43-07 Contractors

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CHAPTER 43-07CONTRACTORS43-07-01. Definitions. In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwiserequires:1."Contractor" means any person engaged in the business of construction, repair, alteration, dismantling, or demolition of bridges, highways, roads, streets, buildings, airports, dams, drainage or irrigation ditches, sewers, water or gas mains, water filters, tanks, towers, oil, gas, or water pipelines, and every other type of structure, project, development, or improvement coming within the definition of real or personal property, including the construction, alteration, or repair of property to be held either for sale or rental, and shall include subcontractor, public contractor, and nonresident contractor.2."Nonresident contractor" means any contractor who has not an established and maintained place of business within this state, or who has not made reports to North Dakota workforce safety and insurance within the previous year of employees within this state, and who has not made contributions to the North Dakota workforce safety and insurance fund accordingly, or who, during a like period has not made an income tax return in this state.3."Person" includes any individual, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other group or combination thereof acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular number, unless the intent to give a more limited meaning is disclosed clearly by the context thereof.4."Public contract" means a contract with the state of North Dakota or any board, commission, or department thereof, or with any board of county commissioners, or with any city council or board of city commissioners, board of township supervisors, school board, or with any state or municipal agency, or with any other public board, body, commission, or agency authorized to let or award contracts for the construction or reconstruction of public work when the contract cost, value, or price exceeds the sum of two thousand dollars and includes subcontracts undertaken to perform work covered by the original contract or any part thereof when the contract cost, value, or price of the work included in such subcontract exceeds the sum of two thousand dollars.5."Registrar" means the secretary of state of the state of North Dakota.43-07-02. License required. A person may not engage in the business nor act in thecapacity of a contractor within this state when the cost, value, or price per job exceeds the sum of two thousand dollars nor may that person maintain any claim, action, suit, or proceeding in any court of this state related to the person's business or capacity as a contractor without first having a license as provided in this chapter.43-07-03. Registrar designated. The secretary of state as registrar has authority toemploy such assistance and procure such records, supplies, and equipment as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.43-07-04. License - How obtained - Failure to grant - Revocation.1.To obtain a license under this chapter, an applicant who is eighteen years of age or older shall submit, on forms the registrar prescribes, an application under oath containing a statement of the applicant's experience and qualifications as a contractor.A copy of a certificate of liability insurance must be filed with theapplication and the contractor shall submit a statement from North Dakota workforce safety and insurance that the contractor has secured workforce safety and insurancePage No. 1coverage satisfactory to workforce safety and insurance. If the registrar deems it appropriate or necessary, the registrar may also require any other information to assist the registrar in determining the applicant's fitness to act in the capacity of a contractor, including, at the expense of the applicant, criminal history record information of the applicant or the officers, members, or partners of the applicant which is held or maintained by the bureau of criminal investigation or a similar entity in another state. The application must contain a statement that the applicant desires the issuance of a license under this chapter and must specify the class of license sought.2.The registrar may refuse to grant a license if the registrar determines the application contains false, misleading, or incomplete information; the applicant fails or refuses to authorize or pay for criminal history information requested by the registrar; or as otherwise provided in sections 12.1-33-02.1 and 43-07-04.1.The registrar shallnotify the applicant in writing if the registrar does not grant the license and shall provide the applicant an opportunity to respond to or cure the defect in the application for a period of ten days from the date of the written notification. An applicant aggrieved by a decision of the registrar not to grant the license may appeal the decision to the district court of the applicant's county of residence or Burleigh County.3.No sooner than twenty days after sending written notice to a contractor at the contractor's last-known address, the registrar shall classify as not in good standing the license of any contractor who fails to:a.Maintain liability insurance coverage required by this section or by section 43-07-10;b.File, renew, or properly amend any fictitious name certificate required by chapter 45-11;c.Maintain an active status of a corporation or registration as a foreign corporation;d.Maintain an active status of a limited liability company or registration as a foreign limited liability company;e.File or renew a trade name registration as required by chapter 47-25;f.Maintain a limited liability partnership registration or foreign limited liability partnership registration as required by chapter 45-22; org.Maintain a limited partnership certificate of limited partnership or foreign limited partnership certificate of authority.4.Any contractor who has been notified by the registrar that the contractor's license is not in good standing shall cease soliciting or entering new contract projects. If the contractor fails to correct the deficiency specified in the notice by evidence satisfactory to the registrar within thirty days of the date of the notice or if the contractor solicits or enters new contract projects while the contractor's license is not in good standing, the registrar shall use the procedures of chapter 28-32 to revoke the license of the contractor.43-07-04.1. Conviction not bar to licensure - Exceptions. Conviction of an offensedoes not disqualify a person from licensure under this chapter unless the secretary of state determines that the offense has a direct bearing upon a person's ability to serve the public as a contractor or that, following conviction of any offense, the person is not sufficiently rehabilitated under section 12.1-33-02.1.Page No. 243-07-05. Classes of licenses. Four classes of licenses must be issued under thischapter, which must be designated as class A, B, C, and D licenses.The holders of suchlicenses are entitled to engage in the contracting business within this state subject to the following limitations:1.The holder of a class A license is subject to no limitation as to the value of any single contract project.2.The holder of a class B license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of two hundred fifty thousand dollars.3.The holder of a class C license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of one hundred twenty thousand dollars.4.The holder of a class D license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of fifty thousand dollars.43-07-06. Administrative and governing bodies may impose requirements. Anyadministrative body or governing body, agency, or commission having power to enter into public contracts may impose reasonable requirements and conditions as conditions precedent to the awarding of a contract for the construction or reconstruction of public works in addition to the requirements imposed by this chapter.43-07-07. License fees. At the time of making application for a license as described andrequired in this chapter, the applicant shall pay to the registrar the following fees:1.For a class A license, the sum of three hundred dollars.2.For a class B license, the sum of two hundred dollars.3.For a class C license, the sum of one hundred fifty dollars.4.For a class D license, the sum of fifty dollars.All moneys collected by the registrar under this chapter must be deposited by the registrar with the state treasurer, who shall credit them to the general fund of the state.43-07-08. Exceptions. This chapter does not apply to:1.Any authorized representative or representatives of the United States government, the state of North Dakota, or any county, municipality, irrigation district, reclamation district, or other political corporation.2.Any person who furnishes any fabricated or finished product, material, or article of merchandise which is not incorporated into or attached to real property by such person so as to become affixed thereto.43-07-09. Duty of registrar - Expiration of license. Within fifteen days from the date ofapplication, the registrar may investigate and determine each applicant's fitness to act in the capacity of contractor as defined in this chapter, and no license may be issued to such applicant until the registrar receives all documentation necessary to obtain a license and the appropriate fee. The license issued on an original application entitles the licensee to act as a contractor within this state, subject to the limitations of such license, until the expiration of the then current fiscal year ending March first, except that an initial license issued to a licensee in January or February is valid until March first of the subsequent year.43-07-09.1. Name changes. Not later than ten days after the date of a change in acontractor's name, the licensee must notify the registrar of the name change on a form provided by the registrar. A name change must be accompanied by a ten dollar fee. A licensee may notPage No. 3change its name if the change is associated with a change in the legal status other than a change in marital status. A corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership registered with the secretary of state is not subject to this section.43-07-10.Renewal of license - Grounds for nonrenewal - Time requirements -Invalidity of license for failure to renew.1.Any license issued under this chapter may be renewed for each successive fiscal year by obtaining from the registrar a certificate of renewal. To obtain a certificate of renewal, the licensee shall file with the registrar an application that includes a listing of each project, contract, or subcontract completed by the licensee during the preceding calendar year in this state over the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars and the nature of the work of each project, contract, or subcontract. The registrar shall within a reasonable time forward a copy of the list to the state tax commissioner. The applicant shall include with the application a copy of a certificate of liability insurance unless the registrar has a current valid certificate of insurance on file, and a certification that the applicant has submitted all payroll taxes, including North Dakota income tax, workforce safety and insurance premiums, and unemployment insurance premiums due at the time of renewal, which documents need not be notarized.2.The registrar may refuse to renew a license if the registrar determines the application contains false, misleading, or incomplete information or if the contractor's license is not in good standing for any of the reasons listed in subsection 3 of section 43-07-04. The registrar shall notify the applicant in writing if the registrar does not grant the license and shall provide the applicant an opportunity to respond to or cure the defect in the application for a period of ten days from the date of the written notification. An applicant aggrieved by a decision of the registrar not to grant the license may appeal the decision to the district court of the applicant's county of residence or Burleigh County.3.The application for a certificate of renewal must be made to the registrar on or before the first day of March of each year. At the time of filing the application for a certificate of renewal, the applicant shall pay to the registrar a renewal fee equal to twenty percent of the license fee established in section 43-07-07. If any contractor applies for a renewal under a class different from the license previously issued, the new class license may be issued upon the payment of the fee required for the issuance of the license of the class applied for. If any contractor fails to file an application for a certificate of renewal by the March first deadline, the contractor's license is not in good standing and the contractor must be deemed to be unlicensed within the meaning of sections 43-07-02 and 43-07-18.Within sixty days afterMarch first, the contractor must be notified by mail that the contractor's license is not in good standing.The contractor then has until June first to renew by paying apenalty fee of seventy-five percent of the renewal fee, filing an application for a certificate of renewal, and paying the renewal fee. A contractor who applies for a certificate of renewal before or within ninety days of the filing deadline is not subject to the investigation authorized in section 43-07-09. After the June first deadline any licenses not renewed are revoked. Any application for a certificate of renewal must be fully completed within sixty days of the date the application is received by the registrar or the registrar shall return the application to the contractor who then is subject to section 43-07-09. The registrar may destroy all renewals provided for in this section after they have been on file for six years.43-07-11. Contractor's bond - Requirements. Repealed by S.L. 1995, ch. 397, </DIV></DIV></DIV> </DIV>  <DIV></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV></DIV>  <DIV id=footer> <DIV class=container> Copyright © 2012-2022 Laws9.Com All rights reserved.  <A href="/contactus.html">Contact Us</A> | <A href="/aboutus.html">About Us</A> | <A href="/terms.html">Terms</A> | <A href="/privacy.html">Privacy</A> </DIV> </DIV> </BODY></HTML>

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43-07 Contractors