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How do you check a contractor license in Arizona?

Under Arizona's contractor law, the registrar issues contractor licenses and keeps an indexed record of licenses issued, renewed, terminated, cancelled, revoked or suspended. The license number, preceded by ROC, goes on a contractor's written bids and estimates, and the law tells the registrar to furnish copies of licenses; asking for one is an optional public-record step.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1124, read 17 October 2026.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1104, read 17 October 2026.

The license lookup is yours to run on the state's site.

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Researched by the InstaBids editorial team. Last checked: 17 October 2026

Key facts

What does Arizona law say about contracting without a license?

Arizona's contractor law, in section 32-1151 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, makes it unlawful to work as a contractor, or to offer to, without a contractor's license in good standing, unless the chapter exempts that person or organization.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1151, read 17 October 2026.

The statute, read 17 October 2026, makes it unlawful for anyone to "act or offer to act in the capacity of or purport to have the capacity of a contractor without having a contractor's license in good standing in the name of the person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other organization as provided in this chapter, unless the person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other organization is exempt as provided in this chapter."

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1151, read 17 October 2026.

Where can an Arizona homeowner see a contractor's license number?

On the contractor's own paperwork and job site: section 32-1124 calls for the license number, preceded by ROC, to be posted in a conspicuous place where the work is being done, on written bids and estimates, and on published advertising and letterheads.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1124, read 17 October 2026.

Broadcast, internet and billboard ads can leave the number off if they include a website address that links directly to a website that prominently displays the licensee's name and license number.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1124, read 17 October 2026.

The bid item on the statute's list reads: "On all written bids and estimates submitted by the licensee."

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1124, read 17 October 2026.

A second statute, section 32-1158, covers larger contracts: "Any contract in an amount of more than $1,000 entered into between a contractor and the owner of a property to be improved shall contain in writing at least the following information:"

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1158, read 17 October 2026.

The first item on that list is: "The name of the contractor and the contractor's business address and license number."

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1158, read 17 October 2026.

How can you check a license with Arizona's registrar?

If you want to check, you can ask the registrar for a copy of the license. Section 32-1104 tells the registrar to "Furnish a certified copy of any license issued or an affidavit that no license exists or that a license has been cancelled or suspended, including information as to the status on appeal of such a cancellation or suspension, on receipt of the prescribed fee, and that certified copy or affidavit shall be received in all courts and elsewhere as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein."

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1104, read 17 October 2026.

The same paragraph adds: "Fees charged pursuant to this paragraph are $10 per hour, except that the minimum fee charged pursuant to this paragraph is $10."

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1104, read 17 October 2026.

Section 32-1104 also tells the registrar to keep a complete indexed record of applications and of licenses issued, renewed, terminated, cancelled, revoked or suspended, for at least seven years.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1104, read 17 October 2026.

Section 32-1158 says a contract over the amount quoted above between a contractor and a property owner must contain the registrar's telephone number and website address, so the contract itself shows how to reach the registrar. That paragraph does not apply to a person who is subject to and complies with section 12-1365.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1158, read 17 October 2026.

Does Arizona's small-job exemption cover your project?

Only small work of a casual or minor nature: section 32-1121 exempts a person without a contractor license who works on one undertaking or project, by one or more contracts, whose aggregate contract price, including labor, materials and all other items, is under the limit quoted below. Certain unmodified plug-in or battery-powered electrical fixtures and appliances are left out of that price.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1121, read 17 October 2026.

The statute sets the limit and the kind of work: the price "is less than $1,000. The work or operations that are exempt under this paragraph shall be of a casual or minor nature."

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1121, read 17 October 2026.

The exemption does not apply where the job needs a local building permit: "In any case in which the performance of the work requires a local building permit."

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1121, read 17 October 2026.

It also does not apply where the work is only part of a bigger job, or where a job is divided into contracts under that limit: "In any case in which the work or construction is only a part of a larger or major operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different contractor, or in which a division of the operation is made in contracts of amounts less than $1,000"

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1121, read 17 October 2026.

Nor does it apply, in the statute's words, “To a person who uses any form of advertising to the public in which the person's unlicensed status is not disclosed by including the words "not a licensed contractor" in the advertisement.”

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1121, read 17 October 2026.

Subsection D of section 32-1121 says the exemptions in paragraphs 4, 9 and 14 of subsection A, the small-job one included, do not apply to fire safety work, or to mechanical, electrical and plumbing work done in connection with fire safety installation, maintenance and repair. The statute defines fire safety installation as hardwired or interconnected smoke alarms and fire sprinklers, not an individual device fastened by a nail, screw or other fastening device to the frame or foundation of a residential unit.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1121, read 17 October 2026.

Those exemptions also do not apply to work that involves connecting to any supply of natural gas, propane or other petroleum or gaseous fuel.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1121, read 17 October 2026.

What should you ask an Arizona contractor before you sign?

Ask for a written bid, note the ROC license number on it, and question any claim that the job is too small to need a license; if you want to check the number, ask the registrar for a copy of the license. These are practical suggestions, not rules from the statute.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1124, read 17 October 2026.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1121, read 17 October 2026.
Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1104, read 17 October 2026.

  1. Ask for a written bid or estimate, and note the license number on it, which the law says must be preceded by ROC.

    Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1124, read 17 October 2026.

  2. On a contract over the amount quoted in the contract statute above, look for the contractor's name, business address and license number, and the registrar's telephone number and website address.

    Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1158, read 17 October 2026.

  3. If you want to check the number, ask the registrar for a copy of the license, or for an affidavit that no license exists, and ask what it will cost.

    Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1104, read 17 October 2026.

  4. If you are told no license is needed, ask whether the job needs a local building permit, is part of a bigger job, or involves gas or fire safety work.

    Source: Arizona Revised Statutes, section 32-1121, read 17 October 2026.

  5. Keep the bid, the contract and what you found together, in case you need them later.

Who sees your contact details when you post a job on InstaBids?

One point about InstaBids follows. Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, live-page excerpts, read 17 October 2026.

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