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Home / General Contractors / Idaho
How to become a general contractor in Idaho
Most general contractors in Idaho start in an apprenticeship or a helper job and learn on the job. The contractor license comes later, if you run your own business.
Pick your way in
Earn while you learn
A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.
- Pay
- From day one
- In ID
- 21 registered programs
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In ID
- 4 schools with programs
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
The license steps
Get hired or start training
Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.
Work as a general contractor
Run your own shop
No experience requirement for registration.
- Issued by
- Idaho DOPL - Contractor Registration
$75,550
a year is the median for general contractors in Idaho ($36.32 an hour, May 2025).3
Pay by city and percentile- Lewiston$37.89
- Boise City$37.26
- Coeur d'Alene$37.01
- Idaho Falls$36.50
- Pocatello$35.10
Questions
Do you need a license to work on your own as a general contractor in Idaho?
Idaho requires general contractors to register with the Idaho DOPL.1
Are general contractors in demand in Idaho?
Projections Central expects about 1,030 general contractor openings a year in Idaho through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.2
Find an apprenticeship near you
21 registered programs in Idaho. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for general contractors in Idaho
Sources
- Idaho DOPL - Contractor Registration contractor licensing (dopl.idaho.gov)
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Idaho, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)