A.R.S. 32-1122: Arizona Contractor License Qualifications

A contractor license in Arizona is not handed out for filling in a form and paying a fee. A.R.S. 32-1122 sets the bar an applicant has to clear: real trade experience, a passed exam, and a bond on file. The experience and exam attach to a person called the qualifying party, who is the licensed expertise behind the business. Understanding this section tells you what a properly licensed builder has already proven before they ever pull a permit on your home.

What this statute says

The heart of the section is the experience and exam requirement carried by the qualifying party. The applicant must show, through that person, at least four years of hands-on or management trade experience and must pass a written exam covering the trade, construction law, and business basics. Here is the operative language on experience:

a minimum of four years' practical or management trade experience, at least two of which must have been within the immediately preceding ten years, dealing specifically with the type of construction or its equivalent for which the applicant has applied for a license.

The exam side requires passing a written test taken within the two years before the application, showing competency in the trade plus construction law and business administration. The applicant also has to submit and keep the bond required for that license class.

What this means for you

When you hire a B-licensed builder for a custom home in Phoenix or Casa Grande, this section is why you can trust the license number. Behind that number is a qualifying party who proved four years of experience and passed a state exam on building, law, and running a contracting business. For example, a framing superintendent with six years on residential job sites can serve as the qualifying party for a general residential license, as long as at least two of those years fall in the last ten and they pass the exam.

The bond requirement is the part that protects your wallet. Every licensed contractor posts a contractor bond sized to their license class. That bond gives you a way to recover money if the work goes wrong in certain ways. The qualifying party rules also screen out bad actors. A person cannot qualify a license if they did unlicensed contracting or had a license denied or revoked within the prior year, and a minor cannot be a qualifying party. This is the gate that keeps the license worth something.

How this connects to the rest of the law

This section answers the "how do I get one" question that follows the contractor definition in A.R.S. 32-1101 and the classification choice in A.R.S. 32-1102 . Once an applicant qualifies, the license is issued under A.R.S. 32-1124 and the fees are set by A.R.S. 32-1126 . The whole process runs through the Arizona Registrar of Contractors . To check that a builder actually holds a current license, see how to verify an Arizona contractor license with the ROC .

Full text and source

Read the current version, including every application requirement and any amendments, on the legislature's site: View A.R.S. 32-1122 on azleg.gov .

Whether a specific applicant qualifies depends on the facts, so confirm with the ROC before relying on it.