Do you need a license to be a handyman in Arkansas?

Arkansas Handyman License Requirements

By Ray Duke, Founder of Bulletproof Handyman · Arkansas rules checked November 2, 2026

Arkansas's small-job figure is $2,000. The exact wording below decides whether a job fits.

$2,000

Arkansas job-size figure

A.C.A. 17-25-513(3)(A): exempt 'when the cost of the work done or to be done does not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000)' - i.e., $2,000.00 or less is exempt (at or below); over $2,000 requires a license. 17-25-513(3)(B): exemption does not apply where the project is divided into separate contracts under $2,000. Also exempt: owner of a single-family residence acting as own home improvement contractor; subcontractors of an RCC licensee; persons licensed by another state board working within that license's scope.

What counts toward it: labor+materials (DLL: 'more than $2,000, including, but not limited to, labor and material'; statute says 'cost of the work done or to be done')

"(3)(A) A person or entity acting as a residential building contractor or a home improvement contractor on any project, when the cost of the work done or to be done does not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000)."

Source: labor.arkansas.gov · labor.arkansas.gov · checked November 2, 2026

Who regulates this

Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing - Contractors Licensing Board / Residential Contractors Committee

Source: labor.arkansas.gov · labor.arkansas.gov · checked November 2, 2026

Does Arkansas license general and residential work?

the Residential Contractors Committee (under the Contractors Licensing Board, Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing) licenses residential building contractors and home improvement contractors (Home Improvement Specialty and Residential Remodeler licenses) for work on a single-family residence (1-4 units) over $2,000. Commercial contractors (any non-single-family project) need a CLB license at $50,000 or more.

Source: labor.arkansas.gov · labor.arkansas.gov · checked November 2, 2026

Registration

Roofing contractor registration certificate (A.C.A. 17-25-601 et seq.) for roofers: $15,000 minimum surety bond and proof of workers' comp; fee not to exceed $100; HI/residential licensees exempt if roofing is not more than 50% of total project cost and no door-to-door roofing sales. Home improvement licensees under $50,000 of work need no financial statement.

Source: labor.arkansas.gov · checked November 2, 2026

Insurance and bond

Workers' compensation required for RCC licensees as required under A.C.A. 11-9-401, but home improvement contractors with less than $50,000 of work are not required to secure/prove WC unless otherwise required by law (A.C.A. 17-25-514(c)). Roofing registrants: $15,000 surety bond.

Source: labor.arkansas.gov · checked November 2, 2026

What a handyman should charge in Arkansas

Statewide planning estimate: $65 to $88 an hour. It's an estimate from public data, not the market rate. City pages use local wages when we can match them.

Step	Low end	High end
Your pay (employee wage for this work in Arkansas)	$43,400 median	$52,500 top quarter starts here
Overhead ($33,148 national, adjusted to local prices at 86.9)	$28,818	$28,818
Profit 15% + PTO 10% + warranty 3% + business taxes 12%	+40%	+40%
Yearly total to cover	$101,105	$113,845
Billed hours a year (hours on the job × 52)	30 × 52 = 1,560	25 × 52 = 1,300
Hourly rate	$65	$88

Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 49-9071 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General, Arkansas (statewide figure, because we could not match a metro for this place). The top-quarter figure is in the BLS data file.
Local prices: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, Arkansas, all items index 86.9 (US = 100).
Overhead, hours and percentages: median answers from members using our hourly rate calculator, the same formula that tool uses. National, not local.

Run your own numbers in the free calculator.

Arkansas places we cover (30)

Rules change. This page shows what official sources said on the dates above. It is not legal advice.