Alabama's contractor directory: 4,975 firms, and where they are

This site's Alabama directory launches with 4,975 firms drawn from LBGC full roster report. 1,346 are listed as general contractors and 3,629 as specialty contractors. They have an address in 67 of Alabama's 67 counties.

Where they are

The ten counties with the most listed firms are:

1. Jefferson County: 698 (14.0%)
2. Mobile County: 491 (9.9%)
3. Baldwin County: 388 (7.8%)
4. Madison County: 321 (6.5%)
5. Shelby County: 320 (6.4%)
6. Tuscaloosa County: 259 (5.2%)
7. Montgomery County: 233 (4.7%)
8. Lee County: 210 (4.2%)
9. Morgan County: 139 (2.8%)
10. Houston County: 129 (2.6%)

The top three alone account for 32% of the list. Every county has at least one listed firm.

Trades

Trades are taken from license classes or, where the source has none, inferred from firm names, so a firm can show more than one. The most common are general contracting (2,253), electrical (484), site work & excavation (460), underground utilities (436), concrete (385) and HVAC & Mechanical (298).

At the other end, 1 counties have only one or two listed firms, among them Bullock County.

Expiration dates

Where the source gives an expiration date, licenses expire in 2026 (1,865) and 2027 (3,110). Renewed licenses update when the source is refreshed.

License classes

• LBGC license: 3,629
• LBGC general contractor license: 1,346

What the source is

Counts come from the LBGC full roster report for licensees with an Alabama address in each county. Firms whose classifications include building (BC), highway (H/HS), municipal and utility (MU) or railroad (RR) work are counted as general contractors; the rest as specialty contractors.

Since Oct. 1, 2024, an LBGC license is required when the cost of the undertaking is $100,000 or more, for general contractors and subcontractors alike. See our licensing guide.

What the directory does not show

Listings carry only what the public source publishes: firm name, city, county, license or certification details and, where available, status and expiration. They do not include personal phone numbers or emails. Trade tags are a starting point and may be incomplete. A firm that is missing, or listed under the wrong county, can add or claim its listing for free and correct it.

How primes and subs use it

Each county hub lists the firms based there next to the ALDOT projects in the same county. Primes can find local subs and suppliers to price a bid, and subs can see which projects are coming up near their base.

Terms used in this story

• Plan holders list: the list of firms that requested a project's plans, which subs and suppliers use to find primes to quote.
• Bid bond: a surety's guarantee, usually a percentage of the bid, that the low bidder will sign the contract and furnish the required bonds.
• Payment bond: a surety bond that guarantees the prime will pay its subs and suppliers on a public job, standing in for lien rights.
• Prequalification: an agency's review of a contractor's finances, equipment and experience that sets what work, and how much, it may bid.
• DBE: disadvantaged business enterprise, a certification used to meet participation goals on federally funded transportation work.
• Engineer's estimate: the agency's own estimate of a project's cost, often published as a range before the letting.
• Retainage: a share of each progress payment held back until the work is accepted.
• Low bidder: the responsive bidder with the lowest total price; most public construction is awarded to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.
• Award: the agency's formal acceptance of a bid, after which the contractor signs the contract and posts its bonds.
• Change order: a written change to a signed contract's work, price or time.
• Notice to proceed: the agency's written go-ahead that starts the contract clock.
• Prevailing wage: minimum wage and fringe rates set for public works by trade and area, where state or federal law applies.
• Surety: the company that issues bid, performance and payment bonds and stands behind the contractor's obligations.