Plumbing Contractor License in Arkansas: Requirements, Qualifier, Bond and Exams
Yes and no: Arkansas licenses plumbers statewide through the Arkansas Department of Health, but our research found no separate state plumbing contractor license.
On what we found, a plumbing company contracts under a master plumber license — 5 years' experience plus 1 full year as a licensed journeyman before the master exam.
The Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board adds two licenses by project size: commercial work of $50,000 or more, and home improvement work over $2,000.
Our research found no bond or insurance requirement for plumbing contractors; ask ADH and the ACLB.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
No separate plumbing contractor license that our research found: a plumbing business contracts under an ADH master plumber license, and the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board adds contractor licenses by project size.
The Arkansas Department of Health, Plumbing & Natural Gas section (State Committee of Plumbing Examiners), for plumber licenses; the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board for commercial and home improvement contractor licenses.
Individual licenses at ADH: apprentice, journeyman and master, plus restricted licenses.
At the ACLB: a commercial contractor license (business and law test) and a home improvement (specialty) contractor license.
A master plumber, in what our research found: 5 years' experience plus 1 full year as a licensed journeyman before the master exam.
Apprentices route in under a master plumber through the state's Apprentice Plumber training program.
ADH's journeyman and master plumber exams; the vendor was not named in the documents we read.
The business and law test in our sources belongs to the ACLB commercial license.
Not established in our research: we found no bond or insurance requirement for plumbing contractors in what we checked.
Ask ADH, and the ACLB for its licenses.
Master plumber $125 application + $200 license, journeyman $75 + $75, apprentice $25 per year (January 2026 fees).
Journeyman and master licenses expire December 31 each year; CE hours were not found in our research.
Exam approval, not license transfer: out-of-state plumbers licensed where laws are substantially similar may be approved to sit Arkansas's exam, and automatic licensure covers qualifying new residents and uniformed-service members.
Oklahoma reports a 2024 plumbing agreement with Arkansas; Arkansas's own pages do not mention it.
The Arkansas plumbing license ladder
- Apprentice PlumberEntry level
Registered with the Arkansas Department of Health under a master plumber and enrolled in the state's Apprentice Plumber training program.
- Journeyman PlumberJourneyman
The ADH license earned by sitting the journeyman exam with 4 years' experience or its equivalent; it must be held 1 full year before the master exam.
- Master PlumberMaster
The top individual ADH plumbing license — 5 years' experience plus 1 full year as a licensed journeyman to sit the exam, and the license our research found Arkansas plumbing businesses contracting under.
- Home Improvement (Specialty) ContractorSpecialty
The Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board license for specialty work on a single-family residence when the project is more than $2,000 in labor and materials.
- Commercial ContractorContractor
The Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board license, which comes with a business and law test, for work of $50,000 or more on any project other than a single-family residence.
Does Arkansas license plumbing contractors statewide, or only locally?
Statewide licensing exists, but not at the business level that our research found.
Arkansas licenses plumbers statewide through the Arkansas Department of Health — the Plumbing & Natural Gas section and its State Committee of Plumbing Examiners — with apprentice, journeyman and master licenses plus restricted licenses for gas fitting, water and sewer service line, hospital maintenance and governmental maintenance work.
Our research found no separate state plumbing contractor license for the company — the ADH fee schedule we checked lists no business or contractor license class — so on what we found, a plumbing business contracts under its master plumber license.
Project size can add a second, business-level license from the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board.
Which agency issues the license, and what are the classes?
Two agencies matter, and they license different things.
The Arkansas Department of Health issues the plumber licenses themselves: apprentice, journeyman and master, plus the restricted licenses — but the fee schedule we checked lists no plumbing contractor or business license class.
The Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, a separate board, licenses the business side by project size: a commercial contractor license for work of $50,000 or more, which comes with a business and law test, and a home improvement license for specialty work on a single-family residence when the project is more than $2,000.
So the classes you will deal with are the individual ADH licenses and, depending on your jobs, one or both ACLB licenses.
Who can be the qualifier, and what experience do they need?
Arkansas's qualifier is the master plumber — the license our research found behind a plumbing business.
The master plumber exam takes a minimum of 5 years' experience, and a candidate must hold the journeyman license 1 full year before sitting it; the journeyman exam itself takes 4 years' experience or its equivalent.
The route in runs through registration: an apprentice registers under an Arkansas master plumber and completes the state's Apprentice Plumber training program, and completers can be considered for the journeyman exam.
An unlicensed applicant who was not in that program documents the years with notarized affidavits from current or former employers, and only legal work history counts.
Whether one master plumber may qualify more than one business is not established in our research — ask ADH before you structure two companies around one license.
“An applicant for the Master Plumber examination shall have a minimum of five (5) years' experience and an applicant for Journeyman Plumber examination licensing shall have a minimum of four (4) years' experience or its equivalent.”
Which exams must be passed (trade and business & law)?
Two ADH exams sit on the qualifier's path: the journeyman plumber exam, open to applicants with 4 years' experience or its equivalent, and the master plumber exam, which takes 5 years and a full year already spent as a licensed journeyman.
The documents we read name no exam vendor, no continuing-education hours for journeymen or masters, and no code edition year — Arkansas's Plumbing and Fuel Gas Codes are state editions published by the International Code Council, but the pages we read do not give the edition.
On the business and law side, our research found no such exam for the ADH plumbing licenses; the one business and law test in our sources belongs to the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board's commercial license for work of $50,000 or more.
What bond and insurance are required?
Our research did not find a bond or insurance requirement for Arkansas plumbing contractors — none for plumbers or plumbing businesses, and none for the ACLB's commercial or home improvement licenses in what we checked.
Treat that as a gap in our research rather than proof that no requirement exists: ask the Department of Health's Plumbing & Natural Gas section what it requires of the master plumber behind your business, and ask the ACLB what it requires of commercial and home improvement licensees before you bid.
What does it cost, and how often is it renewed?
The fees that matter are the qualifier's.
Per the Department of Health's January 2026 fee schedule, a master plumber pays a $125 application fee plus a $200 license fee, a journeyman pays $75 plus $75, and an apprentice registration is $25 per year.
Journeyman and master licenses expire on December 31 each year, so the license behind your business renews annually.
The documents we read state no continuing-education hours for journeymen or masters — confirm the renewal requirements with ADH.
The ACLB's fees for its commercial and home improvement licenses were not in our sources; ask the board.
“MASTER $125.00 $200.00 31-DEC”
Does Arkansas have reciprocity with other states?
Arkansas's plumbing rules describe exam approval, not automatic reciprocity.
The State Committee of Plumbing Examiners approves an out-of-state applicant for the master, journeyman or restricted plumber exam when the applicant is currently licensed in a state whose laws are substantially similar — an exam seat, not a license transfer.
Separate from reciprocity, Arkansas grants automatic licensure to qualifying new residents and uniformed-service members.
One more data point: Oklahoma reports a 2024 plumbing reciprocity agreement with Arkansas, but Arkansas's own plumbing pages do not mention it, so treat the agreement as one state's account and confirm your situation with ADH before you rely on it.
“The State Committee of Plumbing Examiners shall approve an applicant for Master or Journeyman or Restricted Plumber examination provided that the applicant is currently licensed”
What happens if your qualifier leaves?
The qualification behind an Arkansas plumbing business, in what our research found, is one person's master plumber license.
What our research did not establish is what happens when that person leaves: we found no ADH deadline for naming a replacement master plumber, no grace period, and no rule on whether one master plumber may back several companies — ask the Department of Health's Plumbing & Natural Gas section before you are in that position.
What is dated is the license itself: journeyman and master licenses expire on December 31 each year, so the qualifier's license renewal is an annual date on your calendar.
Line up the next master plumber before the current one gives notice.
Is there a job-value threshold that adds a second license?
Yes — two dollar thresholds decide when the business itself needs an Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board license on top of the master plumber.
A commercial license, which comes with a business and law test, is needed for work of $50,000 or more, including labor and materials, on a commercial project.
A home improvement license is needed for specialty work on a single-family residence when the project is more than $2,000.
Whether the home improvement rule applies to a company that already runs on an ADH master plumber was not verified in our research, so ask the ACLB which registrations your mix of work needs.
You can check a contractor license on the board's Find A Licensed Contractor page.
“A commercial license is needed if a contractor performs work of $50,000 or more, including, but not limited to, labor and materials, on a commercial project.”
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Arkansas board pages, statutes, rules and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state plumbing contractor licensing series, current as of September 2026.
It is not a substitute for the instructions the Arkansas Department of Health, Plumbing & Natural Gas section (State Committee of Plumbing Examiners); Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board for commercial and home improvement licenses publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Arkansas, see HVAC contractor licensing in Arkansas and plumbing licensing in Arkansas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Arkansas have a plumbing contractor license?
None at the state level that our research found.
The Arkansas Department of Health licenses individual plumbers — apprentice, journeyman and master — and we found no separate business or plumbing contractor license in its fee schedule.
On what we found, a plumbing company runs on its master plumber's license.
Two Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board licenses do attach to the business by project size: the commercial license for work of $50,000 or more, and the home improvement license for single-family specialty work over $2,000.
Does a master plumber license exempt me from Arkansas contractor licensing?
Our research did not verify an exemption.
Whether the ACLB's home improvement license rule applies to a company already running on an ADH master plumber was not verified in our research.
What is fixed is the trigger: the commercial license for work of $50,000 or more on a commercial project, and the home improvement license for single-family specialty work over $2,000.
Ask the ACLB directly which registrations your mix of work requires before you bid.
How do you look up an Arkansas plumbing contractor's license?
Two official searches cover the two boards.
The Arkansas Department of Health's public plumbing license search (adhplumbinghvacrlookup.arkansas.gov) shows the plumber licenses, including the master plumber behind a business.
The Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board's Find A Licensed Contractor page covers its commercial and home improvement contractor licenses.
Checking both tells you whether the qualifier's plumbing license and the business's contractor registrations are current before you rely on them.
Does Arkansas accept out-of-state plumbing licenses?
Not directly.
The State Committee of Plumbing Examiners approves out-of-state plumbers licensed in states with substantially similar laws to sit Arkansas's exam — an exam seat rather than a license transfer.
Arkansas also grants automatic licensure to qualifying new residents and uniformed-service members.
Oklahoma reports a 2024 plumbing reciprocity agreement with Arkansas, but Arkansas's own plumbing pages do not mention it, so confirm any agreement with ADH before you rely on it.
Does an Arkansas plumbing license cover LP gas work?
No. LP gas work is licensed separately by the Arkansas Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board, not the Department of Health's plumbing program.
Gas fitter restricted licenses do exist on the plumbing side, but if your business installs or services liquid propane systems, contact the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board about its licensing before you bid that work.
More Arkansas Resources
Sources
- Arkansas Department of Health: Plumbing & Natural Gas / Health Code page (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Arkansas Department of Health: Plumbing Licensing Rules (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Arkansas Department of Health: Instructions for Plumber Exam Applications (January 2026) (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board: apply for a contractor's license or registration (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Oklahoma Construction Industries Board: Arkansas plumbing reciprocity agreement (retrieved 2026-09-29)
Sourced from the documents listed above.
Verified September 2026.
This is career information, not legal advice.
Confirm current rules with the Arkansas Department of Health, Plumbing & Natural Gas section (State Committee of Plumbing Examiners); Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board for commercial and home improvement licenses.