Mississippi

Mississippi runs two residential thresholds and they sit five times apart. A residential builder needs a license once new construction exceeds $50,000, while a residential remodeler needs one once improvements to an existing residence exceed $10,000. So the same contractor can be lawfully unlicensed on a $40,000 new build and unlawfully unlicensed on a $12,000 renovation. The smaller job is the regulated one.

Checked Sep 2026

Cook's Transmissions

Auto Repair
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Biloxi
  • Automatic Transmission Repair
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What it costs

ServiceTypical
Auto repair shop labor rateMississippi average$125 per hour

Ranges last checked September 2026. They come down automatically when they are due to be rechecked.

What moves the price

  • Mississippi averages about $125 an hour against a national figure of about $132
  • Dealerships sit at the top of the range; independents below it
  • Shops staffed with certified or master technicians charge for it
  • State averages sit either side of that national figure rather than clustering on it

Usually included

  • Diagnostic and repair labor only

Quoted separately

  • Parts
  • Shop supplies and disposal fees
  • Diagnostic time, which some shops bill separately and some credit against the repair
How do we know these prices?

Every figure above comes from a named source we can link to, with the date we last checked it. We publish ranges rather than single prices because a range is what a provider will actually give you: the same job moves with what is being worked on, the materials, how hard it is to get at and how busy the trade is locally. Treat these as the order of magnitude to expect before you call, not as a quote.

Where a source publishes figures state by state, this page shows the figure for this state rather than a national average. Where no state-level source exists, it shows the national range and the local factors that move a job within it. We do not scale a national number by a multiplier of our own invention.

Every range carries a review date. When that date passes the number comes down until it is rechecked, rather than sitting here undated.

What Mississippi changes

Two thresholds, five times apart

Miss. Code Ann. section 73-59-1 defines a residential builder by reference to construction of a residence not more than three floors in height where the total cost of the undertaking exceeds fifty thousand dollars, and a residential remodeler by reference to improvements to an existing residence where the total cost of the improvements exceeds ten thousand dollars.

The gap between the two produces a result worth stating plainly. A forty thousand dollar new build sits below the builder threshold and needs no license. A twelve thousand dollar renovation sits above the remodeler threshold and does.

The State Board of Contractors adds a roofing figure in its own guidance: residential roofing over ten thousand dollars requires a license. That appears in the board's frequently asked questions rather than in the statutory definitions, so the two sources are complementary rather than in conflict.

The safety inspection is gone

Mississippi repealed its vehicle safety inspection statutes in 2015. House Bill 982 repealed sections 63-13-1 through 63-13-29 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, effective 1 July 2015. A narrow permit scheme for windshield tint inspection stations survived the repeal.

Nothing is claimed here about emissions testing, because no state source was found stating either that a program exists or that none does.

What things cost here

The table above carries the Mississippi figure for auto repair labor, the one cross-trade rate with a per-state source, and it sits below the national average. Shop type and technician certification move a repair bill further than geography does.

How to choose a provider in Mississippi

Work out which threshold your job sits against before anything else, because new construction and remodeling are measured differently here and the smaller number governs renovation work.

Check the license on the State Board of Contractors consolidated search. Above either threshold its absence is a compliance failure rather than a matter of preference.

No consumer recovery fund appears in the board's published laws and rules, so insurance and a written scope carry the weight if a job goes wrong.

Questions to ask any provider here

  • Is this new construction or an improvement to an existing residence, and which threshold applies?
  • What is your Mississippi license number, and is it current on the board's search?
  • If this is roofing, does the job exceed ten thousand dollars?
  • Who carries liability insurance on this work, and can the insurer confirm it?
  • Is the full scope in writing, with what is included and what is not?
  • What is the payment schedule, and how much is due before work starts?
  • Who pulls any permit the job needs?

Common questions

When does a contractor need a license in Mississippi?

It depends what kind of work it is. Miss. Code Ann. section 73-59-1 sets a residential builder threshold where new construction exceeds $50,000, and a residential remodeler threshold where improvements to an existing residence exceed $10,000.

Why is my small renovation regulated when a bigger new build is not?

Because the two thresholds are measured differently and sit five times apart. A $40,000 new build is below the builder line. A $12,000 renovation is above the remodeler line. The smaller job is the regulated one.

Does roofing have its own threshold?

The State Board of Contractors says residential roofing over $10,000 requires a license. That figure appears in the board's frequently asked questions rather than in the statutory definitions.

Does Mississippi require a vehicle safety inspection?

Not since 2015. House Bill 982 repealed sections 63-13-1 through 63-13-29 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, effective 1 July 2015. A narrow permit scheme for windshield tint inspection stations survived.

Is there a contractor recovery fund?

None appears in the board's published laws and rules. Recourse runs to the contractor's insurance and to the courts, which is why liability coverage is worth confirming with the insurer directly.

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