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Connecticut's home improvement and new home construction chapters each provide for a certificate of registration from the commissioner, whom the home improvement chapter defines as the Commissioner of Consumer Protection. Under that chapter, a person whose home improvement contracts with all customers total no more than one thousand dollars in any twelve consecutive months is not a contractor.
Connecticut's home improvement chapter says no person shall hold such person out to be a contractor or salesperson without first obtaining a certificate of registration from the commissioner, which the chapter defines as the Commissioner of Consumer Protection. The new home construction chapter says no person shall engage in the business of new home construction or hold such person out as a new home construction contractor unless issued a certificate of registration by the commissioner.
Certificate of registration (no exam). Connecticut's home improvement chapter says no person shall hold such person out to be a contractor or salesperson without first obtaining a certificate of registration from the commissioner, which the chapter defines as the Commissioner of Consumer Protection. The new home construction chapter says no person shall engage in the business of new home construction or hold such person out as a new home construction contractor unless issued a certificate of registration by the commissioner.
Threshold. Under the home improvement chapter, a person for whom the total price of all of the person's home improvement contracts with all customers does not exceed one thousand dollars during any period of twelve consecutive months is not a contractor. Under the new home construction chapter, the registration sections do not apply to a new home construction contractor whose contract or contracts for the same new home total less than three thousand five hundred dollars.
(a) No person shall hold such person out to be a contractor or salesperson without first obtaining a certificate of registration from the commissioner as provided in this chapter,
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-420(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(3) “Commissioner” means (A) the Commissioner of Consumer Protection,
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-419(3) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-07
(a) No person shall engage in the business of new home construction or hold such person out as a new home construction contractor unless such person has been issued a certificate of registration by the commissioner
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417b(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(B) “Contractor” does not include a person for whom the total price of all of such person's home improvement contracts with all of such person's customers does not exceed one thousand dollars during any period of twelve consecutive months.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-419(4)(B) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(a) Sections 20-417a to 20-417i, inclusive, do not apply to any of the following persons or organizations:
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417j(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-07
(4) any new home construction contractor who enters into one or more new home construction contracts related to the same new home when such contract or contracts in the aggregate with respect to that home has a total price for work or services that is less than three thousand five hundred dollars.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417j(a)(4) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-07
License classes
Class
Scope
Source
Home improvement contractor
Home improvement, which includes the repair, replacement, remodeling, alteration, conversion, modernization, improvement, rehabilitation or sandblasting of, or addition to, any land or building or portion of it used or designed to be used as a private residence, dwelling place or residential rental property
(5) (A) “Home improvement” includes, but is not limited to, the repair, replacement, remodeling, alteration, conversion, modernization, improvement, rehabilitation or sandblasting of, or addition to, any land or building or that portion thereof which is used or designed to be used as a private residence, dwelling place or residential rental property,
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-419(5)(A) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
Requirements
Liability insurance. Proof of general liability insurance coverage of not less than twenty thousand dollars, shown by the policy number and the business name of the insurance provider (home improvement and new home construction applicants). Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-421(a)(3); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417b(b)(5)
Workers' compensation. A new home construction applicant that is required by statute to have workers' compensation coverage identifies the insurer that provides it. Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417b(b)(3)
(3) proof that the applicant has obtained general liability insurance coverage in an amount not less than twenty thousand dollars, demonstrated by providing the policy number and business name of the insurance provider,
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-421(a)(3) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(5) proof of general liability insurance coverage in an amount not less than twenty thousand dollars, demonstrated by providing the policy number and business name of the insurance provider. Each such application shall be accompanied by a fee of one hundred twenty dollars,
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417b(b)(5) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(3) if such applicant is required by any provision of the general statutes to have workers' compensation coverage, the identity of the insurer that provides the applicant with such workers' compensation coverage,
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417b(b)(3) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
Fees
Fee
Amount
As of
Source
Home improvement contractor registration application fee of one hundred twenty dollars, except that no such fee is required in any year in which the person paid the new home construction registration fee or in which the person's new home construction registration is valid; the renewal fee is the same as the fee for an original application
New home construction contractor registration application fee of one hundred twenty dollars, except that no such fee is required if the person paid the home improvement registration fee during any year in which the new home construction registration would be valid
Home Improvement Guaranty Fund fee of one hundred dollars annually, paid by each contractor who receives a home improvement certificate, or who receives a new home construction certificate and has opted to engage in home improvement
(b) Each application for a certificate of registration as a home improvement contractor shall be accompanied by a fee of one hundred twenty dollars, except that no such application fee shall be required in any year during which such person has paid the registration fee required under section 20-417b or in any year in which such person's registration as a new home construction contractor is valid.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-421(b) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-07
The fee for renewal of a certificate shall be the same as the fee charged for an original application,
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-427(f) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
Each such application shall be accompanied by a fee of one hundred twenty dollars, except that no such application fee shall be required if such person has paid the registration fee required under section 20-421 during any year in which such person's registration as a new home construction contractor would be valid.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417b(b) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-07
Each contractor (1) who receives a certificate pursuant to this chapter, or (2) receives a certificate pursuant to chapter 399a and has opted to engage in home improvement pursuant to subsection (f) of section 20-417b shall pay a fee of one hundred dollars annually to the guaranty fund.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-432(b) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(b) Each person who receives a certificate pursuant to sections 20-417a to 20-417j, inclusive, shall pay a fee of two hundred forty dollars annually to the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417i(b) (2026 Supplement) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-07
Term and continuing education
Term and renewal. Home improvement certificates expire annually on March thirty-first. New home construction certificates expire annually on the thirty-first day of March, except as the statute provides otherwise.
(f) All certificates issued under the provisions of this chapter shall expire annually on March thirty-first,
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-427(f) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection, all certificates issued under the provisions of sections 20-417a to 20-417k, inclusive, shall expire annually on the thirty-first day of March,
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417b(d)(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
Contracting without a license
Under the home improvement chapter, offering to make or making any home improvement without a current certificate of registration is a class B misdemeanor. The commissioner may, after notice and a hearing, impose a civil penalty of not more than one thousand five hundred dollars per violation on a person who engages in work for which a certificate of registration is required without first obtaining one, among other violations. A violation of any provision of the chapter is deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice. Under the new home construction chapter, engaging in the business of a new home construction contractor, or holding oneself out as one, without a current certificate of registration is a class A misdemeanor.
(5) offer to make or make any home improvement without having a current certificate of registration under this chapter,
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-427(b)(5) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(1) any person who violates any provision of subsection (b) of this section, except subdivision (8), shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-427(c)(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(d) The commissioner may, after notice and a hearing in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, impose a civil penalty on any person who engages in or practices the work or occupation for which a certificate of registration is required by this chapter without having first obtained such a certificate of registration or who wilfully employs or supplies for employment a person who does not have such a certificate of registration or who wilfully and falsely pretends to qualify to engage in or practice such work or occupation, or who engages in or practices any of the work or occupations for which a certificate of registration is required by this chapter after the expiration of such person's certificate of registration or who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or the regulations adopted pursuant thereto. Such penalty shall be in an amount not more than one thousand five hundred dollars per violation.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-427(d) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-07
A violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice under subsection (a) of section 42-110b.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-427(c) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-03
(5) engage in the business of a new home construction contractor or hold himself or herself out as a new home construction contractor without having a current certificate of registration under sections 20-417a to 20-417j, inclusive;
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417d(d)(5) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-07
(a) In addition to any other remedy provided for in sections 20-417a to 20-417j, inclusive, any person who violates any provision of subsection (d) of section 20-417d shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417e(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-07
Connecticut's credential for this work is a certificate of registration, and two separate chapters of the General Statutes each provide for one. The home improvement chapter bars a person from holding out as a contractor or salesperson before obtaining a certificate of registration from the commissioner [1], whom the same chapter defines as the Commissioner of Consumer Protection [1]. The new home construction chapter bars a person from engaging in that business, or holding out as a new home construction contractor, unless the commissioner has issued a certificate of registration [2].
Each chapter also draws a line. A person whose home improvement contracts with all customers total no more than one thousand dollars during any period of twelve consecutive months [1] is not a contractor under the home improvement chapter. The new home construction chapter lists persons its registration sections do not apply to, among them a new home construction contractor whose contract or contracts for the same new home add up to less than three thousand five hundred dollars [2].
Home improvement work and new homes
The two categories cover different ground. Home improvement, as defined, reaches repair, remodeling, alteration, rehabilitation, sandblasting and additions, among other work, on land or buildings used or designed for use as a private residence, dwelling place or residential rental property [1]. The definition is open ended: it "includes, but is not limited to" the listed kinds of work. The second category is simply the business of new home construction [2].
For both, the application carries proof of general liability insurance of at least twenty thousand dollars [1][2], shown through the policy number and the business name of the insurer. A new home construction applicant that the general statutes require to carry workers' compensation coverage also names the insurer that provides it [2].
Application, guaranty fund and renewal costs
The charges fall into two groups: registration application fees and annual payments to a guaranty fund. As of October 3, 2026, the home improvement contractor application fee is one hundred twenty dollars [1], with no such fee in a year when the person has paid the new home construction registration fee or holds a valid new home construction registration. The new home construction application fee has a related exception, tied to payment of the home improvement registration fee [2]. Renewing a home improvement certificate costs the same as an original application [1].
Separately, home improvement registrants, and new home construction registrants who have opted to engage in home improvement, pay annually into the Home Improvement Guaranty Fund [1]. New home construction registrants pay annually into the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund [3].
Home improvement certificates expire every year on March thirty-first [1]. New home construction certificates also expire annually on the thirty-first day of March [2], except as other subdivisions of that subsection provide.
Penalties under each chapter
The home improvement chapter makes offering to make or making a home improvement without a current certificate of registration a class B misdemeanor [1]. Apart from the criminal charge, the commissioner may, after notice and a hearing, impose a civil penalty of not more than one thousand five hundred dollars per violation [1] on a person who does work requiring a certificate without first obtaining one, and on several other kinds of violators. Any violation of that chapter is also deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice [1].
On the new home side, engaging in the business of a new home construction contractor, or holding oneself out as one, without a current certificate of registration is a class A misdemeanor [2], in addition to any other remedy that chapter provides.
