Arizona Contractor Reciprocity

The Contractors State License Board lists Arizona among five states in its reciprocity program (CSLB, Reciprocity). The program is written for a contractor licensed elsewhere who applies to California, and § 7065.4 makes the outcome a case-by-case determination by the Board. Whether Arizona accepts a California license is a question for that state’s own agency.

The Board publishes a separate table for each state, including the Nevada agreement. The wider picture is on the reciprocity overview, and the starting point for the whole subject is the California contractor licensing page.

Which way the program runs

The Board’s General Information page states the direction: “Out of state individuals can apply for a California License if they meet the qualifications. California has formal reciprocity agreements with the contractor licensing agencies of Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, or North Carolina.” (CSLB, General Reciprocity Information). The same page gives the Board’s reason: “Because CSLB believes that reciprocity among respective licensing programs is a valuable benefit, it offers reciprocity in specified classifications where the scopes of practice and licensing requirements are either identical or fundamentally indistinguishable in each state with California which makes it easier to get a license.”

The statute puts the direction in the applicant. Section 7065.4 reads in full:

The registrar may accept the qualifications of an applicant who is licensed as a contractor in a similar classification in another state if that state accepts the qualifications of a contractor licensed in this state for purposes of licensure in that other state, and if the board ascertains, on a case-by-case basis, that the professional qualifications and conditions of good standing for licensure and continued licensure are at least the same or greater in that state as in California. The registrar may waive the trade examination for that applicant if the applicant provides written certification from that other state in which he or she is licensed, that the applicant’s license has been in good standing for the previous five years.

The other direction is a different question

A California licensee asking about Arizona is asking something the Board’s program does not describe. The Board’s Reciprocity Requirements page says only this about that case: “California Contractors: If a California contractor wants to apply for reciprocity in another state, they must ask that state for its reciprocity form and have it forwarded to CSLB.” (CSLB, Reciprocity Requirements). What Arizona grants a California licensee is a question for the contractor licensing agency of Arizona, which the Board names as a party to the agreement (CSLB, General Reciprocity Information). This page states none of Arizona’s rules.

What the statute makes a precondition

Section 7065.4 is written in permissive terms. Its verbs are “may accept” and “may waive”, and its first sentence attaches two conditions to the first of them: that the other state “accepts the qualifications of a contractor licensed in this state”, and that the Board “ascertains, on a case-by-case basis, that the professional qualifications and conditions of good standing for licensure and continued licensure are at least the same or greater in that state as in California”. The section assigns that finding to the Board. This page does not say whether either condition is met for Arizona, and it does not turn a “may” into a “will”.

The conditions the Board lists

The Board’s Reciprocity Requirements page sets out four conditions that it gives as the same for each state (CSLB, Reciprocity Requirements):

• “The contractor must be applying for a license in a classification that appears on that state's Reciprocal Classifications List.”
• “The contractor must have held an active license in good standing in one of the reciprocal states for the previous five years.”
• “The contractor must submit to CSLB the Request for Verification of License form that is completed by the licensing entity under which they are already licensed.”
• “The contractor must complete the Application for Original Contractor's License.”

The five-year condition has a second source. The sentence of § 7065.4 on the trade examination turns on written certification from the other state “that the applicant’s license has been in good standing for the previous five years”. The application named in the fourth condition is the ordinary one, and what the Board asks of any applicant is on its own page.

What may be waived, and what is not

The Board’s Reciprocity Exam Requirements page states the effect on the examination (CSLB, Reciprocity Exam Requirements). Its text reads in full:

If you hold a valid contractors license in Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada or North Carolina, and meet the requirements for reciprocity, you may be able to get a California contractors license without taking the trade portion of the exam. REMEMBER - CSLB may waive the trade portion of the exam but retains the right to require the trade exam. IMPORTANT - If the applicant is granted reciprocity, they still will be required to take the business law portion of CSLB's exam.

The statute’s waiver sentence speaks of “the trade examination” and of written certification from the other state (§ 7065.4). The business law portion is in the Board’s text and not in the section’s, and the two examinations are described on their own page. The word in both places is “may”.

Arizona in the Board’s two lists

The Board’s Applicants page describes its “Apply for Reciprocity” link with the line “Equivalency determinations for similar Arizona, Louisiana, and Nevada contractor license classifications” (CSLB, Applicants). That line names three states where the program sentence quoted above names five. They are different sentences about different things, and the reciprocity overview sets them side by side; Arizona is named in both.

Arizona’s classifications on the Board’s list

The Board’s Reciprocal Classifications List carries a table for each state (CSLB, Reciprocal Classifications List). The Board’s worked example on that page reads: “For example, a C-7 Carpentry license in Arizona corresponds to a C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry license in California.” The Arizona table below is the Board’s, in the Board’s order and with its California class descriptions, and no footnote is attached to any Arizona row. The Board prints C-37R in two rows and K-61 in two rows, and they are reproduced as printed. What the California classes are is on the Board’s Licensing Classifications page, which lists every one and links its detail page.

A row on this list is a precondition the Board names, not a determination that any applicant qualifies — § 7065.4 leaves that to the Board, case by case.

Arizona class code	Arizona description	California class code	California description
A	General Engineering	A	General Engineering
A-9	Swimming Pools	C-53	Swimming Pool
A-11	Steel and Aluminum Erection	C-51	Structural Steel
A-12	Sewers, Drains and Pipe Laying	C-42	Sanitation Systems
A-17	Electrical and Transmission Lines	A	General Engineering
A-19	Swimming Pools, Including Solar	C-53	Swimming Pool
A-21	Landscaping and Irrigation Systems	C-27	Landscaping
B	General Residential Contractor	B	General Building
B-1	General Commercial Contractor	B	General Building
B-2	General Small Commercial Contractor	B	General Building
B-3	General Remodeling and Repair Contractor	B	General Building
B-5	General Swimming Pool Contractor	C-53	Swimming Pool
B-6	General Swimming Pool Contractor, Including Solar	C-53	Swimming Pool
C-4	Boilers, Including Solar	C-4	Boiler, Hot Water Heating and Steam Fitting
C-4R	Boilers	C-4	Boiler, Hot Water Heating and Steam Fitting
C-7	Carpentry	C-5	Framing and Rough Carpentry
C-9	Concrete	C-8	Concrete
C-11	Electrical	C-10	Electrical
C-16	Fire Protection Systems	C-16	Fire Protection
C-17	Structural Steel and Aluminum	C-51	Structural Steel
C-18	Elevators	C-11	Elevators
C-31	Masonry	C-29	Masonry
C-37	Plumbing, Including Solar	C-36	Plumbing
C-37R	Sewers, Drains and Pipe Laying	C-34	Pipeline
C-37R	Plumbing	C-36	Plumbing
C-39	Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Including Solar	C-20	Warm-air Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning
C-39R	Air Conditioning and Refrigeration	C-20	Warm-air Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning
C-42	Roofing	C-39	Roofing
C-61	Limited Remodeling and Repair	B	General Building
C-68	Mobile Home Remodeling and Repair	C-47	General Manufactured Housing
K-4	Boilers, Steamfitting and Process Piping	C-4	Boiler, Hot Water Heating and Steam Fitting
K-7	Carpentry	C-5	Framing and Rough Carpentry
K-9	Concrete	C-8	Concrete
K-11	Electrical	C-10	Electrical
K-12	Elevators	C-11	Elevators
K-16	Fire Protection Systems	C-16	Fire Protection
K-17	Steel and Aluminum Erection	C-51	Structural Steel
K-21	Landscaping and Irrigation Systems	C-27	Landscaping
K-31	Masonry	C-29	Masonry
K-37	Plumbing	C-36	Plumbing
K-39	Air Conditioning and Refrigeration	C-20	Warm-air Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning
K-42	Roofing	C-39	Roofing
K-61	Carpentry, Remodeling and Repairs	C-5	Framing and Rough Carpentry
K-61	Carpentry, Remodeling and Repairs	C-6	Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry
K-62	Reinforcing Bar and Wire Mesh	C-50	Reinforcing Steel
K-74	Boilers, Steamfitting and Process Piping, Including Solar	C-4	Boiler, Hot Water Heating and Steam Fitting
K-77	Plumbing, Including Solar	C-36	Plumbing
K-79	Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Including Solar	C-20	Warm-air Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning
KA	Dual Engineering	A	General Engineering
KA-5	Dual Swimming Pool Contractor	C-53	Swimming Pool
KA-6	Dual Swimming Pool Contractor, Including Solar	C-53	Swimming Pool
KB-1	Dual Building Contractor	B	General Building
KB-2	Dual Residential and Small Commercial	B	General Building
L-4	Boilers, Steamfitting and Process Piping	C-4	Boiler, Hot Water Heating and Steam Fitting
L-7	Carpentry	C-5	Framing and Rough Carpentry
L-9	Concrete	C-8	Concrete
L-11	Electrical	C-10	Electrical
L-12	Elevators	C-11	Elevators
L-16	Fire Protection Systems	C-16	Fire Protection
L-31	Masonry	C-29	Masonry
L-37	Plumbing	C-36	Plumbing
L-39	Air Conditioning and Refrigeration	C-20	Warm-air Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning
L-42	Roofing	C-39	Roofing
L-49	Commercial, Industrial Refrigeration	C-38	Refrigeration
L-61	Carpentry, Remodeling and Repairs	B C-5	General Building, or Framing and Rough Carpentry
L-62	Reinforcing Bar and Wire Mesh	C-50	Reinforcing Steel
L-74	Boilers, Steamfitting and Process Piping, Including Solar	C-4	Boiler, Hot Water Heating and Steam Fitting
L-77	Plumbing, Including Solar	C-36	Plumbing
L-79	Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Including Solar	C-20	Warm-air Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning