At what project size does Arkansas require a contractor license?

Commercial projects of $50,000 or more and residential projects of $2,000 or more in combined labor and materials both require an Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board license.

Does Arkansas require a contractor bond?

Only for the Commercial Contractors License, at $10,000. Residential Builder, Residential Remodeler, and Home Improvement Specialty licenses do not require a bond, but all types require CPA-documented net worth.

Arkansas contractor license requirements

Arkansas regulates contracting through a state-level general contractor license. This page lays out exactly what Arkansas requires: the licensing agency, who must be licensed, experience, exams, fees, the financial responsibility mechanism, and reciprocity, every figure sourced and dated below.

Who must be licensed in Arkansas

Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (ACLB) is the licensing authority. $50,000 or more for commercial projects; $2,000 or more (labor and materials) for residential projects.

Experience and qualification

No fixed statewide years requirement is published; the ACLB reviews the applicant’s construction background and requires CPA-documented net worth instead of a years-of-experience test.

License classes

Commercial (Commercial Contractor): For commercial projects of $50,000 or more; requires the ACLB bond.
Residential Builder: New home construction.
Residential Remodeler: Remodeling and repair work.
Home Improvement Specialty: The only category exempt from the Business & Law exam.

Exam

All license types except Home Improvement Specialty must pass the Arkansas Business and Law exam (70% passing score) after ACLB pre-approval.

Fees

Filing fee, commercial and residential building: $100
Filing fee, residential remodeler and home improvement: $50
Exam fee: $80

Financial responsibility

Arkansas uses net worth / financial statement ($10,000 bond (commercial only)) as its financial-responsibility mechanism. A $10,000 bond is required only for the Commercial Contractors License. All applicants must also show a positive net worth documented by a licensed CPA.

Reciprocity and the NASCLA exam

Arkansas accepts the NASCLA Accredited Examination for the commercial building classification, confirmed against NASCLA’s own participating-agencies list. If you already hold a NASCLA credential from another participating state, it can satisfy Arkansas’s trade exam requirement (any state-specific business and law exam is still required). See the NASCLA exam explained and contractor license reciprocity for the full picture, and the 50-state comparison for which other states accept it.

Official source

Verify everything at the source: Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (ACLB), www.labor.arkansas.gov. The NASCLA participating-agencies determination above is drawn from NASCLA’s own list, nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24.

Sources: Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (ACLB) (www.labor.arkansas.gov, reviewed 2026-07-28); NASCLA participating state agencies list (nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24). Fee, bond, and experience figures are compiled from the agency's published requirements and current industry compliance guides as of 2026-07-28; treat any figure not independently reconfirmed against a fetched primary-source page as reported pending the next freshness review, per this site's standard practice.