Mississippi to Arkansas: residential contractor license reciprocity
Arkansas has a reciprocity agreement with Mississippi: a Mississippi residential contractor can get a Arkansas license without retaking the trade exam.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Reciprocal agreement with Mississippi (residential licenses)
A signed state-to-state agreement. The trade exam is waived; you apply, prove your history, and pay the fee.
Arkansas has a signed reciprocal agreement with Mississippi. An applicant who has held a valid Mississippi contractor license for at least one year may file the Arkansas Reciprocal Form with a new application and is then not required to pass the Arkansas Business and Law examination, which is the only examination the Board itself requires. The applicant completes the top of the Reciprocal Form, sends it to the Mississippi State Board of Contractors to complete the bottom section with the license number, first-licensed date, current status, classifications, business and law score and any disciplinary history under the state seal, and returns the finished form to Arkansas. The agreement waives the examination only. The full new application, filing fee, financial statement, Secretary of State filings and workers' compensation certificate are all still required, and the Board keeps the right to investigate the applicant.
The Board does not publish a start date for this agreement, nor a table matching Mississippi classifications to Arkansas ones. A form notarised more than ninety days before it reaches the Board is refused. Applicants seeking plumbing, electrical, HVACR or another classification that carries an Arkansas trade license must still satisfy that trade agency separately.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
- Agreement
- Active
What you must already have
- You must have held your Mississippi license for at least 1 year.Valid Mississippi contractor license held for at least one year, as stated in the Board's Reciprocal Form Instructions.
- Your Mississippi license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
What you'll do to get licensed in Arkansas
- 1Application 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. A new application and the required documentation are still needed; the agreement does not replace them..
- 2Financial responsibility. Show financial responsibility. Compiled balance sheet less than one year old, in the name of the applicant entity and showing positive net worth, excluding the homestead and retirement accounts. The Board sets no minimum net worth figure for residential licenses. A limited residential remodeler files no financial statement..
- 3Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Current certificate of workers' compensation insurance if the applicant has one or more employees, as required by Ark. Code Ann. § 17-25-514..
- 4Business license. Obtain a business license. Articles or filings from the Secretary of State's office for a corporation, LLC, LP or LLP, plus any fictitious name registration..
- 5Other. Reciprocal Form: the applicant completes and signs the top section, sends it to the Mississippi licensing board for completion of the verifying-state section, and returns the finished form to the Contractors Licensing Board, 4100 Richards Road, North Little Rock, AR 72117. Getting the form to and back from the other state is the applicant's responsibility..
Published fees on this path total $100, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
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.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Arkansas residential contractor exam if I'm licensed in Mississippi?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with Mississippi.
- How long do I need to have held my Mississippi license?
- At least 1 year before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Arkansas residential contractor license from Mississippi?
- Published fees on this path total $100, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Mississippi work hours count in Arkansas?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Arkansas's eligibility requirements.
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
- 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
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.