The ad must say the person is not a licensed contractor. Arizona's small-job exemption for unlicensed workers is lost if an ad leaves that out, and the person can be prosecuted under the state's consumer fraud law. The exemption also never covers gas hookups or work that needs a local permit.
What does the ad rule say?
The rule appears in paragraph 14 of A.R.S. 32-1121(A). That paragraph exempts "Any person other than a licensed contractor engaging in any work or operation on one undertaking or project by one or more contracts" when the total price, "including labor, materials and all other items," is less than $1,000. It also says the work "shall be of a casual or minor nature."
Then it lists cases where the exemption does not apply. One is a person who advertises to the public without disclosing an unlicensed status by including the words "not a licensed contractor" in the advertisement.
So the disclosure applies to any form of advertising to the public. The statute does not limit it to one medium. A yard sign, a flyer, a listing, a social media post and a web page all advertise to the public. If the person is relying on the small-job exemption, the words belong in the ad.
What else limits the exemption?
The ad rule is one of three exceptions in paragraph 14. The other two are just as important, and both matter for plumbing.
The work requires a local building permit. The exemption does not apply "In any case in which the performance of the work requires a local building permit." Cities publish their own lists of plumbing jobs that need permits. Scottsdale lists water heater replacement, repairing broken water lines, plumbing for a water softener and connecting a new irrigation system to your waterline as Minimum Plumbing Permit work. Mesa City Code 4-1-4 says a permit is required to install, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace a plumbing system, and its exempt list excludes "the replacement or rearrangement of valves, pipes, or fixtures." Our page on what plumbing work needs a permit in Phoenix shows one more of these lists.
The work is part of a larger job, or is split up. The exemption does not apply where the work is "only a part of a larger or major operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different contractor," or where the operation is divided into contracts under $1,000. A.R.S. 32-1121 says this applies when the split is made for the purpose of evasion of the chapter or otherwise. A small repair that is one step in a large remodel is not an exempt job.
Our page on the difference between a licensed contractor and a handyman in Arizona covers the price and permit triggers in more depth.
Other exemptions are separate. A.R.S. 32-1121(A) lists 18 groups that the contractor licensing chapter does not apply to. The ad disclosure belongs to paragraph 14, the small-job exemption, so it does not attach to the others. A few of the others touch plumbing:
- Owners improving their own property (paragraph 5). This covers owners who do the work themselves, with their own employees or with licensed contractors, when the structure is meant for the owner's own occupancy and is not meant for sale or rent.
- Owner-developers (paragraph 6). An owner who builds for sale or rent must hire a licensed general contractor, and for improvements may hire licensed specialty contractors. The licensed contractors' names and license numbers have to appear in all sales documents.
- Employees of certain owners (paragraphs 10 and 11). Employees of the owners of condominiums, townhouses, cooperative units or apartment complexes of four units or less, or of their management agent, may repair or maintain structures the owners own. A person who works as an employee with wages as the sole compensation is also exempt.
- Insurers and sureties (paragraphs 12 and 13). These may undertake repairs or completion of a contract, but only if all construction work is done by duly licensed contractors.
Subsection B adds that a person licensed in one trade does not need a separate license for mechanical or structural service work within the scope of that trade. None of these is a way around the ad rule. They are different exemptions with their own conditions, and the statute states them separately.
Does gas work have its own rule?
Yes. Gas hookups are shut out of the small-job exemption entirely. Subsection D says the exemptions in paragraphs 4, 9 and 14 "do not apply to" fire safety work or gas work. It describes gas work as "All work done, including installing, maintaining and repairing devices, appliances or equipment, that involves connecting to any supply of natural gas, propane or other petroleum or gaseous fuel."
That means the small-job exemption, and the ad disclosure that goes with it, never covers a job that connects to a gas supply. A gas water heater hookup, a gas range connection and a new line to a grill cannot use it. The owner exemption in paragraph 5 is a separate rule for people who improve their own property. Our page on gas line permits and who can install them in Arizona covers the gas side, and doing your own plumbing in Arizona covers the owner rule.
Subsection D also covers fire safety work. The statute defines a fire safety installation as hardwired or interconnected smoke alarms and fire sprinklers, and it reaches related fire safety work as well. That work is outside the small-job exemption too.
What happens if an ad leaves the words out?
Subsection C of A.R.S. 32-1121 sets the consequence. Under A.R.S. 32-1121, anyone who lacks the paragraph 14(c) exemption "is subject to prosecution for a violation of section 44-1522." The attorney general may also investigate and take action.
Section 44-1522 is the state consumer fraud law, a different part of Arizona law from the contractor licensing chapter. The statute points to it, and we do not summarize it here. The point for a homeowner is simple. The state has put an enforcement tool behind the ad rule, and it treats an ad without the disclosure as more than a paperwork lapse.
How can you use the rule to check an ad?
A few quick checks help you decide whether to call.
- 1Look for a license number. A licensed contractor's ad normally shows one. Our guide on how to verify a plumber's ROC license in Arizona shows how to look it up and what to confirm.
- 2If there is no number, look for the words "not a licensed contractor." An ad with neither is worth questioning.
- 3Ask about permits and gas. If the job needs a permit or connects to a gas supply, the small-job exemption does not apply, so ask for a license number before any work starts.
- 4Ask whether your job is part of something bigger. If it is, the exemption does not apply.
- 5Ask what class of license the person holds. Our page on C-37, R-37 and CR-37 plumbing licenses explains what each class allows.
HQ Plumbing and Air is licensed and insured. We give free estimates, and you get the price up front before we start any job, small or large.