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Home / General Contractors / Alabama

How to become a general contractor in Alabama

Most general contractors in Alabama start in an apprenticeship or a helper job and learn on the job. The contractor license comes later, if you run your own business.

9registered apprenticeship programs$30.83median an hour in Alabama

Pick your way in

Apprenticeship

Earn while you learn

A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.

Pay
From day one
In AL
9 registered programs
Find a program near you
Trade school

Classroom first

Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.

Pay
You pay tuition
In AL
5 schools with programs
Compare 5 schools
Helper

Start on a crew

Get hired as a helper by a licensed general contractor and log hours on the job.

Pay
Paid on the job
Start
No experience needed
How to get started

The license steps

  1. Get hired or start training

    Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.

    Compare the ways in
  2. Work as a general contractor

    Median pay in Alabama is $30.83 an hour.

    General Contractor pay in Alabama
  3. Run your own shop

    3 reference forms on commercial/industrial work

    Issued by
    Licensing Board for General Contractors
    Alabama contractor license
Pay once you're working

$64,120

a year is the median for general contractors in Alabama ($30.83 an hour, May 2025).3

Pay by city and percentile
  1. Tuscaloosa$36.24
  2. Decatur$35.74
  3. Birmingham$34.27
  4. Mobile$33.17
  5. Florence–Muscle Shoals$30.54
Alabama median $30.83 an hour

Questions

Do you need a license to work on your own as a general contractor in Alabama?

Yes. Alabama licenses general contractors through the Licensing Board for General Contractors.1

Are general contractors in demand in Alabama?

Projections Central expects about 1,380 general contractor openings a year in Alabama through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.2

Next step

Find an apprenticeship near you

9 registered programs in Alabama. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.

Find a program

More for general contractors in Alabama

Sources

  1. Licensing Board for General Contractors contractor licensing (alison.legislature.state.al.us)
  2. Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
  3. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Alabama, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)