Pen-and-ink Arizona scene: a desert job site with saguaros, a stucco home and a contractor’s truck.

Arizona contractor requirements

licensed in
Arizona? here’s
what the state asks.

The license, the bond and workers’ comp, for every trade.

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the short answer

Every Arizona contractor needs a Registrar of Contractors license in the class that fits the work, a license bond sized from the ROC table, and workers’ comp from the first employee. The ROC doesn’t require general liability to license you, but GCs, property managers and many homeowners usually ask for it.

what Arizona requires.

The same rules for every licensed trade.

License: One registrar, the ROC, licenses every trade. Classes are commercial, residential or dual, and the class sets the work you can contract for.
Bond: Required for the license. The ROC table sets it by license type and yearly volume, from $2,500 to $100,000. Dual licenses combine both amounts.
how Arizona bonds work
Workers’ comp: Required from your first employee. The facts of the work decide who counts, not the title on the invoice.
General liability: No state rule. The ROC doesn’t require insurance to license you, apart from workers’ comp. Your contracts set the limits.
Recovery fund: Residential contractors also pay into the Residential Contractors’ Recovery Fund or post a separate bond for it.

Sources: Arizona Registrar of Contractors, A.R.S. §32-1152, A.R.S. §23-902. Last reviewed September 2026.

Arizona, by trade.

The rules above apply to everyone. Here’s what each trade adds.

Plumbing: C‑37 for commercial plumbing, R‑37 or R‑37R for residential, or a dual CR‑37 or CR‑77 for both.
plumbing in Arizona
HVAC: No HVAC class. C‑39 covers air conditioning and refrigeration, C‑79 adds solar, and C‑58 covers heating and evaporative cooling. R‑39 and CR‑39 for homes.
HVAC in Arizona
Electrical: C‑11 for commercial electrical, R‑11 for residential, or CR‑11 for both on one license.
electrical in Arizona
General contractors: An ROC general contractor license, residential, commercial or dual, matched to the projects you build.
general contractors in Arizona
Handyman: Small jobs under $1,000, with no permit and not part of a larger project, can fall under the exemption. Bigger work needs a license.
handyman work in Arizona

Sources: Arizona Registrar of Contractors license classifications, A.R.S. §32-1121. Last reviewed September 2026.

what’s different
about Arizona.

Bonds come from a table.
Arizona doesn’t set bonds case by case. License type and yearly volume pick the amount, so a plumber and an electrician at the same volume carry the same bond.
The bond isn’t insurance.
It protects the public. When a claim is paid from it, the bond company looks to you to pay it back. General liability is the policy that protects you.

good to know.

Straight answers for Arizona contractors.

Does Arizona require contractors to carry insurance?

Only workers’ comp, once you have an employee. The Registrar of Contractors says that apart from workers’ comp, it doesn’t require insurance to license you. It does require the license bond. General liability is a contract requirement, not a license one, and most GCs, property managers and landlords ask for it before work starts.

Is the Arizona contractor bond different for each trade?

No. The ROC table sets the bond by license type, residential or commercial, specialty or general, and by the yearly volume you expect. A residential plumber and a residential electrician at the same volume carry the same bond. What differs by trade is the license class and the work it allows.

Do Arizona contractors need workers’ comp for one employee?

Yes. Arizona requires workers’ comp for a business that regularly employs workers, starting with the first one. The state looks at how the work really happens, not the title on the invoice. A helper who works your schedule, uses your tools and is paid by you is usually an employee.

Sources: Arizona Registrar of Contractors, A.R.S. §32-1152, A.R.S. §23-902. Last reviewed September 2026.

Insurance words, in plain English: license and permit bond · certificate of insurance · waiver of subrogation · completed operations · ghost policy · performance and payment bond · additional insured · primary and noncontributory