A.R.S. 32-1101: What Counts as a Contractor in Arizona

Before Arizona can tell you that you need a contractor license, it has to define what a contractor is. A.R.S. 32-1101 does that. The definition is wide on purpose: if you take money to build, change, or tear down almost any structure, or you run the crew that does, the law treats you as a contractor and the licensing rules in the rest of Chapter 10 apply to you. This page explains who the definition catches, who it misses, and why that matters when you build a home in the Phoenix or Scottsdale area.

What this statute says

The core idea is that contractor status follows the work and the pay, not the job title. The statute reaches anyone who, for compensation, undertakes to build, alter, repair, add to, move, wreck, or demolish a building or structure. Here is the operative language:

"Contractor" ... means any person ... that, for compensation, undertakes to or offers to undertake to, or purports to have the capacity to undertake to, or submits a bid to, or does himself or by or through others, construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building, highway, road, railroad, excavation or other structure.

The phrase "by or through others" is the part that surprises people. You are a contractor even if you never swing a hammer yourself, as long as you supervise the work or hire and pay the trades. The statute spells this out by including subcontractors, specialty contractors, floor covering contractors, hardscape contractors, and project management consultants who oversee construction or control hiring and buying.

What this means for you

If you are building a custom home, this definition is the reason your builder, framer, plumber, electrician, and even your pool company all carry an ROC license number. A real example: you hire a general contractor to build a 3,200 square foot home in Cave Creek for $850,000. That general contractor is a contractor under 32-1101 for the whole project. The drywall company they bring in for $40,000 is also a contractor, because it repairs and improves a structure for pay. Each one has to be licensed for its scope, not just the person whose name is on the contract.

The definition has limits worth knowing. It does not turn a true material supplier into a contractor if that supplier only sells goods and does not install them. It also carves out an owner who improves their own property, which is the door that the owner-builder exemption walks through. That exemption lives in a separate section, not here.

How this connects to the rest of the law

A.R.S. 32-1101 is the front door of Arizona contractor law. Once you fit this definition, the next questions are which license class you need (see A.R.S. 32-1102 on license classifications ) and whether you qualify for an exemption (see A.R.S. 32-1121 on the owner-builder exemption ). The license itself is administered by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors , the state agency that issues, posts, and disciplines licenses. If you are deciding who to hire, the practical follow-up is how to verify an Arizona contractor license with the ROC .

Full text and source

Read the current version, including the full list of defined terms and any amendments, on the legislature's site: View A.R.S. 32-1101 on azleg.gov .

Whether a specific role or job makes someone a contractor depends on the facts, so confirm your situation with the ROC or a qualified attorney before relying on it.