Handyman exemption

Definition

The dollar limit under which a state lets work be done without a contractor license.

Why It Matters

Most states let small jobs be done unlicensed under a threshold, and that threshold is the real ceiling on what the business can sell. A shop routinely working above it is either licensed or exposed, and the exposure becomes the buyer's the day after closing. Find the state's figure, then ask for the invoice distribution for a year: jobs clustered just under the line are a business run carefully, and jobs above it are a question.