How to Start an Electrical or Plumbing Business in Mississippi: State Classification and Local Rules

If you want to do electrical or plumbing work for pay in Mississippi, the first thing to sort out is which license applies to your work. The state does not issue a general business license. Instead, your entity is registered with the Secretary of State, your tax registration is handled by the Department of Revenue, your trade license comes from the Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC), and your city or county may add its own privilege license and permits. This guide walks through that order of operations so you can see which steps are required and which ones depend on the jobs you plan to take.

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Before you sign a lease, a contract, or a payroll agreement, talk with a Mississippi business attorney and a certified public accountant (CPA). Fees and rules change, so confirm every figure below with the agency named before you pay.

Most people searching for a mississippi electrical contractor license or a mississippi electrician license want one answer: what do I need to legally bid and perform the work? The short answer is an MSBOC classification that matches your jobs, plus the local permits that go with each job. The steps below explain how to get there in order.

What you need before you start

Gather these items before you file anything. Several of them must be in place before the next step can begin.

• A business name checked against the state business search, and a decision on entity type (sole proprietorship, LLC, or corporation).
• A physical Mississippi street address for your registered office, and a registered agent who meets state rules.
• The $50 filing fee for an LLC Certificate of Formation (Form F0100) or for Articles of Incorporation (Form F0001).
• The $25 fictitious business name registration (Form F0070) if you will operate under a name other than your legal name.
• Documented trade experience and a plan to pass the MSBOC trade test for your classification. Confirm the exact experience requirement with MSBOC.
• Commercial liability insurance with limits of at least $300,000 per occurrence and $600,000 aggregate.
• The MSBOC application fee: $400 for a commercial license or $50 for a residential license.
• A federal employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS if you will hire employees.
• A budget line for city or county privilege licenses and local permits. These amounts are set locally, so check them with each jurisdiction.

Step-by-step: from entity to first permit

1. Confirm which licenses exist and which ones you need. Mississippi issues no single statewide business license. Registering a business with the Secretary of State is a registration, not a license. A sales tax permit from the Department of Revenue is a tax registration. Your trade license comes from MSBOC, and your local privilege license comes from your city or county. Treat these as four separate tasks. The state filing is not the finish line, and MSBOC says commercial jobs over $50,000 and residential subcontract work need an MSBOC license, so ask MSBOC whether your jobs are covered.
2. Form your entity with the Secretary of State. Many small trade contractors choose an LLC, but the right structure depends on liability, tax treatment, and whether you plan to bring in partners. An LLC Certificate of Formation costs $50 and is filed through the Secretary of State online filing portal. Under Miss. Code Ann. 79-29-109, the LLC name must include the words limited liability company or the abbreviation L.L.C. or LLC, and it must be distinguishable from other names on state records. If you need time to file, a name reservation costs $25 and holds the name for 180 days. Every Mississippi LLC must keep a registered office and a registered agent with a physical Mississippi street address. The agent can be an individual Mississippi resident or a qualifying business entity. Commercial registered agents file a listing statement with the Secretary of State for $100, and noncommercial agents must give permission before you list them. A corporation files Articles of Incorporation for $50 and must file an annual report.
3. Register your trade name if you need one. If you will bid as a name other than your legal name, file a fictitious business name registration for $25 (Form F0070). Assumed names are filed with the Secretary of State Business Services Division, not with the county. Do not put a trade name on your truck, contracts, or permit applications until the registration is on file.
4. Register for state taxes. Apply for a sales tax permit with the Department of Revenue. The DOR describes this permit as the privilege of operating a business in Mississippi. There is no fee, although a bond may be required for applicants without a permanent Mississippi location. The state sales tax rate is 7%. There is no county add-on, and city levies apply only in Jackson and Tupelo. Whether your labor charges, materials, or fixture sales are taxable depends on how you bill, so ask the DOR before your first invoice. If you form a corporation, the franchise tax applies to corporations, not to an LLC taxed as a partnership. For tax year 2026 the franchise tax is $0.50 per $1,000 of capital above $100,000, with a $25 minimum, and it is repealed effective January 1, 2028. A CPA should confirm how these rules affect your structure.
5. Choose your MSBOC classification. MSBOC licenses electrical and plumbing contractors by classification, and the classification you pick controls which jobs you may bid. The table below summarizes the structure. Confirm test requirements for each residential class with MSBOC before you schedule an exam.

Classification	Scope	Test	Notes
Electrical (major classification)	Electrical contracting, commercial and residential	Trade test required	The NASCLA electrical exam is accepted for a Master Electrical contractor
Plumbing (specialty under Mechanical)	Plumbing work	Test required	Ask MSBOC how the plumbing specialty appears on your license
Residential Electrical	Residential electrical only	Confirm with MSBOC	Limited to residential projects
Residential Plumbing	Residential plumbing only	Confirm with MSBOC	Limited to residential projects
Residential Mechanical	Residential mechanical only	Confirm with MSBOC	Limited to residential projects

Pick the classification that matches your work today, not the one you hope to hold in five years. A residential license does not cover commercial work. MSBOC states that commercial jobs over $50,000 require a commercial license. If you are a subcontractor doing residential electrical, mechanical, HVAC, or plumbing work on a residential project, MSBOC states that you also need an MSBOC license. The state does not publish a dollar floor for that rule, so call MSBOC at 601-354-6161 before you take small service calls.

6. Apply, test, and pay. Submit your MSBOC application with your experience documentation and fee: $400 for a commercial license or $50 for a residential license. Your application must show commercial liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence and $600,000 aggregate. Schedule the trade test for your classification, and plan for the time it takes to receive scores and a decision. MSBOC will tell you whether a bond is required, what the renewal cycle is, and what the exam fee is, so get those answers in writing before you commit money.
7. Get your local privilege license. Under Miss. Code Ann. 27-17, every city, town, and village issues its own privilege license. Counties license businesses only outside municipal limits. That means a contractor working in Hattiesburg may face a different local requirement than one working in an unincorporated part of Forrest County. Ask the municipal clerk whether your city licenses contractors, what the fee is, and whether it wants to see your MSBOC license first. The fee amounts are not set by the state, so do not budget from another city's schedule.
8. Pull permits and show your license number. Each county or city may add its own permits and inspections. Since 2022, under HB 1163, permits must show the contractor license number. Put your MSBOC number on every permit application, and make sure it matches your license. Ask the local building department which inspections apply to your work and how they schedule them.
9. Staff and insure the business. Mississippi has no state minimum wage law, so wage rules come from federal law and your own pay structure. Ask an insurance agent which coverage your employees and your work require, including workers' compensation. Keep your commercial liability certificate current, because general contractors and property owners will ask for it before they hire you.
10. Calendar your recurring filings. An LLC annual report is due April 15 each year, may be filed on or after January 1, must be filed online, and carries no fee. Failure to file can lead to administrative dissolution. A corporate annual report is due April 15 for profit corporations, costs $25, and must also be filed online. Renewal dates for your MSBOC license and any local privilege license are set by those agencies, so confirm them when you receive your license.

Fee summary

Item	Amount or requirement	Agency
LLC Certificate of Formation (F0100)	$50	Secretary of State
Articles of Incorporation (F0001)	$50	Secretary of State
Fictitious business name (F0070)	$25	Secretary of State
Name reservation	$25 for 180 days	Secretary of State
LLC annual report (F0108)	$0, due April 15	Secretary of State
Corporate annual report (F0008)	$25, due April 15	Secretary of State
Sales tax permit	No fee; bond possible	Department of Revenue
MSBOC commercial license	$400	MSBOC
MSBOC residential license	$50	MSBOC
Commercial liability insurance	$300,000 per occurrence, $600,000 aggregate	Your insurer
City or county privilege license	Varies locally; confirm with the clerk	City or county

Tips that make the process easier

• Run your name through the state business search before you pay for anything. Distinguishability is a common reason a name is rejected.
• Ask MSBOC for written answers on experience, exam scheduling, bond, and renewal. A phone call is useful, but a written answer protects you if the rule changes.
• Write down your planned jobs by dollar value and by type (residential, commercial, or both) before you choose a classification. The classification decides what you can bid.
• Ask the city clerk for the privilege license application before you form the business, so you know what documents they want.
• Keep the MSBOC license number on your truck, estimates, contracts, and invoices. Permit clerks and customers both look for it.
• Set up one calendar with every filing date: April 15 for annual reports, plus the renewal dates each agency gives you.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Treating the Secretary of State filing as your license. An LLC registration does not authorize electrical or plumbing work. The MSBOC license does.
• Bidding a commercial job over $50,000 with a residential license. The classification must match the job.
• Subcontracting residential trade work without an MSBOC license. MSBOC states that subcontractors on residential projects need one, so confirm your status before you accept the work.
• Skipping the local privilege license. A state license does not replace a city or county license. Check both.
• Submitting permits without your license number. Since 2022, permits must show it under HB 1163.
• Filing a trade name with the county. Assumed names are filed with the Secretary of State.
• Letting the registered agent lapse. The LLC must keep a registered office and agent at all times.
• Missing the April 15 annual report. A missed LLC report can lead to administrative dissolution.

What to expect when you finish

When the entity, tax registration, MSBOC license, insurance, and local license are in place, you may be able to bid a wider range of work and start pulling permits in your own name. Many new contractors report that general contractors and property owners ask first for proof of license and insurance, so keeping those documents current may help you win work. Your actual timeline depends on exam scheduling, local processing, and how quickly you gather your documents, so ask each agency for its current processing time rather than planning around a single estimate.

Where to get help

• Secretary of State, Business Services Division: https://www.sos.ms.gov/business-services
• Secretary of State online filing portal: https://corp.sos.ms.gov/corp/portal/c/page/corpnewfilings/portal.aspx
• Department of Revenue: https://www.dor.ms.gov/
• Sales tax registration for applicants: https://www.dor.ms.gov/business/sales-use-tax/registration-information-sales-and-use-tax-applicants
• Mississippi Small Business Development Center Network, with 19 locations statewide: https://www.mississippisbdc.org/
• Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC): call 601-354-6161 for classification, exam, and small service job questions.

Because licensing, tax, and entity decisions interact, a short consultation with a Mississippi attorney and a CPA is worth the cost before you commit to a structure or sign your first commercial contract. This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice, and every fee, date, and threshold above should be confirmed with the agency that issues it before you act.