WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill introduced in the House of Representatives in February 2026 would create an interstate contractor licensing reciprocity system for federally declared disasters, allowing licensed contractors to cross state lines to provide restoration services without obtaining a separate license in each affected state.
The Disaster Response Contractor Reciprocity Act would apply to contractors licensed in their home state who are responding to a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency. The reciprocity would be automatic upon the disaster declaration and would remain in effect for 180 days.
Currently, contractors responding to out-of-state disasters must navigate a patchwork of state licensing requirements that can delay the deployment of skilled workers by days or weeks. Following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Texas reported a shortage of licensed restoration contractors despite thousands of qualified workers in neighboring states who could not legally work without a Texas license.
The Restoration Industry Association and the National Association of Home Builders have endorsed the legislation, noting that it would accelerate disaster recovery timelines and reduce costs for homeowners and insurance carriers.
Several states have already enacted bilateral reciprocity agreements for disaster response, but the legislation would create a uniform federal framework that would apply automatically whenever a presidential disaster declaration is issued.
