Application for Certificate of Responsibility

Application for Certificate of Responsibility Pursuant to the powers and responsibilities of the State Board of Contractors conferred by Miss. Code Ann. §§ 31-3-13(f) (1972), as amended, and in accordance with Sections Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-43-3.101 - 25-43-3.115 (1972), known as the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, the Board hereby adopts, establishes and promulgates the following rules and regulations and directs that same be entered upon its minutes and made available to all applicants for initial or renewed Certificates of Responsibility issued by the Board and all other persons. 1. a. The Mississippi State Board of Contractors’ (“Board”) statutory purpose is to protect the health, safety and general welfare of all persons dealing with those who are engaged in the vocation of contracting and to afford such persons an effective and practical protection against incompetent, inexperienced, unlawful and fraudulent acts of contractors. In carrying out its statutory purpose, the Board issues Certificates of Responsibility and renewals thereof to those engaged in the vocation of contracting, subject to the requirements set forth in law and its Rules and Regulations. A “responsible contractor” means, but shall not be limited to, a contractor that (i) satisfactorily performs and/or supervises the construction of the specifications and requirements for a project to completion with the requisite competence and ability; (ii) acts with integrity and reliability to all parties related to the project, including the client, subcontractors and vendors; (iii) meets its financial obligations to its suppliers, vendors and subcontractors on a project; and (iv) timely responds to project or regulatory inquiries from the Board and its staff. b. Anyone may obtain information from, or make submissions or requests to, in writing or orally, the Executive Director of the Board, whose office is located at 2679 Crane Ridge Drive, Suite C, Jackson, MS 39216, telephone no. (601) 354-6161, during regular office hours between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. 2. An applicant for a Certificate of Responsibility or Renewal thereof shall observe the following requirements: a. Certificates or any renewals thereof may be issued at any time during the course of a calendar year by the Executive Director after determination that the applicant has satisfied all statutory and other requirements prerequisite to the issuance of a certificate or a renewal thereof. b. An application must be filed on a form provided by the Board. No substitute will be accepted. c. The Board’s application form must be completed in ink or with a typewriter. Only one copy need be filed. d. All questions must be answered. All schedules must be completed. Write “None” where applicable. No application will be considered unless it is completed as directed on the Board’s form. e. Additional information including supplementary or explanatory notes considered necessary may be furnished by inserting where needed. f. All signatures must be affixed where called for and notarized where indicated. g. A check in the amount of Four Hundred Dollars ($400.00) made payable to the State Board of Contractors should accompany the application but may be submitted separately. No application will be acted upon until such check is received. h. The privilege tax levied under this Chapter is an annual tax. The Certificate holder is under a duty to renew the certificate annually, and the failure of the Board to notify the Certificate holder as to the date of the expiration shall not excuse the Certificate holder from renewing the certificate and paying the annual tax. i. An applicant for a new certificate shall furnish the Board with at a minimum a reviewed financial statement completed within the prior twelve (12) months, prepared and signed by a certified public accountant, stating the assets, liabilities and net worth of the person, firm, partnership, co-partnership, or corporation. Such statement will be used by the Board to determine the financial responsibility of the applicant to perform work in the amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) or more with respect to public and private projects. Assets of applicants for major classifications must include a net worth of at least Fifty Thousand Dollars (50,000.00). Assets of all other applicants must include a net worth of at least Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00). The financial statement and any information contained therein, as well as any other financial information required to be submitted by an applicant, shall be confidential. All applicants for renewal certificates shall furnish a balance sheet prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Nothing in this rule shall be construed so as to require an audited financial statement. j. An applicant must provide a certificate of insurance evidencing current minimum coverage of Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($ 300,000) per occurrence and Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($ 600,000) aggregate for general liability purposes. The certificate of coverage must indicate MS State Board of Contractors is to be notified in the event of cancellation of coverage by listing MSBOC as certificate holder. The name listed as insured on the certificate of coverage must match exactly the name in which the license is to be issued. An applicant must also provide a certificate of insurance evidencing current workers’ compensation coverage, if such coverage is required by state law. All applicants for new and renewal certificates of responsibility shall supply the information set forth herein. k. A foreign corporation or a corporation domiciled outside the State of Mississippi must qualify to do business in this State with the office of the Secretary of State and provide the Board with a Certificate attesting to such qualification. (Applicants may contact the office of the Secretary of State by mail to P. O. Box 136, Jackson, Mississippi 39205, or by telephone at 601/359-1350.) l. The qualifying party shall be the owner, or a responsible managing employee, or a responsible managing officer, or a member of the executive staff who appears for and takes examination on behalf of the individual, co-partnership, or corporation seeking a license as referred to in Miss. Code Ann. § 31-3-13(a). The qualifying party is the person who holds the exam scores and must be regularly employed by the Certificate holder and actively engaged in the classification of work for which the person qualifies on behalf of the Certificate holder. The Certificate holder shall furnish proof of employment of the qualifying party upon application and renewal. The qualifying party must have the necessary experience, knowledge and skills to supervise or perform the contracting work in the classification of work for which the person qualifies on behalf of the Certificate holder. When the qualifying party terminates employment with the Certificate holder, the Mississippi State Board of Contractors must be notified in writing immediately, by the qualifying party and the Certificate holder, of the disassociation or the Certificate holder will be subject to suspension or revocation of its Certificate of Responsibility. Another party must qualify within ninety (90) days of the disassociation or the Certificate holder will be subject to suspension or revocation of its Certificate of Responsibility. m. An applicant for renewal of a certificate that has been expired for at least one hundred eighty (180) days shall submit a new application and all information required for a new certificate. n. Any corporation or other legal business entity holding a valid Certificate of Responsibility shall immediately notify the Board of any change of name or address by filing an application for change of name and/or address form with the Executive Director of the Board outlining the specific change A fee of $ 50.00 shall accompany the form filed pursuant to this rule. *A change in entity type (i.e., sole proprietor to LLC or LLC to Inc.) requires completion of a new application. o. The Executive Director may accept and adopt as the requisite objective, standardized examination under Miss. Code Ann. § 31-3-13(a) any comparable examination passed by any applicant that holds a license or certificate in good standing in a comparable classification in another state recognized as a reciprocity state. 3. The Board will classify each applicant and issue a Certificate of Responsibility for the type or types of contracts on which the certificate holder may bid on the following basis: a. The applicant will not be classified or permitted to bid on or perform a type or types of work not included on the appropriate application form. b. The applicant shall state on the application the classification of work the applicant desires to perform and contract, such classification to be selected and determined from the following list of classifications: (1) Building Construction (2) Highway, Street and Bridge Construction (3) Heavy Construction (4) Municipal and Public Works Construction (5) Electrical Work (6) Mechanical Work (7) SPECIALTY - A contractor performing Work other than in the above classifications must qualify as a specialty contractor. 4. Any person or entity contracting or undertaking as prime contractor, subcontractor or sub- subcontractor of any tier to do any work as a construction manager shall have a certificate of responsibility either in the specialty classification of construction management or the major classification of Building Construction. 5. Should any information contained in any application or presented at an oral interview for a Certificate of Responsibility be found by the State Board of Contractors to be false, such Certificate of Responsibility so issued or application being considered shall thereupon be terminated and withdrawn. No certificate holder or applicant shall be issued a renewal of or an initial Certificate of Responsibility until a period of one (1) year has expired after the date of such termination or withdrawal. 6. On proof of qualifications satisfactory to the Board, a Certificate holder may apply for and receive a change in classification. 7. There will be a $100.00 fee charged for each additional classification sought. Any waiver of an examination shall require a $ 50.00 fee. There will also be a $ 50.00 fee for a name change. 8. No certificate of responsibility or any renewal thereof shall be issued to a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, or other business or non-profit entity until the applicant furnishes proof to the Board that the Certificate holder is in good standing with the Mississippi Secretary of State. 9. The passing score for the examination requirement provided in Miss. Code Ann. § 31-3-13(a) (1972, as amended) is a grade of at least 70%. Any applicant for a Certificate of Responsibility must furnish proof of having taken an objective, standardized examination. The Board may administer an oral examination to an applicant, upon request, if such applicant is unable to take a written exam. 10. If a Certificate of Responsibility is lost, mutilated or destroyed, a new license may be issued upon receipt of a written request from the licensee stating the reason for the request, the Certificate of Responsibility number and check in the amount of Fifty Dollars ($50.00). 11. The issuance of a certificate of responsibility by reciprocity to a military-trained applicant or military spouse shall be subject to the provisions of Miss. Code Ann. § 73-50-1. 12. A Certificate holder may change the status of the Certificate from active to inactive by notifying the Board, in writing, and submitting a processing fee of Twenty-Five Dollars ($25.00). The Certificate must be renewed annually by submitting the applicable renewal fee even while on inactive status. However, while on inactive status, the financial requirements of