This is not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Read the official pages linked here. Partner offers are optional and labeled.
Take punch lists you can finish in one visit. Property managers and new homeowners are the first customers if you show up when you said you would. Leave panels, gas, and roofs to the people who hold those licenses.
The state guides under this page cover all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each one names the filing office and the licensing board we could verify, and it says so when we could not confirm a direct address. City guides cover the metros ServiceBase writes about for this trade, including Austin, TX, Houston, TX, Dallas–Fort Worth, TX, Las Vegas, NV.
High-demand trades with thin local websites are the ones to read first: chimney sweeps and standby generator installation in cold markets, snow removal, and Christmas light installation from November through January, then landscaping, electrical, cleaning, and roofing, in the cities linked below. The steps are the same shape for every trade. The license and the first job are not.
Some boxes are labeled Partner. ServiceBase has not joined those programs. The links go to each company's own homepage, not a tracking link. If a program later approves us, the address will change and we may earn a commission. You can file, insure, and bank anywhere. Official government links are not partner links. Nothing on this page is a discount code.
$500 in free advertising when you launch
Keep the checklist on your account
The guide stays public. An account saves your state, city, and trade, and lets you mark each filing as you go. The advertising credit is reserved when you register. It can be spent after the free website is live.
Your own name works. So does a plain two-word name. Search the city and the state. The fear customers have is that a handyman will start a job that needed a licensed trade. A clear name and a clear list of jobs reduce that fear. Use the same name on the text thread and the invoice.
02Form an LLC or stay a sole proprietor
Most handyman businesses start as a sole proprietorship. An LLC is reasonable once you are in other people's houses every day and want the bank account and the insurance in a company name. It does not expand the list of jobs you may legally do. If a state sets a dollar cap on unlicensed work, read the current cap on the official page. Do not rely on a number from a forum.
Each state guide links the filing office. Where we could verify an LLC fee from an official page, that guide prints the fee and the source. Everywhere else, the fee stays on the state's site.
An employer identification number is the business tax ID. The IRS issues it online at no charge and says you never have to pay a company to get one. If you form an LLC, file with the state first. The IRS says an EIN application can stall when the state filing is not done. A sole proprietor can often start with a Social Security number and get an EIN when a bank or a hire requires it.
Apply on the IRS page if you want the number yourself. LegalZoom, the partner beside this step, can request it while they form the company. That service is optional. The IRS fee is still zero either way.
Drywall, doors, furniture, TV mounts, and caulk are the ordinary list. Panels, gas, sewer, and roof leaks are how handymen create claims and license problems. Read the state board for a handyman exemption or a small-project cap, and read what is excluded. Plumbing, electrical, and HVAC that those boards license are referrals, not a favor. A city business license can still be required for the small work. Get it.
Read any handyman or small-job exemption on the contractor board, including the dollar cap and the trades it excludes. Then get the city business license. Refer panel, gas, sewer, and roof work unless you hold that license.
05Insure the work
General liability before you drill into someone's wall. Tell the insurer you are a handyman and name the jobs, so a claim is not denied for 'contractor work' you did not disclose. Commercial auto if the truck is the business. Workers' compensation if anyone helps, even occasionally. A property manager will ask for the certificate before the first punch list.
Workers' compensation is a state program. Before anyone works with you, including a friend, ask an insurer and the state labor office whether you must carry it. This guide does not quote a headcount, because those rules differ and the state page is the source. The SBA page describes the common policies. It does not sell them. Buy the policy before you work in a house in the city you will serve.
Small jobs paid in cash and checks disappear in a personal account. Deposit them into a business checking account and write the address on the deposit note. Set tax money aside weekly. The amounts feel too small to matter, which is why they become a tax problem.
The bank will usually ask for your ID, the EIN or your Social Security number, and the formation papers if you filed an LLC. A checking account and a habit of setting tax money aside are enough at the start.
07Price the real visit
Price from a short list: a minimum visit, an hourly rate after that, and a flat price for the jobs you repeat, such as a drywall patch or a door that sticks. Send the price before you load the truck when the list is clear.
Occupied houses take longer than empty ones. Stairs and parking change the hour. Say so. Decline the item on the list that belongs to a licensed trade, and price the rest.
08Get found, then create the free site
Google Business Profile with photos of finished small repairs in real rooms. Reviews should mention the task and the neighborhood. The website is a list of jobs you like and a sentence on what you refer out. The form lets them send several items. ServiceBase publishes the page and keeps the list.
In your first city, the profile, the reviews, and the site should name the neighborhoods you actually drive. ServiceBase publishes the page and keeps quote requests in a list on your account. No card. It does not file the LLC, get the EIN, or buy the insurance.
Most handyman businesses start as a sole proprietorship. An LLC is reasonable once you are in other people's houses every day and want the bank account and the insurance in a company name. It does not expand the list of jobs you may legally do. If a state sets a dollar cap on unlicensed work, read the current cap on the official page. Do not rely on a number from a forum. The SBA page linked in the steps explains the structures in general. A lawyer or an accountant can apply them to you. This guide cannot.
Does a handyman need a state license?
Drywall, doors, furniture, TV mounts, and caulk are the ordinary list. Panels, gas, sewer, and roof leaks are how handymen create claims and license problems. Read the state board for a handyman exemption or a small-project cap, and read what is excluded. Plumbing, electrical, and HVAC that those boards license are referrals, not a favor. A city business license can still be required for the small work. Get it.
Is an EIN free?
Yes. The IRS issues an employer identification number at no charge and says you never have to pay a fee for one. Use the IRS link in the steps if you want the number yourself. LegalZoom, the partner on that step, can request it while they form the company. That service is optional, and the IRS fee is still zero.
What does the free handyman site include?
A public page for your handyman business and city, and a list of the quote requests that come from that page. No card. It does not form the company, get the EIN, buy insurance, or replace a license. The website guide for this trade is separate: it is about what the page should say once the company is real.
