Kentucky to Arkansas: residential contractor license reciprocity
Kentucky does not issue a statewide residential contractor license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Arkansas's standard path for out-of-state applicants.
Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Out-of-state residential contractor without a reciprocal agreement (all states except AL, LA, MS, NC and TN)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
A home builder or remodeler licensed in a state that has no reciprocal agreement with Arkansas files the ordinary new application for the license wanted and is reviewed by the Residential Contractors Committee case by case. The out-of-state license still helps: under 17 CAR § 295-107(d) an applicant who holds a substantially equivalent license in good standing in another jurisdiction is not required to demonstrate experience, which removes the four-year builder or two-year remodeler showing and the three reference forms, and 17 CAR § 295-101 allows a ninety-day temporary license on a completed application while the full application is reviewed. What is not removed is the Arkansas Business and Law examination, a fifty-question, two-hour open-book examination delivered by PSI on the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, Arkansas Edition, which the qualifying party must pass before the license is released. The applicant also files a compiled balance sheet showing positive net worth (not required of a limited remodeler), Secretary of State filings for the entity, and a workers' compensation certificate if the business has employees. A separate route exists for anyone who has established residence in Arkansas: Ark. Code Ann. § 17-7-104 obliges the Board to grant automatic occupational licensure to the holder in good standing for one year of a similar-scope license from another state, although the Board may still require the state-law examination and must still require the financial statement.
Arkansas has no trade examination for a residential contractor license; the Arkansas Business and Law examination is the only examination the Committee requires, which is why examTradeRequired is false and examLawRequired is true. The Board does not publish the passing score for that examination, the number of attempts allowed, or a processing time; applications must reach the Board three weeks before a committee meeting and must be completed within ninety days of receipt or the filing fee is forfeited. Uniformed service members, veterans and their spouses who hold a similar out-of-state license are exempt from both the experience showing and the examination under 17 CAR § 295-116(c). The Board's published NASCLA material covers the Commercial General Building Contractor examination and is authored on the general level of this page; whether it will also be accepted as 'the appropriate examination' in place of residential experience under 17 CAR § 295-107(a)(1)(C) is not stated in any Board document, so ask the Board at (501) 372-4661 before paying for that examination. Roofing is licensed separately under Ark. Code Ann. § 17-25-601 et seq.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- Your Kentucky license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have held your Kentucky license for at least 1 year.Applies only to the automatic occupational licensure route in Ark. Code Ann. § 17-7-104, which is open to an applicant who has established residence in Arkansas and has held a similar-scope license in good standing for one year. There is no minimum holding period on the ordinary application.
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
- You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Four years of verifiable experience in the building industry, commercial or residential, for a Residential Building Contractor license, or two years in the remodeling industry for a Residential Remodeler license. The rule states the requirement in years; out-of-state work counts, and the requirement is waived altogether for an applicant holding a substantially equivalent out-of-state license in good standing.
What you'll do to get licensed in Arkansas
- 1Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. Arkansas Business and Law examination, taken by the qualifying party and scheduled with PSI Services LLC: fifty multiple-choice questions, two hours, open book, tested only from the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, Arkansas Edition. Results are given immediately and it is the candidate's responsibility to get the passing score to the Board. The Board does not publish the passing score..
- 2Application fee. Pay the application fee ($100). Non-refundable, non-transferable filing fee of $100 for a Residential Builders new application, or $50 for a Residential Remodeler new application, payable to the Contractors Licensing Board. Ark. Code Ann. § 17-25-512(a) caps the fee at $100. A sole proprietor on certain public assistance, recently approved for unemployment, or with household income under 200% of the federal poverty guidelines may apply for an initial fee waiver..
- 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($84). $84 paid to PSI Services LLC when the Arkansas Business and Law examination is scheduled. Examination fees are not refundable or transferable..
- 4Financial responsibility. Show financial responsibility. Compiled balance sheet less than one year old, in the name of the applicant entity, sworn true and correct and showing positive net worth. A sole proprietor may file a personal balance sheet but must exclude the personal residence, retirement accounts, stocks and bonds and the cash value of life insurance; a corporation, partnership or LLC must file a business statement, and a Schedule L from the corporate tax return is accepted. Income statements are not accepted. The Board sets no minimum net worth figure for residential licenses, only that net worth be positive. A limited residential remodeler files no financial statement but may not take a project of $50,000 or more..
- 5Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Current certificate of workers' compensation insurance if the applicant has one or more employees. Ark. Code Ann. § 17-25-514 requires a contractor licensed by the Residential Contractors Committee to secure and maintain coverage under § 11-9-401 et seq. The license can be approved but not released without the certificate..
- 6Business license. Obtain a business license. The license is issued to a legal entity, so a corporation, LLC, LP or LLP must file its Articles or filings from the Secretary of State's office with the application, together with any fictitious name registration. An out-of-state entity must therefore be registered to do business in Arkansas before the license issues..
- 7Other. Three reference forms completed by the referees themselves, not by the applicant, showing four years of building experience for a builder license or two years of remodeling experience for a remodeler license, and no more than ninety days old. References from a supplier or banker are accepted only if that person has observed the work. This requirement falls away for an applicant holding a substantially equivalent out-of-state license in good standing under 17 CAR § 295-107(d)..
- 8Other. Ninety-day temporary license: an applicant who holds a substantially equivalent license in good standing in another jurisdiction may file the temporary license application and fee alongside the new application and work while the full application is reviewed. The Board does not publish the temporary license fee. (if applicable).
Published fees on this path total $184, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Exam preparation
Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.
- Law / code exam
- Exam fee · $84
Liability insurance
Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.
- Insurance
Business registration
If you plan to contract in your own name, budget for a business license or entity registration on top of the trade license.
- Business license
How Arkansas licenses residential contractors
Arkansas residential contractor · “Residential Building Contractor (also Residential Remodeler, Limited or Unlimited)”
Statewide license
Issued by Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Residential Contractors Committee
Arkansas licenses home builders statewide through the Residential Contractors Committee of the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, under Ark. Code Ann. § 17-25-501 et seq. A Residential Building Contractor license covers new construction of a single-family residence of one to four units, and a Residential Remodeler license covers alterations, additions, repairs and demolition on an existing single-family residence; either is required once the cost of the work, including labor and material, exceeds $2,000, and that threshold cannot be avoided by splitting a job into smaller contracts. The license belongs to the business rather than the person: it is issued to an individual, corporation, LLC, partnership, LP or LLP and is supported by a qualifying party, an owner, officer, actively engaged member or full-time employee who personally passes the examination, so an inbound builder applies as or for the entity that will sign contracts. Eligibility rests on four years of verifiable building experience for a builder license or two years for a remodeler license, evidenced by three references from people who have seen the work, plus the Arkansas Business and Law examination, a compiled balance sheet showing positive net worth, and workers' compensation cover if the business has employees. An applicant who already holds a substantially equivalent license in good standing in another jurisdiction does not have to demonstrate experience at all, and five states have signed reciprocal agreements that go further and waive the examination as well. A commercial license issued by the Board automatically authorizes residential work in the same classification, so some inbound contractors need only one license.
Why Kentucky has nothing to transfer
Kentucky residential contractor · “Building or residential contractor license or registration (city- or county-issued)”
Licensed by cities and counties
Issued by No state authority; cities and counties license or register residential building contractors
Kentucky issues no statewide residential building, home builder or home improvement contractor license, so an out-of-state residential builder has nothing at state level to transfer and no state reciprocity to apply for. What Kentucky does license is the trades: the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (HBC) says on its own home page that it "licenses/certifies plumbers, electricians, boiler contractors, sprinkler and/or fire alarm contractors and building inspectors", and its administrative regulations in Title 815 add heating, ventilation and air conditioning licensing, elevator safety, boilers and pressure vessels, manufactured homes and home inspectors. Anyone self-performing plumbing, electrical, HVAC, boiler or fire-protection work in Kentucky needs the matching HBC license whatever the local building rules say, and that is where the state-level reciprocity conversation belongs. Housing work itself is licensed jurisdiction by jurisdiction and the rules differ sharply: Louisville Metro issues a Building Type A - Residential contractor license with six hours of continuing education before each renewal, Lexington-Fayette registers a "general contractor, residential only" class under its Contractors Registration Ordinance, and the joint Bowling Green - Warren County Contractors Licensing Board issues a General Contractors License for remodeling and building. Owensboro and Covington sit at the other end: neither publishes a contractor competency license at all, and a builder there files an occupational business license and carries insurance instead. None of these credentials involves a trade or business-law exam, and none of them gives any weight to a license held in another state, so the practical work is registering in each place where permits will be pulled and carrying the insurance each one demands.
How local licensing works in Kentucky
How local licensing works. No Kentucky agency licenses residential builders or remodelers, and there is no state qualifying party, no state exam and no state reciprocity for this work. Each city and county decides for itself, so identify the building department with jurisdiction over the address before applying anywhere. A credential issued by one Kentucky jurisdiction does not carry into the next one, and none of the jurisdictions below grants anything for a license held in another state. Two statewide obligations apply wherever the project is: the HBC license for any self-performed plumbing, electrical, HVAC, boiler or fire-protection work, and compliance with the Kentucky Building Code adopted in 815 KAR Chapter 007.
Louisville Metro (Jefferson County). The Office of Construction Review issues the contractor licenses for the merged city-county. A builder chooses a term and then a scope. License A "lets you work on one or more permitted projects during a calendar year, which runs from January 1st to December 31st"; License B "allows you to work on only one permitted project during a calendar year." The scopes are Building A-Residential, Building A-Residential/Commercial, Building A-Commercial and Building B. Building Type A costs $125 a year and Building Type B $50 per permit, and "only one Building Type B license will be granted per person/company per renewal year." Six continuing education credit hours from a pre-approved list are required before renewal for Building A-R, Building A-RC and Building B, which is to say for everyone whose scope touches houses. The filing is a certificate of liability insurance naming the Office of Construction Review as certificate holder, workers' compensation and unemployment insurance or a signed and notarized affidavit that neither applies, an Occupational License Number from the Revenue Commission of Jefferson County on (502) 574-4860, and the application itself through the Metro business portal. Annual renewals must arrive with current liability insurance, the continuing education records for residential contractors, a workers' compensation form and a subcontractor list, and "any missing items will result in ALL items being returned." There is no exam, no experience requirement and no bond on the building categories; only the wrecking classes carry a written exam, a surety bond and a year of supervisory experience. Office of Construction Review, 444 S. 5th St., Suite 100, (502) 574-3321.
Lexington-Fayette Urban County. The Division of Building Inspection runs a Contractors Registration Ordinance: "this ordinance requires all contractors to register with the Building Inspection" and "unregistered contractors cannot obtain building permits." There are three classes under Ordinance 5-90(a). A general contractor, residential only "constructs up to 4-family homes (4-Plex), performs home remodeling, and may supervise, arrange, and/or perform more than two unrelated building trades or crafts." A general contractor covers everything larger. A specialty contractor "performs commercial, industrial, public works and residential construction and specializes in two or fewer unrelated building trades or crafts." Registration takes four steps: a $10 Home Office Certificate or a $25 Certificate of Occupancy if the business address is in Fayette County; an occupational business license from Revenue at 218 E. Main St., 2nd floor, (859) 258-3340; general liability insurance and workers' compensation with LFUCG as certificate holder, or the "Workers Comp Exempt" declaration on the application if neither applies; and the online Contractor Registration Application through the city's permitting portal with the occupational license and certificate of insurance uploaded. No exam, experience or bond is required for any of the three classes. The division's published fee schedule prices permits rather than registrations and lists no contractor registration fee, so ask Building Inspection for the current amount before filing. 101 E. Vine St., (859) 258-3770, [email protected].
Bowling Green and Warren County. A single joint Contractors Licensing Board licenses for both the city and the county under Ordinance 91-58 WC and Ordinance 91-25 BG. A General Contractors License is needed by anyone "doing any type of general contract work in Bowling Green / Warren County including pulling permits for building or remodeling, construction management, or if you would have two or more subcontractors per job", and costs $250. A Specialty Contractors License covers subcontract work or a job with at most one subcontractor, and costs $100. Both fees are non-refundable and renewals are annual, pro-rated for a mid-year filing. The filing is the application plus a certificate of insurance naming the board as certificate holder, with "a minimum requirement for General Liability Insurance [of] $100,000 per occurrence", workers' compensation coverage shown on the certificate or a notarized Affidavit of Exemption, and a notarized Partnership Agreement for a partnership. Licenses are non-transferable and "any change in ownership nullifies previous licenses." There is no exam and no experience review, and the board says so directly: "the Contractors Licensing Board does not warrant that you are otherwise qualified to perform your trade or specialty by the issuance of its license." A Bowling Green occupational license is also needed for work inside the city limits and a Warren County occupational license for work outside them. Contractors Licensing Board, 1141 State Street, Suite 200, 270-781-3530.
Owensboro and Daviess County. There is no Owensboro contractor license. The Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission's Building & Electrical Division "issues all building and electrical permits required by the Kentucky Building Code and National Electrical Code" for Owensboro-Daviess County, along with HVAC, sign and parking lot permits and certificates of occupancy, and it issues no contractor credential of any kind. What a builder needs instead is the city's business registration: "any person, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity must register with the Occupational License Division prior to conducting business inside the city limits", with "a minimum license fee of seventy-five ($75.00) dollars due with registration." New construction draws at least three field inspections - footer and foundation, framing and final - before a certificate of occupancy issues. Occupational License Division, 101 East 4th Street, 270-687-5600.
Covington and Kenton County (Northern Kentucky). Planning and Development Services of Kenton County is the building department for Covington and the surrounding communities, and its rule is short: "when completing work within Kenton County, all contractors must obtain and maintain a Kenton County occupational license and provide proof of Kentucky workers' compensation insurance coverage. In addition, the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings, and Construction requires a license for electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and fire suppression work. Contractors must provide copies of all these items before any permits can be issued." There is no residential builder license, exam or bond. In Covington itself a zoning permit from the city, and a certificate of appropriateness where a historic preservation overlay applies, must come before PDS will issue the building permit. PDS, 1840 Simon Kenton Way, Suite 3400, Covington, 859-331-8980; building permits 859-957-2408.
Storm-damaged communities. The Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection runs joint emergency contractor registration programs with the City of Mayfield and Graves County, the City of Princeton and Caldwell County, the City of Dawson Springs and Hopkins County, and the City of Bremen and Muhlenberg County, "to register contractors looking to assist storm victims." The program "requires contractors to register prior to doing business", and registrants are issued placards that must be displayed on the job site and in the vehicle. It is a consumer-protection registration aimed at transient storm-chasers rather than a skill license, and it applies only in those communities. Details on (502) 871-2424.
Everywhere else. The remaining Kentucky cities and counties each set their own rules, from a full licensing board like Bowling Green's to nothing beyond an occupational license and proof of insurance. Ask the local building department what it requires before bidding, and expect to repeat the filing in each jurisdiction.
- Louisville Metro / Jefferson County (Office of Construction Review - Building Type A and B contractor licenses)
- Lexington-Fayette Urban County (Division of Building Inspection - general contractor, residential only registration)
- Bowling Green and Warren County (joint Contractors Licensing Board - General and Specialty Contractors License)
- Owensboro and Daviess County (Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission - permits only; city occupational license)
- Covington and Kenton County (Planning and Development Services of Kenton County - occupational license and insurance only)
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Arkansas residential contractor exam if I'm licensed in Kentucky?
- The trade exam is waived, but Arkansas requires a law or code exam.
- How long do I need to have held my Kentucky license?
- At least 1 year before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Arkansas residential contractor license from Kentucky?
- Published fees on this path total $184, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Kentucky work hours count in Arkansas?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Arkansas's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Arkansas to Kentucky?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Arkansas to Kentucky, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board - Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing · Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Out-of-State Licensure - Automatic Occupational Licensure, Ark. Code Ann. § 17-7-104 (Act 457 of 2023) · Ark. Code Ann. §§ 17-7-103, 17-7-104 (Act 457 (SB90) of 2023) · Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing / Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board - Reciprocal Form and Reciprocal Form Instructions (Revised 3/2025) · Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- State of Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board - Residential Builders New Application (Effective 02/2024) · Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Residential Contractors Committee · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- Arkansas Residential Contractor Licensing Law and Rules (April 2026) · Ark. Code Ann. §§ 17-25-501, 17-25-503, 17-25-509, 17-25-512, 17-25-513, 17-25-514; 17 CAR §§ 295-107, 295-108, 295-109, 295-110, 295-116 · Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Residential Contractors Committee · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- State of Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board - Residential Remodeler New Application (Effective 1/2025) · Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Residential Contractors Committee · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- Arkansas Business & Law Test (Instructions) - Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (Revised 1/2025) · Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board · Form · verified September 17, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.