How to Get a Contractor License in Arkansas
Updated 2026-09-28
The Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, part of the Department of Labor and Licensing, has licensed contractors since 1939. Its Residential Committee, created in 1999, licenses builders of new homes. Together they set minimum standards for experience, business skills and financial stability.
Arkansas has several license and registration types with different dollar triggers, and HVAC/R and electrical work are licensed separately. This guide sorts them out using the board's application instructions and license pages. Confirm fees and forms with the board before you apply.
Which license do you need?
The board's apply page lists these main types:
- Commercial License: work of $50,000 or more, including labor and materials, on a commercial project. Any project that is not a single-family residence counts as commercial. A business and law test is required.
- Subcontractor Registration Certificate: for subcontractors working under a properly licensed contractor. A contract directly with the owner makes you a prime contractor, not a subcontractor.
- Residential Builder License: building a single-family residence costing more than $2,000, unless an exception applies; it also allows remodeling. Business and law test required.
- Residential Remodeler License: major structural changes or additions to a single-family residence over $2,000. Business and law test required.
- Home Improvement License: specialty work such as painting, windows or flooring on a single-family residence over $2,000; it does not allow building or remodeling a home.
- Residential Roofer Registration: required since January 1, 2022 for residential roofing over $2,000, unless you hold a residential builder or remodeler license.
Temporary licenses and separate trade boards
Temporary commercial, home improvement, residential builder and remodeler licenses are available to contractors with a current out-of-state license or references on the board's forms. Each is valid for only 90 days once issued.
HVAC/R contractors are not licensed through this board. The Department of Labor and Licensing's State HVAC/R Board issues those licenses, requires pre-approval before its exam, uses Prov as its exam proctor and states that it has no reciprocal licensing agreements with other states. Electrical licensing also sits with the department's code enforcement division rather than the contractors board.
Commercial license requirements
The commercial application (effective August 2025) offers a Restricted license for commercial projects under $1,500,000, including labor and material, or an Unrestricted license for projects of any size. Either one also lets you do residential work in the same classifications. The filing fee is $100 by check or money order, and the application must reach the board three weeks before a board meeting and be complete within 90 days.
- Three references on the board's forms that verify experience in each requested classification, completed within the last 90 days and not from a supplier or banker unless they observed your work.
- A $10,000 contractor's bond in the entity's registered name and EIN.
- A passing Arkansas Business and Law score.
- A CPA financial statement dated within the last year: a compiled report for Restricted, or a reviewed or audited statement for Unrestricted. The license expiration date is tied to the statement date.
- Workers' compensation proof if you have one or more employees, and Secretary of State filings for entities.
- Applicants who also want a residential license in a different classification complete the residential application too; the board says no extra fee or test is required, but the references must cover that residential work.
Net worth and the cash rule
The application cites the board's rules at 17 CAR 255-401. One half of the net worth required for your classification must be cash in the bank, not a stockholder note or receivables. The board's example: the Building classification requires $50,000 net worth, so $25,000 must be cash; a specialty requires $5,000, so $2,500 must be cash. Restricted applicants must also show positive working capital.
Instead of a financial statement, a contractor may file a Surety Bond in Lieu of Financial Statement, sized by classification. It is in addition to, not instead of, the $10,000 contractor's bond.
Residential builder requirements
The residential builder application carries a $100 filing fee and must reach the office three weeks before a committee meeting. It needs three references showing four years of appropriate construction experience, a passing Business and Law score, a current compiled balance sheet less than a year old showing positive net worth (sole proprietors may use a personal balance sheet that excludes their home and retirement accounts), entity filings and workers' compensation proof if you have employees. A current commercial licensee adds residential builder with a separate short form. New applications of every type are mailed, with the non-refundable fee, to the address printed on the form rather than filed online.
Renewal
Renewal is done online through the board's portal once a year. Any renewal not complete by the expiration date, including the fee and financial documents, owes a $50 late fee. Commercial licensees must also send a current reviewed or audited statement, or a compiled statement for a Restricted license, or a bond in lieu of financial statement, plus workers' compensation proof if they have employees. Residential builders and unlimited home improvement licensees submit a current balance sheet.
Act 725 of 2021 lets the board waive the initial licensing fee for qualifying individual applicants, such as those receiving certain public assistance or with income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Active-duty service members, spouses and veterans applying as individuals get expedited processing.
When you schedule the Business and Law exam, ContractorPrepHQ's Arkansas Business and Law prep ($99, one-time, with lifetime access and a 30-day money-back guarantee) offers original practice questions written from the PSI outline and the Arkansas NASCLA guide, a diagnostic, topic drills with explanations and timed practice exams with a readiness score.
Common questions
- At what amount do I need an Arkansas commercial license?
- At $50,000 or more, including labor and materials, on any project that is not a single-family residence.
- Do I need a license to build a house in Arkansas?
- Yes, a Residential Builder License is needed to build a single-family residence costing more than $2,000, unless an exception applies. It requires the Business and Law exam and references showing four years of experience.
- Does the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board license HVAC contractors?
- No. HVAC/R contractors are licensed by the Department of Labor and Licensing's State HVAC/R Board, which uses Prov for its exams and requires pre-approval.
- How much cash does an Arkansas commercial applicant need?
- Half of the net worth requirement for the classification must be cash in the bank: $25,000 for the Building classification's $50,000 requirement, or $2,500 for a specialty.
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Sources
General information, not legal advice. Confirm current requirements, fees and forms with the state licensing board.