Question 1

Where does the data come from?

Accepted Answer

From the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (LBGC): its full licence roster download at licensesearch.alabama.gov, fetched on every run. County is added by this actor from U.S. Census 2020 ZIP-to-county and place-to-county tables.

Question 2

Can't I just download LBGC's roster myself?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is free, and if you want the whole state once you should. This actor is for when you want one county and one classification on demand, with out-of-state firms removed, classifications split correctly, and a county on each row.

Question 3

How is the county worked out?

Accepted Answer

LBGC publishes no county. If the mailing ZIP's Census area lies at least 90% in one county, that county is used (county_method 'zip', 2,938 of 4,188 Alabama licensees on 2026-10-06). Otherwise, if the mailing city is a Census place in exactly one county, that one ('city', 719). Otherwise the county holding most of the ZIP's land area ('zip_majority', 362). 169 (4%) — mostly PO-box ZIPs in cities that span counties, like Decatur and Huntsville — stay null rather than be guessed. It is the county of the mailing address, not of where the firm works.

Question 4

How many contractors does a county return?

Accepted Answer

Counted 2026-10-06, all classifications: Jefferson 545, Mobile 402, Baldwin 336, Shelby 268, Madison 237, Tuscaloosa 222, Montgomery 201. Jefferson Building Construction (BC) alone is 123.

Question 5

How do I name a classification?

Accepted Answer

By LBGC code ('BC', 'MU', 'HS', 'H/RR', 'BC-S', 'SUBCONTRACTOR') for an exact match, or by a word from the description ('paving', 'electrical', 'plumbing'), which matches at the start of a word. Turn on Discovery Mode for all codes with how many licensees hold each, free.

Question 6

Is there an email address?

Accepted Answer

No. LBGC's roster has no email field at all, so no row has one. You get phone (on 4,185 of 4,188 Alabama licensees), fax where listed, and the mailing address.

Question 7

Does this include home builders and residential roofers?

Accepted Answer

No. LBGC licenses commercial work and registers subcontractors. Residential home builders are licensed by a different board, the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board, which this actor does not cover.

Question 8

How am I charged?

Accepted Answer

One event per contractor returned ($0.002). A contractor that matches two of your searches is returned and charged once. The county and classification lists, and any row explaining a source problem, are free.

Field	Type
`business_name`	string\|null
`license_number`	string\|null
`phone`	string\|null
`fax`	string\|null
`address`	string\|null
`is_po_box`	boolean\|null
`city`	string\|null
`address_state`	string\|null
`zip_code`	string\|null
`county`	string\|null
`county_method`	string\|null
`classifications`	string\|null
`classification_codes`	array\|null
`bid_limit`	string\|null
`expiration_date`	string\|null
`extension_date`	string\|null
`status`	string\|null
`state`	string\|null
`license_type`	string\|null
`requested_county`	string\|null
`requested_trade`	string\|null
`matched_by`	string\|null
`county_name`	string\|null
`trade`	string\|null
`trade_code`	string\|null
`contractor_count`	integer\|null
`notice`	string\|null
`notice_type`	string\|null
`source_url`	string\|null

Field	Type	Req	Default	Description
`listOptionsOnly`	boolean	no	`false`	If true, skip the search and return the 67 Alabama counties plus every classification code on the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (LBGC) roster, with how many licensees hold it. Free, not charged.
`trade`	string	no	`"BC"`	An LBGC classification code, e.g. 'BC' (Building Construction), 'MU' (Municipal and Utility), 'HS' (Highways and Streets), 'BC-S' or 'SUBCONTRACTOR' — a code matches exactly, so 'BC' does not include 'BC-S'. Or a word: 'electrical', 'paving', 'plumbing' finds every classification whose description contains a word starting with it. Leave empty for every classification in the county.
`trades`	array	no	`["BC","MU"]`	Several classifications in ONE run, e.g. BC and MU and electrical. Combined with 'Classification / trade' if you fill both. A contractor matching two of them is returned (and billed) once.
`county`	string	no	`"Jefferson"`	Alabama county, e.g. 'Jefferson', 'Mobile County', 'saint clair'. LBGC publishes no county, so this matches the county derived from each contractor's MAILING ZIP or city. If it is not an Alabama county, the run returns the free county and classification lists instead of failing.
`counties`	array	no	`["Jefferson","Shelby"]`	Several counties in ONE run, e.g. Jefferson and Shelby. Combined with 'County' if you fill both.
`includeOutOfState`	boolean	no	`false`	LBGC licenses firms from every state: 4,729 of its 8,917 licensees (53%, 2026-10-06) have a mailing address outside Alabama. Off by default. Only applies when no county is set — a county search is always Alabama addresses.
`maxResults`	integer	no	—	Cap on the contractors returned PER county + classification search, not per run, so adding counties can never silently truncate the ones later in the list. Leave empty to return every match.
`proxyConfiguration`	object	no	`{"useApifyProxy":false}`	Optional. LBGC answers direct requests; enable a proxy only if runs come back with a 'blocked' notice.