After all the effort that went into acquiring your North Carolina contractor’s licence, the last thing you’d want to do is risk losing it. Every general contractor in North Carolina must renew their licence, not only to fulfil their professional obligations but also to remain compliant. This sounds like a straightforward process, but it often gets quite complicated if you don’t know what to expect.
That’s why it’s a good idea to understand everything that goes into this process beforehand so you’re well prepared to guarantee success.
First Off, Why Renew Your Licence?
The idea of having to renew your licence every few years sounds quite ridiculous at first, but there are valid reasons for that. The main is that you’re required to have a valid licence to keep practising. In North Carolina, Contracting without a valid licence is a Class 2 Misdemeanour, and so is recommending a contract award to an unlicensed contractor or impersonating a licensed contractor.
Even if there weren’t legal requirements, the process of renewing your licence refreshes your skills and expands your knowledge so you can stay competitive. Not only that, but your clients will more likely feel at ease if you have a licence, since that’s solid proof that you have what it takes to handle a project successfully.
The best part about renewing your licence is that it’s not very challenging if you have the right information and resources. That’s why it’s a good idea to leverage North Carolina Contractors License services and resources from a reliable provider like RocketCert. Not only do they make it easier to meet CE requirements and other renewal conditions, but you’ll also enjoy the entire process of renewing your licence.
Continuing Education When Renewing Your Licence
Before diving into the steps you should follow during the renewal process, you should understand what’s required of you. The most crucial question in relation to this is, “How often should I renew my licence?”. Thankfully the answer to this one is clear enough – “Annually”.
During this period, you are required to take eight hours of continuing education (CE) to stay up-to-date with your industry’s standards and revisit critical information. Of the eight hours, two must be spent on a course produced by the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors (NCLBGC). This course can be taken online (webinar) and it covers important laws and their updates, rules & regulations for general contractors, and other crucial information.
You can earn the remaining six hours from elective courses containing topics such as:
- Marketing
- Jobsite Management
- Business Management
- Lead Safety
- Code Updates
- Radon
- OSHA Regulations
- Mould Remediation
- And more
Though these requirements look stringent at first, you’d be surprised to learn that they are quite easy to meet. Don’t believe it? Ask someone who has already renewed their licence a couple of times.
Steps for Renewal
Your first step when renewing your licence should always be completing your coursework. Therefore, make sure you purchase your CE course from a reputable provider, then schedule your study hours to ensure you complete the entire course comfortably. The 6-hour elective courses make it easier to meet your CE requirements since you can study at the pace that works best for you.
After completing your CE, you will receive a certification of completion, and the course provider will report your completion to the NCLBGC. Therefore, bear in mind you’re not required to submit a copy of your certificate along with the application.
Once you’re ready, go ahead to submit your application and pay the required fee – That’s ALL!
Renew Your Licence Conveniently
As you’ve realised by now, renewing your licence should not be a taxing process, especially once you’ve taken your CE course and completed it on time. Most contractors mess up their renewals by failing to plan ahead of time and starting early. That’s probably because they purchase banal courses from providers who don’t care to spruce up the content.
That’s not what you get with RocketCert. Here, experts remake the content so that it’s not only more interesting but also easier to understand. That way, you won’t find yourself procrastinating to the last minute.
