Garage door rules & licensing in Alabama

Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board — official site

A residential home builder licence is required of a person who constructs a residence for sale, or who for a fixed price, commission, fee or wage undertakes or offers to undertake the construction or superintending of construction, remodeling, repair or improvement of a residential structure (not over three floors and not more than four residential units) where the cost of the undertaking exceeds $10,000. Subcontractors employed by a licensee are exempt, but subcontractors hired directly by a homeowner claiming the homeowner exemption 'must be licensed if the cost of the undertaking for the portion the subcontractor is hired to do exceeds $10,000.00'. There is no garage-door-specific licence class.

$10,000 (cost of the undertaking, labor and materials) for residential home builder licensure; $2,500 for residential roofers

The Home Builders Licensure Law does not mandate a surety bond for a residential home builder licence; builders must disclose in writing to the homeowner, before construction begins, whether they carry liability insurance, and the board may fund a Homeowners' Recovery Fund from licensee contributions of up to $60 per year. A Roofers License separately requires a $10,000 License/Permit Bond naming the Board as obligee.

Alabama's state building code (2021 IBC, adopted 7/1/2022) is enforced by the Division of Construction Management, which states it 'does not have jurisdiction over residential property or commercial property except for hotels/motels and movie theaters'; residential building code adoption authority transferred to the Home Builders Licensure Board effective October 1, 2024. Where a city or county has not adopted a residential building code, the Board applies the 2015 IRC in its investigations for contracts entered into on or after February 13, 2022. Permits for garage door work are therefore a local matter.

Alabama’s residential code is the 2015 International Residential Code as modified, adopted by the Alabama Energy and Residential Codes Board at Ala. Admin. Code r. 305-2-4-.09: "The 2015 International Residential Code (IRC) as modified below," with "(5) EFFECTIVE DATE. For purposes of enforcement, this code shall become effective on October 1, 2016." Statutory authority is Code of Ala. 1975, Sections 41-23-80 through 41-23-85. The Board’s published modifications do not amend IRC Section R301.2.1 (wind design) or Section R301.2.1.2 (protection of openings / windborne debris), so the unmodified 2015 IRC wind provisions govern. The site’s ultimate design wind speed, exposure category and windborne-debris status must be confirmed with the local building department - particularly in the Gulf coast counties.