How to Start a Handyman Business (2026 Guide)
You can be legally taking paid handyman work in most states for under $1,500, and a solo handyman in a decent metro clears $50,000 to $75,000 a year once the calendar fills. Here is the 2026 startup checklist: the dollar caps on unlicensed work state by state, the LLC and EIN in an afternoon, the insurance you actually need, real tool and van costs, what to charge, and how to run the whole back office from your phone from day one.
Search how to start a handyman business and you get the same cheerful checklist every time. Buy tools, print business cards, post on Facebook, start making money. What almost none of them lead with is the one thing that can get you fined or sued before you finish your first month: in a lot of states there is a hard dollar limit on the work you are allowed to do without a contractor license, and crossing it is illegal even if the customer is happy and paid you in cash.
In California, the line is $500. Any single job where labor plus materials adds up to $500 or more legally requires a licensed contractor, so an unlicensed handyman is capped at jobs under that number..