Transfer Your Contractor License to Arkansas: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (Dept. of Labor and Licensing); trades via the Board of Electrical Examiners, HVAC/R Licensing Board, and Dept. of Health plumbing program ↗
Arkansas offers trade-specific reciprocity through the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (Dept. of Labor and Licensing); trades via the Board of Electrical Examiners, HVAC/R Licensing Board, and Dept. of Health plumbing program, covering general building, electrical work for licensees from states including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alaska, and others. These agreements waive the relevant trade exam — not the business and law exam, bond, or registration. Fee: $100 (ACLB commercial/Residential-Builder license filing fee is $100 per the board's application (Residential Remodeler/Home Improvement $50); electrical, plumbing, and HVAC/R licenses carry separate agency fees not captured.). Select your trade and origin in the checker for the exact answer.
Moving to Arkansas from a specific state?
Pick your current state — the checker returns your exact pathway.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Read Arkansas's agreements one trade at a time — that is the mistake most contractors make here. A deal that waives the electrical exam says nothing about general building, and a commercial agreement rarely covers residential work. The tables below separate them so you can see exactly which of your licenses travels and which does not.
No single statewide license spans all trades. The Contractors Licensing Board covers commercial and residential building and — unusually — WAIVES its Business & Law exam for reciprocal applicants from AL, TN, LA, MS, or NC held 1+ year. Electrical is a broad NERA-style journeyman reciprocity (16 states); HVAC/R has no reciprocity; plumbing (Dept. of Health) has only a discretionary substantially-similar path. The ACLB reciprocal-form PDF is not machine-readable, so its state list was confirmed via the board's own reciprocal-form description on labor.arkansas.gov.
Arkansas requirements at a glance
| Exam | The Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (commercial and residential building) waives the Arkansas Business & Law exam for an applicant who has held a current license at least one year in Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, or North Carolina (a completed reciprocal form substitutes for the test score). The Board of Electrical Examiners has broad NERA-style journeyman reciprocity with 16 states (master-to-master only with Iowa, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas). The HVAC/R Licensing Board has no reciprocity, and plumbing (Dept. of Health) offers only discretionary 'substantially similar' recognition. |
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| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | $100 (ACLB commercial/Residential-Builder license filing fee is $100 per the board's application (Residential Remodeler/Home Improvement $50); electrical, plumbing, and HVAC/R licenses carry separate agency fees not captured.) |
| Processing time | Not stated on official pages. |
Step by step
- Confirm Arkansas's current requirements on the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (Dept. of Labor and Licensing); trades via the Board of Electrical Examiners, HVAC/R Licensing Board, and Dept. of Health plumbing program website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (Dept. of Labor and Licensing); trades via the Board of Electrical Examiners, HVAC/R Licensing Board, and Dept. of Health plumbing program (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Building trades: hold a current license 1+ year in AL, TN, LA, MS, or NC and file the ACLB reciprocal form, verified by the origin state, in lieu of the Business & Law exam.
- Trade classifications (electrical, plumbing, HVAC/R) must separately meet the requirements of the responsible Arkansas agency.
- Electrical reciprocity accepts only an original (non-reciprocated) license from a listed state; Wyoming requires a USDOL apprenticeship of 576+ classroom hours.
- Pay the fees ($100 (ACLB commercial/Residential-Builder license filing fee is $100 per the board's application (Residential Remodeler/Home Improvement $50); electrical, plumbing, and HVAC/R licenses carry separate agency fees not captured.)) and allow Not stated on official pages..
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Arkansas:
Frequently asked questions
Does my contractor license transfer to Arkansas?
Arkansas offers trade-specific reciprocity through the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (Dept. of Labor and Licensing); trades via the Board of Electrical Examiners, HVAC/R Licensing Board, and Dept. of Health plumbing program, covering general building, electrical work for licensees from states including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alaska, and others. These agreements waive the relevant trade exam — not the business and law exam, bond, or registration. Fee: $100 (ACLB commercial/Residential-Builder license filing fee is $100 per the board's application (Residential Remodeler/Home Improvement $50); electrical, plumbing, and HVAC/R licenses carry separate agency fees not captured.). Select your trade and origin in the checker for the exact answer.
Which states does Arkansas have general building contractor reciprocity with?
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee (verified 2026-07-21 against the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (Dept. of Labor and Licensing); trades via the Board of Electrical Examiners, HVAC/R Licensing Board, and Dept. of Health plumbing program). Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board; a completed reciprocal form substitutes for the Arkansas Business & Law exam if the license was held 1+ year in the listed state
Which states does Arkansas have electrical contractor reciprocity with?
Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming (verified 2026-07-21 against the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (Dept. of Labor and Licensing); trades via the Board of Electrical Examiners, HVAC/R Licensing Board, and Dept. of Health plumbing program). Board of Electrical Examiners journeyman reciprocity; master-to-master only with Iowa, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas — otherwise a master reciprocates as a journeyman. Only an original license from the issuing state qualifies
Does reciprocity waive all of Arkansas's requirements?
No. Arkansas's reciprocity waives the relevant trade exam only; the business/law exam, financial statement, bond, and insurance still apply.
What does a Arkansas contractor license cost and how long does it take?
$100 (ACLB commercial/Residential-Builder license filing fee is $100 per the board's application (Residential Remodeler/Home Improvement $50); electrical, plumbing, and HVAC/R licenses carry separate agency fees not captured.); processing Not stated on official pages..
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board — Reciprocal Form (AL, TN, LA, MS, NC; 1 year held; substitutes for Business & Law exam) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Arkansas Electrical Inspection and Licensing — reciprocal agreements (journeyman 16 states; master IA/ND/OR/TX; original license only) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Arkansas HVAC/R (Dept. of Labor and Licensing) — no reciprocal agreements with any other state ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Arkansas Dept. of Health — Plumbing & Natural Gas (discretionary substantially-similar recognition, no formal reciprocity) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]