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11 permits · verified 2026-09-14

What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Fargo?

In short

A contractor or trade in Fargo, ND has 3 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 8 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. North Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services Division charges $100 one-time filing, domestic for the articles of incorporation. 5 of the 11 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-14 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a contractor or trade in Fargo

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
General Contractor License (state-issued; city licenses specific trades only)City of Fargo Auditor's Office, Licensing DepartmentThe license is issued by the North Dakota Secretary of State, not the City, and is priced by job size: Class A for jobs over $500,000 is $450.00, Class B up to $500,000 is $300.00, Class C up to $300,000 is $225.00, and Class D up to $100,000 is $100.00. Fargo separately licenses specific trades at its own rates: excavator $250.00 per year with a $100,000 bond, sidewalk builder $125.00 with a $25,000 bond, house mover $125.00, re-roofing $125.00, sign hanger $125.00, journeyman heating $100.00 for three years, master heating $125.00 and master plumber $125.00.annual for the state contractor license and for most Fargo trade licenses; the City's excavator license expires each March 1 and the journeyman heating license runs three years2026-09-14
Plumbing Licenseonly if it applies to youNorth Dakota State Board of Plumbing$100–$200 capped by statute at $100 for a journeyman and $200 for a master plumber; the board's currently posted journeyman figures run a $50 exam plus a $50 application and $100 license fee1 year — every license expires December 312026-09-04
General Contractor LicenseNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services Division$100–$450 initial, by class — Class D (jobs up to $100,000) $100, Class C (up to $300,000) $225, Class B (up to $500,000) $300, Class A (over $500,000) $450; renewal runs $30 to $90annual — renews on or before March 12026-09-04
Electrician Licenseonly if it applies to youNorth Dakota State Electrical BoardFee not confirmed against a primary source — North Dakota law sets no statutory cap and leaves the amount entirely to the State Electrical Board, whose own site did not publish a current fee table when checked.1 year — failing to renew for three consecutive years requires re-examination2026-09-04

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Fargo

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
General Business License — City of Fargo positiononly if it applies to youCity of Fargo Auditor's Office, Licensing DepartmentNo feenot applicable2026-09-14
Commercial Building PermitCity of Fargo Inspections DepartmentVaries — formula on the Fargo pageone-time, per project; expiration not separately stated in the published schedule2026-09-14

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

ND registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services Division$100 one-time filing, domesticperpetual, but an annual report is due every year2026-09-04
Corporation Annual Reportonly if it applies to youNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services Division$25 a year; late fees escalate to $45 within 90 days and $85 afterannual — domestic corporations due before August 2, foreign corporations before May 162026-09-04
LLC Annual Reportonly if it applies to youNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services Division$50 a year; a late filing adds a further $50annual — due before November 16 every year2026-09-04
Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services Division$135 one-time filingperpetual, but an annual report is due every year2026-09-04
General Business License — State of North Dakota positiononly if it applies to youNorth Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services DivisionNo feenot applicable2026-09-04

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a contractor or trade in Fargo?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 11 records listed for a contractor or trade in Fargo, ND, 3 apply to every business of this type and 8 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

5 of the 11 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 2 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

General Contractor License (state-issued; city licenses specific trades only): The license is issued by the North Dakota Secretary of State, not the City, and is priced by job size: Class A for jobs over $500,000 is $450.00, Class B up to $500,000 is $300.00, Class C up to $300,000 is $225.00, and Class D up to $100,000 is $100.00. Fargo separately licenses specific trades at its own rates: excavator $250.00 per year with a $100,000 bond, sidewalk builder $125.00 with a $25,000 bond, house mover $125.00, re-roofing $125.00, sign hanger $125.00, journeyman heating $100.00 for three years, master heating $125.00 and master plumber $125.00.

Plumbing License: $100–$200 capped by statute at $100 for a journeyman and $200 for a master plumber; the board's currently posted journeyman figures run a $50 exam plus a $50 application and $100 license fee

General Contractor License: $100–$450 initial, by class — Class D (jobs up to $100,000) $100, Class C (up to $300,000) $225, Class B (up to $500,000) $300, Class A (over $500,000) $450; renewal runs $30 to $90

Electrician License: Fee not confirmed against a primary source — North Dakota law sets no statutory cap and leaves the amount entirely to the State Electrical Board, whose own site did not publish a current fee table when checked.

The other 1 variable fee belongs to permits that apply to every type of business here; its formula is set out on the Fargo permits page and the ND state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Fargo?

Permits for a contractor or trade in Fargo, ND come from 5 separate offices: City of Fargo Auditor's Office, Licensing Department, City of Fargo Inspections Department, North Dakota Secretary of State, Business Services Division, North Dakota State Board of Plumbing, North Dakota State Electrical Board. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a contractor or trade need in Fargo that other businesses do not?

4 of the 4 permits particular to a contractor or trade here apply to no other business type we cover in Fargo: General Contractor License (state-issued; city licenses specific trades only), Plumbing License, General Contractor License and Electrician License.

General Contractor License (state-issued; city licenses specific trades only)

Per the City's Business & Occupational Licensing page, Fargo licenses specific trades rather than general contractors, and the state licenses general contractors. The Secretary of State's own page sets the threshold plainly: 'When the cost, value, or price of a job exceeds $4,000, the person doing the work must be licensed as a contractor in North Dakota (NDCC ch. 43-07).' What Fargo licenses instead is a short list of specific trades, and those are genuine city obligations layered on top of the state license. The excavator license is the most demanding of them: the City's own excavation guidance states that 'The fee for a City-issued Excavator's License shall be $250 annually due at the time of application. All City-issued Excavator Licenses expire on March 1,' with minimum insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence and a minimum bond of $100,000. Electrical contractors are licensed and permitted by the North Dakota State Electrical Board rather than by either the City or the Secretary of State.

Plumbing License

North Dakota licenses no separate HVAC or mechanical trade — plumbing and electrical work are the only two state-licensed trades outside general contracting. An apprentice plumber pays an escalating fee across a four-year path: $20 in the first year, rising $10 a year to $50 by the fourth, before stepping up to the journeyman rate.

General Contractor License

North Dakota sorts contractor licenses into four classes purely by the size of job they cover, not by trade — a Class A license, good for any job over $500,000, costs $450 up front and $90 a year to renew, while the smallest Class D license is $100 and $30. Per the Secretary of State's contractor page, a contractor license is required when the cost, value or price of a job exceeds $4,000 (NDCC ch. 43-07).

Electrician License

Unlike plumbing and cosmetology, North Dakota law sets no ceiling at all on the electrician's license fee — the board sets its own amount, and no current fee table could be confirmed from the board's own materials, so no dollar figure is asserted here. What is confirmed by statute: the license runs one year, and a licensee who lets it lapse for three consecutive years must re-take the exam to get it back. Contracting licensees also carry a $500,000 liability insurance floor.

The other 2 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Fargo, ND; what each one involves is set out on the Fargo permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across ND and are covered on the ND state page.

How does a contractor or trade compare with other businesses in Fargo?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A contractor or trade also needs General Contractor License (state-issued; city licenses specific trades only), Plumbing License, General Contractor License and Electrician License. A auto repair shop needs Sign Permit, Auto Repair Shop — Fire Operational Permit Applies (Fargo) and Auto Repair Licensing — State of North Dakota position, which a contractor or trade does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Fargo, ND, compared with a contractor or trade
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a contractor or tradeOnly a contractor or trade needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops3043
Childcare centres2042
Coffee shops4044
Fitness studios2042
Food trucks3043
Restaurants4044
Retail stores2042
Salons and barbers4044
Veterinary clinics3043

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Fargo permits page and the ND state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Contractor licensing — the North Dakota Secretary of State's own page setting the $4,000 job threshold under N.D.C.C. ch. 43-07 and the Class A to Class D license feesNorth Dakota Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-14
  2. Business & Occupational Licensing — the City Auditor's own current page stating that Fargo does not require a business license for every type of commerce, and listing the closed set of trades and activities that do require oneCity of Fargo · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  3. North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-18 — plumber licensing fee caps and annual December 31 expirationNorth Dakota Legislative Branch · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  4. North Dakota Secretary of State — general contractor license classes, fees, and the $4,000 minor-work thresholdNorth Dakota Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  5. North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-09 — electrician licensing term and the board's fee-setting authorityNorth Dakota Legislative Branch · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.