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Your rights

Alabama

Alabama · home improvement

Your rights in Alabama

Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 4, 2026

3 business days to cancel

If you sign away from their office after a sales pitch

Cancel in writing by midnight of the third business day. Your payments come back within 10 business days.

Some sales are excepted, such as emergency work you ask for in a signed waiver.

The 4 exceptions, in the rule's words
  • Emergency: Alabama's right does not apply if you give the contractor a separate personal statement, dated and signed by you, that describes an emergency needing immediate repair and changes or gives up your right to cancel. A printed form may not be used for this. The federal rule's emergency exception applies only when you contacted the seller and wrote the statement in your own handwriting.
  • Under Alabama's law, a sale is not covered if it followed earlier negotiations at the contractor's place of business where the goods or services are shown or offered, or if it was made under an existing open-end credit plan or a closed-end plan for a series of sales. The federal rule has a similar exception for sales that follow negotiations during your visit to the seller's permanent business location where the goods or services are offered.
  • Under the federal rule, a visit you asked for to repair or maintain your personal property (the rule's term) is not covered, but extra goods or services sold during that visit, other than replacement parts needed for the repair, are covered.
  • The federal rule also does not cover a sale made entirely by mail or phone, or a sale where the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1635) already gives you a right of rescission.
Read the full rule

When it applies

The contractor sold you the job in person and you signed somewhere other than the contractor's place of business, such as your home. The federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR Part 429) covers these sales when the price is $25 or more at your home, or $130 or more at other places away from the seller's place of business, whether you pay cash or use credit. Alabama's own law (Ala. Code 5-19-12) gives the same right when the contractor extends or arranges credit for the sale.

If a contractor sold you the job in person and you signed somewhere other than their place of business, such as your home, you can cancel in writing until midnight of the third business day after you sign. The federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule gives this right for sales of $25 or more at your home, and Alabama law also gives it when the contractor provides or arranges financing. Your payments must be returned within 10 business days under the federal rule (10 days under Alabama's law).

Code of Alabama § 5-19-12 · read on alison.legislature.state.al.us · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

License number

On the contract and ads

Anyone paid to build, remodel or repair a home needs an HBLB license when the job costs over $10,000, or over $2,500 for roofing.

Read the full rule

In Alabama, anyone paid to build, remodel, repair or improve a home must hold a Home Builders Licensure Board license when the job costs more than $10,000, or more than $2,500 for roofing. The license number must be on your contract. Look the contractor up with the Board before you sign.

Who needs one: Anyone paid to build, remodel, repair or improve a residence or structure used as a home (no more than three floors and four units) when the cost of the undertaking (materials, labor, supervision, overhead and profit) is more than $10,000. For residential roofing, the license is required when the cost is more than $2,500. The Board's rules apply this to builders who contract directly with the homeowner.

Who doesn't

  • Employees of a licensed builder who work only as that builder's employees
  • Subcontractors who work for a licensed builder and do not contract directly with the homeowner (Board rule 465-X-1-.01(9); example (ii) in rule 465-X-3-.04(2))
  • Government employees acting within their employment
  • General contractors who still hold a current, valid Alabama general contractor license that was issued before January 1, 1992
  • Real estate licensees, licensed engineers and licensed architects working within their licenses on behalf of clients
  • Owners who act as their own contractor and provide all material supervision themselves when building or improving a one- or two-family home on their own property for their own use and not offered for sale. The exemption covers only the owner: builders and roofers who contract with the owner still need a license (Board rule 465-X-3-.03(5)).
  • Mobile homes and structures installed, inspected or regulated by the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission
  • Agricultural buildings, except any residence in them
  • People otherwise licensed and regulated by the State of Alabama, such as state-certified plumbers or HVAC contractors, doing work within the scope of that license (Board rule 465-X-1-.01(9)(d))

Where the number must appear

  • the contract
  • advertising, including print, television, radio, social media, websites, vehicle decals, signs and wraps

Issued by: Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board (HBLB)

Code of Alabama § 34-14A-2 · read on alison.legislature.state.al.us · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

The contract must include

Source: AL law

An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 9 in writing before you sign.

  • Signed contract with license #Jobs over $10,000 (roofing over $2,500): show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For work that needs a Home Builders Licensure Board license (more than $10,000, or more than $2,500 for roofing): a valid written contract signed by all parties that shows the builder's active HBLB license number.

  • Liability insurance statementJobs over $10,000 (roofing over $2,500): show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For the same work, before it starts: a written statement saying whether the builder has liability insurance and keeps it in force. It can be part of the contract or an addendum. If the builder has no liability insurance, both of you must sign that statement and a witness you choose must attest it.

  • Resilience program disclosureOnly if it follows a resilience program: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For the same work, if it will follow a program meant to make the home more resilient than the building code requires: a written disclosure of that before work starts.

  • Buyer's right to cancel noticeIf sold at your home on their credit: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    If the job was sold at your home and the contractor provides or arranges credit: the agreement must show the date you actually signed and a 'BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL' notice with the contractor's name and mailing address. The federal FTC cancellation notice may be used instead.

  • 3-day cancel notice & formsIf sold at your home ($25 or more): show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For sales of $25 or more made at your home (federal rule, cash or credit): a receipt or contract copy at signing, in the language used in the sales pitch, showing the date and the seller's name and address; near your signature, a bold statement of at least 10 point that you may cancel before midnight of the third business day; and two completed copies of a 'Notice of Cancellation' form.

  • Roofing: insurance cancel noticeRoofing paid by an insurance claim: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Roofing to be paid from an insurance claim: a bold notice that you may cancel within five business days after your insurer tells you in writing that the claim is not covered or will not cover the contract, plus two copies of a detachable 'NOTICE OF CANCELLATION' form.

  • HVAC certification #HVAC contractors show it on paperwork: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    HVAC contractors must show their state certification number and company name on all documentation.

  • Security board contact infoAlarm, camera and locksmith contracts: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Alarm, security camera, access control and locksmith companies licensed by the Alabama Electronic Security Board of Licensure: every written service contract must give the board's name, mailing address and phone number, and say that complaints may be sent to the board.

  • Inspector registration #Home inspectors show it on contracts: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Home inspectors: contracts and other documents must show the inspector's registration number, name and address.

On signing day

  • Keep a signed copy
  • Find the cancel notice
Sources48 official pages · checked Oct 4, 2026

Notes from our check

  • Independently verified on 2026-10-04. Statute text was read from the Alabama Legislature's official Code of Alabama (alison.legislature.state.al.us) through the site's own data service, because the section pages are drawn by JavaScript. The verifier did not re-open the '?section=' links in a browser to confirm they display the section. HBLB rules (Ala. Admin. Code ch. 465-X-1 to 465-X-8, revised 3/17/25) were read as the PDFs served by admincode.legislature.state.al.us. The HBLB, Attorney General, Agriculture and Industries, Banking Department and eCFR pages were read directly.
  • No deposit cap: no Alabama statute or HBLB rule limiting deposits or down payments on home improvement contracts was found. The Code's full text was searched (including 'down payment', 'deposit', 'home repair' and 'home improvement') and HBLB rule chapters 465-X-1 to 465-X-8 were read. depositCap is null, and the app must not state an Alabama cap. A 2021 joint release from the Attorney General and HBLB advises never making a full payment or substantial down payment up front, and an HBLB page says most professionals do not require a large payment up front. That is advice, not a legal limit.
  • Roofing paid by insurance (Ala. Code 8-36-2(c)): the contractor may not require any payment until the five-day cancellation period has ended, except for emergency services you acknowledged in writing as necessary to prevent damage to the home. This is a payment-timing rule for one trade, not a deposit cap. The same section gives a right to cancel until midnight of the fifth business day after the insurer says in writing that the claim is not covered or will not cover the contract; that right is in addition to other cancellation rights. It also bars a residential roofing contractor from representing or negotiating for the homeowner on an insurance claim for roof repair or replacement.
  • Cancellation scope: Alabama's own right (5-19-12) applies only to a 'home solicitation sale'. 5-19-1(8) defines that as a consumer credit sale, and a credit sale needs a seller who is a 'creditor': one who extended or arranged credit more than 25 times in the previous calendar year, or more than 5 times for credit secured by a one-to-four-unit home (5-19-1(3),(4)). Cash sales therefore rely on the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule. The federal rule is not limited to cash sales (16 CFR 429.0(a)) and is not displaced by state laws that give the same or a greater right (16 CFR 429.2), so it applies to credit sales too.
  • Alabama's statute: refund within 10 days. If the seller never gave the required notice, the buyer may cancel within one year of the sale. The federal rule applies to sales of $25 or more at the buyer's home and $130 or more at other locations away from the seller's place of business, with refunds within 10 business days. Under the federal rule, a business day is any day except Sunday and federal holidays. The Mini-Code text read (Code and Banking Department copy) does not define 'business day'.
  • The HBLB requires a 'limited' license for work that does not affect structural integrity and involves only one trade. Work that is structural or involves more than one trade needs an 'unlimited' license. Roofing needs a license limited to roofing; an unlimited license also covers roofing (rule 465-X-1-.01(9); HBLB applicant FAQ). A builder without the required license cannot sue to enforce the contract (34-14A-14(d)). According to the HBLB consumer FAQ, the Homeowners' Recovery Fund pays up to $30,000 toward an uncollectable judgment, but only against a builder who was licensed.
  • Conflicting wording: the HBLB applicant FAQ says the home builder law 'does not address insurance'. However, 34-14A-19 (amended by Act 2026-320) requires a written disclosure of whether the builder carries liability insurance. It requires disclosure only; it does not require the builder to carry insurance.
  • The Attorney General and HBLB advise that the written contract include the contractor's full name, address and phone number, a description of the work, start and estimated completion dates, and the total cost. Only a valid written contract signed by all parties showing the HBLB license number is a legal requirement (Ala. Code 34-14A-7(f); rule 465-X-1-.01(12)(a)11). The app should present the other items as recommendations.
  • The separate general contractor law (Ala. Code ch. 34-8) covers work of $100,000 or more and swimming pools over $5,000, but 34-8-7(a)(2) exempts building or repairing any residence or residential swimming pool. The HBLB applicant FAQ describes the general contractor law as covering 'swimming pool construction of $5,000 or more' without mentioning that exemption. Whether HBLB covers residential pools was not confirmed, so pools are left out of tradeCoverage.
  • Electrical: a 2018 Attorney General release says plumbers, HVAC contractors and electricians 'must be licensed by the state regardless of the cost of work'. The statute (34-36-13(a)) accepts a license from either the Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors or the county or municipality where the work is done. Because the two say different things, electrical is left out of statewideCredentialedTrades.
  • The home inspector statute names the 'Building Commission' as the licensing agency. Which agency handles that license today was not verified.
  • Alarm and lock sales to older buyers (Ala. Code 34-1A-7(e)(3)): it is a crime to make an unsolicited sale or installation of an alarm or locking system at the home of someone 75 or older without a waiting period of at least four business days after first contact and at least 30 business days to cancel a signed contract. This applies only to that trade, so it is not used as the general cancellation period.
  • Removed during verification: Ala. Code 13A-9-110 (home repair fraud definitions) was dropped from sources because no field relies on it.

General information from official Alabama sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.

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