?

No. Mississippi requires no licence bond. What it requires is a Certificate of Responsibility, backed by a CPA-prepared financial statement, a minimum net worth and general liability insurance of $300,000 per occurrence and $600,000 aggregate.

How much is a Mississippi contractor license bond?

There is not one. Mississippi requires no surety bond for a contractor license. The license is graded by monetary class - - and the application asks for liability insurance rather than a bond.

Is a Mississippi license bond the same as a performance bond?

No. A license bond is a fixed annual requirement to hold your license and it protects the public. A performance bond is job-specific, written at the full contract value, and required by the project owner before award. Holding a license bond does not mean you can bond a job.

Does a Mississippi contractor license bond protect my business?

No. A surety bond protects the party the bond runs to. If a claim is paid on your bond, you reimburse the surety. Liability insurance protects your business; a bond does not.

A note on the details: Everything on this page was taken from the state's own statutes, rules or agency publications on the verification date shown at the top, and it is subject to current state code. Legislatures amend statutes, boards amend rules, and agencies set some amounts administratively so they move without any change in the law. Bond amounts, licensing thresholds and filing rules also vary by classification and by the agency issuing the license. Use this page as a starting point, not as legal advice. Confirm the current requirement with the licensing authority before you file, and confirm your own bond requirement with a licensed member of our team.

Already licensed and looking for work to bid? See where to find public construction work to bid on in Mississippi, and the national guide to contractor license and permit bonds.