Who this applies to
No single bond comes with every Arkansas contractor license. The Contractors Licensing Board sets out two narrower bonds, each with its own trigger.
Applicants who post a bond instead of a financial statement. A Contractors Licensing Board applicant who would otherwise have to file a compiled financial statement showing the minimum net worth for its classification may file a surety bond in its place, set at ten times that required net worth [2]. On the Board's form, that comes to:
- $500,000 [2] for Heavy; Highway, Railroad, Airport; Municipal & Utility; and Building
- $200,000 [2] for Light Building, Mechanical and Electrical
- $50,000 [2] for Specialty
This bond is optional. It exists for the applicant who cannot show the required net worth, and it replaces the financial statement rather than adding a second licensing condition.
Residential roofing registrants. An applicant for a residential roofing contractor registration certificate must post a surety bond of at least $15,000 [1]. The Board states that every residential roofing registrant needs this bond filed with it for the registration to be valid [3].
What the rule says
Section 17-25-304(c) lets a bond stand in for the net-worth showing: it has to come from a surety authorized to transact business in Arkansas, equal ten times the classification's required net worth, and stay continuous until the contractor files a financial statement that qualifies [2]. Section 17-25-604(d)(1) works as a floor instead, putting the roofing registrant's bond at a minimum of $15,000 [1].
How to comply
Both bonds are handled by the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, part of the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing (Contractors Licensing Board).
If you take the bond route instead of a financial statement:
- Find your classification's amount on the Board's in-lieu bond form, which runs from $500,000 down to $50,000 [2].
- List the State of Arkansas as obligee, as the form requires.
- Keep the bond continuous until a qualifying financial statement is on file.
- Count it separately from other bonds. The form describes it as in addition to, not in lieu of, any other surety bond a law or regulation requires of the applicant.
For residential roofing registration, the bond goes on the Board's prescribed form, which runs to the State of Arkansas, the Board, and any person or business that suffers damage within the bond's terms. It is continuous until canceled; the surety may cancel only on 60 days' written notice to the Board and the principal, and aggregate liability is capped at $15,000 regardless of how many years or claims are involved [3].
Confirm your classification's figure and the current forms with the Board before filing.
What changed recently
The Board's in-lieu bond form gives July 1, 2020 as its effective date [2]. The residential roofing registration packet is dated June 2022 [3], and the compilation of residential statutes and rules that contains § 17-25-604 was revised in April 2026 [1].
Related
For a cost estimate at your bond amount, the contractor license bond cost calculator takes Arkansas figures directly; to set Arkansas against other jurisdictions, see all states' bond requirements.