Dixie Alley contractor license lookups, state by state

The five official lookups

Each state runs its own board, sets its own dollar thresholds and keeps its own search. Links go to the agency's own site.

The state pages go deeper: Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, and Kentucky and Alabama.

Why the thresholds matter

The same $8,000 re-roof lands differently in each state. In Alabama it is well past the $2,500 line, and in Arkansas past $2,000, so the roofer needs state credentials. In Mississippi it falls under the $10,000 line for residential roofing. In Tennessee it needs a home improvement license only if the house is in one of the nine counties that have adopted that law, and in Kentucky the state's trade license search has no roofing category to check. Before you sign, match the contract price to your state's line and then run the lookup.

The tornado record behind the rules

NOAA's Storm Events Database logs a tornado separately in each county it crosses, per NCEI's FAQ, so the figures below are for the named county's segment only. The last column is the FEMA major disaster declaration that covered that county.

Across the five states, NOAA's Storm Events Database records 3,137 tornado events from 2016 through 2025, led by Mississippi with 1,039 and Alabama with 861. FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries show between 41 and 50 major disaster declarations for each of them since fiscal year 2000.

Roofers in Tennessee and Alabama

The National Roofing Directory lists roofing companies in Nashville, Memphis, Franklin and Murfreesboro in Tennessee and in Birmingham, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa and Hoover in Alabama.

For other towns, start with the directory's Tennessee roofing contractors and Alabama roofing contractors pages, and check each company against the board lookup above. On the directory, a Verified listing is one where a person has checked phone, email, website, logo, services, rating, insurance and license, as the membership levels page explains.

Five habits that make a lookup worth doing

1. Search the exact name on the contract. A trade name on a truck may differ from the licensed entity.
2. Match the credential to the job. In Arkansas, the roofing registration application states that a registrant is not a licensed contractor and may not take on work outside the registration.
3. Compare the price with the threshold. The table above gives each state's dollar line.
4. In Kentucky, ask locally. The Attorney General's office lists contractor registration programs run with local officials in storm-hit areas, including the City of Mayfield and Graves County.
5. Keep the paperwork. Mississippi's board tells homeowners to keep a file of every document related to the job.

The National Roofing Directory's licensing pages by state and its Storm Center are the place to start for states outside Dixie Alley.

Frequently asked questions

Does Kentucky license roofers?

There is no state roofing license to look up. Roofing isn't one of the license types in the state housing department's search, and a 2026 bill to create a roofing contractor license, HB 150, was referred to a House committee in January 2026 with no later action on the legislature's record. A separate 2026 law, Senate Bill 153, lets the Attorney General require roofing contractors to register in an area under a declared state of emergency.

Does a small roof repair in Alabama need a licensed roofer?

It depends on the price. Alabama's home builder law covers a residential roofer once the cost of the job exceeds $2,500, according to the Home Builders Licensure Board. Below that amount, the board's roofer license doesn't apply.

Which Tennessee counties require a home improvement license?

The Board for Licensing Contractors lists Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby. In those counties, residential remodeling from $3,000 to $24,999, including roofing, needs the license.

Is an Arkansas roofer registration the same as a license?

No. The Contractors Licensing Board's application says a residential roofing registrant is not a licensed contractor, must renew every year and must post a $15,000 surety bond.