Arizona Subcontractor License Requirements: What GCs Must Verify Before Work Starts
Arizona licenses every contractor — general and specialty — through the Registrar of Contractors, and the license code tells you exactly what work a sub may do and whether it may do it on homes, commercial buildings or both. What the codes mean, what to check and what an unlicensed sub costs.
The most common mistake: checking that a sub is licensed without reading the code. An R-42 roofer is licensed for homes only, and a CR-67 low-voltage license does not authorize CR-11 electrical work. In Arizona the classification is the license.
Arizona requires every contractor, general or specialty, to hold a license from the Registrar of Contractors (ROC) for work above the handyman exemption. Licenses are classified by trade and by market: C- codes are commercial, R- codes residential, and CR- codes both — CR-11 for electrical, CR-37 for plumbing, CR-39 for air conditioning, CR-42 for roofing. Before a sub starts, confirm on the ROC's contractor search that the license is active, the classification covers the work and the building type, and there are no open complaints you should know about.
In this guide
How Arizona contractor licensing works
The Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) licenses all contractors under A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 10. General contractors hold A (general engineering), B (general residential), B-1 or B-2 (general commercial), or KB (dual) licenses; specialty contractors hold trade classifications prefixed C- (commercial), R- (residential) or CR- (both).
Every license is backed by a license bond and a qualifying party — the person whose experience and exams support it. Licenses renew every two years, and the ROC suspends a license whose bond lapses, so a license that was active when you signed the subcontract can be suspended by the time the sub mobilizes.
ROC license codes by trade
The trades GCs subcontract most often. Each is issued as C- (commercial only), R- (residential only) or CR- (both); match the prefix to the building as well as the number to the trade.
| Trade | Code | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical | CR-11 / C-11 / R-11 | Not interchangeable with low-voltage (–67) |
| Plumbing | CR-37 / C-37 / R-37 | |
| Air conditioning & refrigeration | CR-39 / C-39 / R-39 | Technicians handling refrigerant also need federal EPA 608 certification |
| Roofing | CR-42 / C-42 / R-42 | An R-42 does not authorize commercial roofing |
| Fire protection | CR-16 / C-16 / R-16 | Sprinkler installation and repair |
| Low voltage / communications | CR-67 / C-67 / R-67 | Alarm, sound and communication systems |
| Concrete | CR-9 / C-9 / R-9 | |
| Painting & wall covering | CR-34 / C-34 / R-34 | Licensed in Arizona, unlike many states |
The ROC issues many more specialty classifications; for anything else, check the code on the license against the ROC's published classification list.
What GCs should verify
Under A.R.S. §32-1154, the ROC can discipline a licensee for aiding or abetting unlicensed contracting or letting its license be used by someone else — so these checks protect the GC's license as well as its jobs.
The license is active
Look it up on the ROC's contractor search before contracting and again before mobilization. Suspended, expired or revoked all mean the sub cannot contract.
The classification covers the work
The trade number must match the scope — –11 for electrical, –42 for roofing — and the prefix must match the building: C- or CR- for commercial, R- or CR- for residential.
No complaints you'd want to know about
The ROC record shows complaints and disciplinary history. Open matters against a sub are worth a conversation before it is on your job.
The name matches your subcontract
A license held by an LLC does not cover a sole proprietor with a similar name. Match the entity on the ROC record to the one you are contracting with and its certificate of insurance.
How TrackMyVendor automates this
- ROC licences are re-checked against the Registrar’s own records, so a suspension for a lapsed bond shows on the sub’s record rather than on site.
- The licence and its classification sit beside the sub’s COI and W-9 on one record, with every check logged and timestamped.
- A licence nearing its two-year renewal is on the Monday summary on every plan, and on Starter and above the sub is emailed with the link to send the renewal.
Complaint history is read on the ROC record itself; check it there before contracting.
See how Arizona license tracking worksWhat an unlicensed sub costs in Arizona
Criminal charges for the unlicensed contractor
Contracting without a license is a class 1 misdemeanor under A.R.S. §32-1164 — up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
Discipline against the GC's license
Section 32-1154 lets the ROC suspend or revoke a license for aiding or abetting unlicensed contracting.
The sub's crew on the GC's comp
Arizona requires workers' comp for any employer with employees, and under A.R.S. §23-902 a GC can be treated as the statutory employer of an uninsured sub's workers.
No lien, no lawsuit for the sub
Under A.R.S. §32-1153, an unlicensed contractor cannot sue to collect for work that required a license — and a sub that cannot enforce its own contract rarely stands behind its warranty or indemnity.
How to look up an Arizona ROC license
The ROC's contractor search at roc.az.gov is the authoritative source for every Arizona license, commercial and residential. Search by name, license number or ZIP code.
- Collect the ROC number before contracting — Arizona requires it on bids, contracts and advertising.
- Confirm Active status and the classification, prefix and number both.
- Read the complaint history and confirm the entity name.
- Record what you found and when, and check again before mobilization on long lead-time jobs.
How TrackMyVendor automates this
- Subs send their ROC number, certificate and W-9 through one upload link — no account, no portal login.
- On Starter and above, the sub is emailed at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days before a licence or certificate lapses, with the link to send the renewal.
- The licence sits next to the COI, because a current certificate and a suspended licence can belong to the same sub.
Tracking licenses for Arizona subs?
Everything above is a check you can run by hand. This is what it looks like when it runs itself.
On the free plan
- Your first 25 subs, no credit card
- Subs upload certificates, licences and W-9s through a one-time link — no account, no app
- Every certificate read automatically: coverage rows, limits and each policy’s own dates
- Contractor licences checked against the state board’s own records
- A Monday summary of everything expired or expiring
Per-deadline alerts at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days, sent to your team and to the sub, start on Starter. Compare plans
Stop checking by hand
Set up your roster today
Add your subs — or import the whole list from a spreadsheet on Starter — send each a one-time upload link, and the certificates, licences and W-9s arrive already read. No demo, no sales call, no implementation project.
Start free — no credit card →Up and running in about 10 minutes.
Explore what it does: License verification · AI COI parsing · Expiration alerts · Sub onboarding