STATE LICENSE
RequiredArizona Registrar of Contractors (AZ ROC)
The Registrar licenses plumbing in commercial (C-37, or C-77 including solar), residential (R-37 Plumbing, Including Solar) and dual (CR-37, CR-77) form. The statutory scope is unusually explicit: all plumbing performed within property lines, water supply piping and fixtures, venting and sanitary drainage, septic tanks and leaching lines, roof leaders, lawn sprinklers, water conditioning equipment, and piping and equipment for swimming pools.
Gas is where Arizona diverges from most states. A.R.S. § 32-1121(D)(2) removes the materialman, finished-product and casual-or-minor exemptions from all work involving a connection to any supply of natural gas, propane or other petroleum or gaseous fuel. There is no dollar floor beneath which an unlicensed person may connect a gas appliance. The same subsection removes those exemptions from fire-safety installation, including fire sprinklers.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
State licensure is exclusive — A.R.S. § 32-1101.01 bars any city, charter city, town or county from requiring a separate contractor license — but permits and inspections stay local. Phoenix Planning and Development, Tucson Planning and Development Services and Maricopa County Planning and Development must each collect the signed license-number statement required by A.R.S. § 32-1169 before issuing a plumbing or gas permit, and filing a false or misleading statement there is unsworn falsification. Prime contracting income is taxed on 65% of gross proceeds under A.R.S. § 42-5075, with city transaction privilege tax layered on top.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Arizona county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of September 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
A.R.S. § 32-1121(D)(2) strips the $1,000 and finished-product exemptions from all work that connects to natural gas, propane or other gaseous fuel — including installing, maintaining and repairing the appliance itself.
C-37 work is within property lines, but sewer, gas and water lines from the structure to the nearest point of public supply or disposal may cross easements. Those lines may not be upsized or given another connection between the exit from private property and the public connection.
The R-37R Built-in Central Vacuum, Kitchen and Bathroom Fixture Refinishing, Swimming Pool Plumbing and Equipment, Gas Piping, Sewers Drains and Pipe Laying, and Solar Plumbing Liquid Systems Only sub-classifications are no longer issued to new applicants.
A practical sequence for a new plumbing contractor in Arizona. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
Engaging in, bidding on or advertising plumbing contracting without a current license in good standing.
Because the statutory exemptions do not reach gas connections, even a sub-$1,000 gas hookup by an unlicensed person is unlicensed contracting.
An unlicensed contractor cannot commence or maintain an Arizona action to collect compensation for work that required a license.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on September 2026.
Pending verification: Whether any Arizona municipality operates a separate backflow-assembly tester certification distinct from the ROC classification
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.