Frustrated with North Jersey Handyman Licensing - $500 in Fees for What?

I'm in north jersey, been doing handyman work for 8 years fixing doors, patching drywall, and installing shelves with my DeWalt cordless kit. Just got hit with a $500 renewal fee for my contractor's license and now they want me to shell out another $300 for some certification class on lead paint safety because the state changed the rules last year. It's BS, I mean, I saw this facebook group called Handyman Nation where a bunch of guys were ranting about the same crap, and one mentioned watching Tommy Mello's video on scaling without all this red tape. But here, every job over $500 needs a permit and inspection, even simple stuff like mounting a TV bracket. I'm seriously thinking of just sticking to under-the-table gigs at this point. Anyone else dealing with this headache?

Skip the class and find a free online equivalent from EPA, saved me $200 last renewal.

Jersey inspectors are the worst, always adding BS requirements mid-job.

Government squeezing us dry while homeowners DIY with youtube.

Same here, feels like they're trying to push us out of business.

Relate hard, man. That $500 stung when i coulda bought a new miter saw.

SharkBite my ass, just get the cert and charge it back to clients in your rates.

I charge an extra 10% for permit jobs now, covers the nonsense.

Haha, remember when licensing was just a handshake? Now it's a money grab.

Use QuickBooks to track these fees as business expenses, deduct em at tax time.

Yeah, my books were a mess til i started categorizing licenses separately.

The whole system's rigged against small guys like us.

Fight me if you want, but ignoring certs is how you get sued.

Nah, in jersey it's worth the hassle to stay legit.

My apprentice quit over this crap, said it's not worth the stress.

We should all band together and lobby against these fees.

Online petition in the handyman groups, let's do it.

This is why i went solo, no employees means less paperwork hell.

Damn straight, scaling up just means more licenses per state.

Proud i kept it small, hit 80k last year without the BS.

Check out the free resources on the state's site first, might skip the class.

Insurance companies love when you're certified, lowers premiums a bit.

Screw the state, i just pay the fee and move on.

Us indies are getting crushed by these regulations.

Feels good to vent, but yeah, same boat here.

Another year, another fee hike. SMH.

The pe firms buying up legit outfits don't deal with this solo.

Man, i feel your pain after that last renewal.

Jersey's always been tough on handymen.

We all in this together, brother.

Just got certified myself, worth it for peace of mind.