The Arizona Registrar of Contractors (AZ ROC) has an extensive list of contractor license classifications. It can be hard to siphon through each and their responsibilities.
This article will help make getting through the license classifications easier to understand.
AZ ROC License Classification Breakdown
At a high level there are three main categories of licenses.
- Engineering
- General contracting
- Specialty contracting
Each of these three main categories can be broken down into:
- Commercial
- Residential
Finally, AZ ROC has a Dual License that combines the scope of work for both commercial and residential responsibilities.
To break these down so you can navigate the AZ ROC website easier:
| License Type | Classification Code Range |
|---|---|
| Engineering Commercial Contracting | A-4, A-9, A-17 |
| General Dual Engineering Contracting | |
| General Commercial Contracting | B-1, B-2, B, B-3, B-4, B-5, B-6, B-10 |
| Residential Contracting | |
| Specialty Residential Contracting | R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-6, R-7, R-8, R-9, R-10, R-11, R-12, R-13, R-14, R-15, R-16, R-17, R-21, R-22, R-24, R-31, R-34, R-36, R-37, R-37R, R-39, R-39R, R-40, R-41, R-42, R-45, R-48, R-53, R-54, R-56, R-57, R-60, R-61, R-62, R-65, R-67, R-70 |
| Specialty Commercial Contracting | C-1, C-3, C-4, C-6, C-7, C-8, C-9, C-10, C-11, C-12, C-14, C-15, C-16, C-21, C-24, C-31, C-34, C-36, C-37, C-38, C-39, C-40, C-41, C-42, C-45, C-48, C-49, C-53, C-54, C-56, C-57, C-60, C-61, C-65, C-67, C-70, C-74, C-77, C-78, C-79 |
| Dual License Contracting | KB-1, KB-2 |
| Dual Specialty License Contracting | CR-1, CR-2, CR-3, CR-4, CR-6, CR-7, CR-8, CR-9, CR-10, CR-11, CR-12, CR-14, CR-15, CR-16, CR-17, CR-21, CR-24, CR-31, CR-34, CR-36, CR-37, CR-39, CR-40, CR-41, CR-42, CR-45, CR-48, CR-49, CR-53, CR-54, CR-56, CR-57, CR-58, CR-60, CR-61, CR-65, CR-67, CR-69, CR-70, CR-74, CR-77, CR-78, CR-79, CR-80 |
Before I help breakdown each major category, it's important to understand appurtenance.
Understanding An Appurtenance
A right, benefit, privilege, or improvement that allows for the full use and enjoyment of land that belongs to the owner of a dominant estate and may burden a servient estate.
In simple terms, appurtenance describes items attached to a principal prop erty. Examples include:
- Driveways
- Swimming pools
- HVAC systems
- Fences
When a real estate (landowner) improves their property and sells the property, improvement's legal ownership rights are transferred to the new owner. Appurtenance cannot stand alone, it accompanies the primary property.
This is important to understand because Arizona makes specific stipulations based on the contractor license and what appurtenance can and cannot be constructed, remodeled, or repaired.
It gets confusing. Make sure you contact AZ ROC with specific questions for your licensing use case.
Engineering Commercial Contractor
An engineering contractor has specialized skills compared to a general contractor. Some of the specific licenses in this category include:
A-4 Drilling
Large scale drilling for water, gas or oil exploration, plus other drilling specialties. This license's scope or work even includes building rigs, derricks, and substructures including service and repair of pumps and pumping equipment.
A-9Commercial Swimming Pools
This license can construct, service and repair swimming pools and spas. This includes a greater scope of work including water and gas lines from the point of service to the pool and pool equipment.
A-17 Electrical and Transmission Lines
This license can install and repair transmission lines on public right of ways. This includes installing poles, tower lines, and cellular and communication towers.
There are a number of license classifications under the Engineering Commercial contractor. All of these licenses are large scale commercial or public projects.
General Commercial Contracting
A general commercial contractor can build, alter, and repair commercial structures. The big difference is a general contractor is the lead on a project is responsible for subcontracting the individual requirements to the specialize contractors licensed to complete each job.
There are two licenses for General Commercial contractors:
B-1 General Commercial Contractor
This includes all commercial based contracting work.
B-2 General Small Commercial Contractor
Any project with a value of $2 million or less including labor and materials are considered small commercial work.
Residential Contractors
Residential and specialty contractors are where the majority of licenses are issued. Residential contracting includes:
B General Residential Contractor
A license who can contract and repair all or any part of a residential structure or appurtenance, as defined above. Specialized work must be subcontracted out to the appropriate contractor license.
B-3 General Remodeling and Repair Contractor
This license can remodel or repair an existing residential structure or appurtenance. All specialty work must be subcontracted out to the appropriate contractor license except R-7, the carpentry classification.
B-4 General Residential Engineering Contractor
This license is capable of constructing and repairing appurtenances to residential structures.
B-5 General Swimming Pool Contractor
This license can build and repair residential swimming pools and spas. This includes the:
- Installation of code-required pool barrier around pools and spas
- Installation of utilities from the point of service to the pool equipment
All other structures or appurtenances are not included in this license.
B-6 General Swimming Pool Contractor Including Solar
This license includes the full scope of work of a B-5 license (above), but allows for solar pool heating devices.
B-10 Pre-Manufactured Spas and Hot Tubs
This license can construct and repair spas and hot tubs, including the installation of related barriers and utilities.
Specialty Residential Contracting
Arizona has 22 specialty residential contracting license classifications. Here's the full list:
- R-1 Acoustical Systems
- R-2 Excavating, Grading, and Oil Surfacing
- R-3 Awnings, Canopies, Carports and Patio Covers
- R-4 Boilers and Solar
- R-6 Swimming Pool Service and Repair
- R-7 Carpentry
- R-8 Floor Covering
- R-9 Concrete
- R-10 Drywall
- R-11 Electrical
- R-12 Elevators
- R-13 Asphalt Paving
- R-14 Fencing
- R-15 Blasting
- R-16 Fire Protection Systems
- R-17 Structural Steel and Aluminum
- R-21 Hardscaping and Irrigation Systems
- R-22 House Moving
- R-24 Ornamental Metals
- R-31 Masonry
- R-34 Painting and Wall Covering
- R-36 Plastering
- R-37 Plumbing Including Solar Systems
- R-37R Plumbing
- R-39 Air Conditioning and Refrigeration and Solar Systems
- R-39R Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
- R-40 Insulation
- R-41 Septic Tanks and Systems
- R-42 Roofing
- R-45 Sheet Metal
- R-48 Ceramic, Plastic and Metal Tile
- R-53 Drilling
- R-54 Water Conditioning Equipment
- R-56 Welding
- R-57 Wrecking
- R-60 Finish Carpentry
- R-61 Carpentry, Remodeling and Repairs
- R-62 Minor Home Improvements
- R-65 Glazing
- R-67 Low Voltage Communication Systems
- R-70 Reinforcing Bar and Wire Mesh
Arizona has strict rules on each specialty contractor license.
For example...
An "R-21 Hardscaping and Irrigation Systems" license allows building and repairing uncovered patios, walkways, driveways made from brick, stone, pavers, or gravel. However, if the job required a concrete driveway an "R-9 Concrete License" is required to complete the job.
Make sure you think about the scope of work you plan on completing. This will help dictate which license or licenses you must obtain.
Specialty Commercial Contractors
Similar to a Specialty Residential Contractor license, there are 22 specialty commercial licenses.
- C-1 Acoustical Systems
- C-3 Awnings, Canopies, Carports and Patio Covers
- C-4 Boilers and Solar
- C-6 Swimming Pool Service and Repair
- C-7 Carpentry
- C-8 Floor Covering
- C-9 Concrete
- C-10 Drywall
- C-11 Electrical
- C-12 Elevators
- C-14 Fencing
- C-15 Blasting
- C-16 Fire Protection Systems
- C-21 Hardscaping and Irrigation Systems
- C-24 Ornamental Metals
- C-31 Masonry
- C-34 Painting and Wall Covering
- C-36 Plastering
- C-37 Plumbing Including Solar Systems
- C-38 Signs
- C-39 Air Conditioning and Refrigeration and Solar Systems
- C-40 Insulation
- C-41 Septic Tanks and Systems
- C-42 Roofing
- C-45 Sheet Metal
- C-48 Ceramic, Plastic and Metal Tile
- C-49 Refrigeration
- C-53 Water Well Drilling
- C-54 Water Conditioning Equipment
- C-56 Welding
- C-57 Wrecking
- C-58 Comfort Heating, Ventilating, and Evaporative Cooling
- C-60 Finish Carpentry
- C-61 Carpentry, Remodeling and Repairs
- C-65 Glazing
- C-67 Low Voltage Communication Systems
- C-70 Reinforcing Bar and Wire Mesh
- C-74 Boilers, Steamfitting, and Process Piping (including solar)
- C-77 Plumbing (including solar)
- C-78 Solar Plumbing - Liquid Systems Only
- C-79 Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (including solar)
Dual Licenses
Dual licenses combine commercial responsibilities with residential.
General Dual Engineering Contractors
KA Dual Engineering
Includes the scope of work from A General Engineering and B-4 General Residential Engineering.
KA-5 Dual Swimming Pool Contractor
Includes the scope of work from commercial A-9 Swimming Pools and residential B-5 General Swimming Pool licenses.
KA-6 Dual Swimming Pool Including Solar
The full scope of work for a KA-5, but including both commercial A-19 and residential B-6 which allow for social heating system installation.
General Dual License Contracting
KB-1 Dual Building Contractor
Includes the scope of work permitted by the B-1 General Commercial Contractor and the B General Residential Contractor.
KB-2 Dual Residential and Small Commercial
Includes the scope of work permitted by the B-2 General Small Commercial license and the B General Residential Contractor.
Specialty Dual License Contracting
Following a similar license structure, Speciality Dual Licenses combine the ability for a specialty contractor to obtain both commercial and residential work in the given specialty.
There are 25 Specialty Dual Licenses, each similar to the specialty licenses listed above.
There Are a Lot of License Classifications In Arizona
Arizona has strict and well defined licensing classifications compared to many other states. This will take work on your part to define what your contracting business will be responsible for.
This will impact the final cost of obtaining your contractor license or licenses in Arizona.
Remember, the classifications break into three high level categories:
- Engineering
- General Contracting
- Speciality Contracting
Each of these three main categories can be broken down into:
- Commercial
- Residential
You can obtain a Dual License allowing for both commercial and residential work to be completed.
I hope this helped you think about how to narrow down getting to the appropriate license for your contracting business.
Keep in mind, each license has a specific number of years of experience required. This experience can be zero up to four years depending on whether you take the available trade exams. Some licenses require both experience and examination. Here's a full list of the licenses and the years of experience required.
Make sure you contact the Arizona Registrar of Contractors with any question you have. It's best to clarify with them for the definitive answer.
The costs to obtain a license comes down to the Arizona contractor license bond, examination costs, and application and license fees. Make sure you read our post breaking down these costs.
When it comes to getting the required contractor bond, Surety Bonds Direct can help. Many contractor bonds for Arizona can be purchased at a fixed price, for a fixed term. All bonds are continuous to meet AZ ROC requirements.
When the time is right, you can purchase your bond or request a free quote if required. Surety Bonds Direct has bond specialists who have experience helping Arizona contractors purchase their surety bond for the lowest cost, at 1-800-608-9950.
