Storm contractor rules in Arkansas: the 10 percent price limit, the US$50,000 licence line and the home improvement licence
Arkansas has a published 10 percent price limit for emergencies, a contractor licence that starts at US$50,000, and a separate residential licence for home improvement work. This page restates the Attorney General's pages and the two contractor law booklets of the Department of Labor and Licensing as read on October 9, 2026.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The wider picture is on the storm contractor rules page. The three Attorney General rows are consumer pages. The three licence rows are the Arkansas Code text as the Contractors Licensing Board publishes it. No source read names tree work.
The sources in one table
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Attorney General, Price Gouging | Act 376 of 1997 prohibits businesses from charging more than 10 percent above the pre-disaster price of goods or services during a state of emergency declared by federal, state or local governments. The ban lasts at least 30 days, may be extended 30 days by the local governing body, and runs 180 days for home repairs. A higher price is lawful if directly attributable to added costs, with a cap of 10 percent above cost plus the customary markup |
| Attorney General, penalties | A violation of the act is a violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The Attorney General can seek injunctions, restitution, costs, attorneys' fees and civil penalties of up to US$10,000 per violation, and criminal sanctions may also apply |
| Attorney General, Disaster Victim Tips | Advises caution with door-to-door solicitors and anyone asking for payment for the entire job upfront, and suggests three written estimates and a detailed written contract. Says contracts resulting from a home-solicitation sale generally must include a right to cancel within three business days after signing |
| Code 17-25-101, commercial contractors | A contractor is one who for a fixed price or fee builds, demolishes, repairs or manages work on a building, highway, sewer, utility, grading or other improvement or structure when the cost, including labour and materials, is US$50,000 or more. The definition excepts single-family residences, and bars splitting a project into contracts under US$50,000 to avoid the licence |
| Code 17-25-502 and 17-25-505, home improvement | A home improvement contractor manages the reconstruction, alteration, renovation, repair, modification, improvement, removal, demolition or addition to a preexisting single family residence or the property and structures appurtenant to it. Acting as one without a licence from the Residential Contractors Committee, unless exempt, is a Class A misdemeanor |
| Code 17-25-513, exemptions | The residential licence does not apply to work whose cost does not exceed US$2,000, and projects may not be split into smaller contracts to stay under that line. It also exempts a single-family owner working on his or her own property, and a contractor holding another Arkansas licence for work within that licence |
Price rule
The Attorney General describes a flat cap. The base is the seller's pre-disaster price, and the cap is 10 percent above it. The window is set by the declaration, with a separate 180-day window for home repairs. The page says the scope is broad, lists construction materials among the examples, and speaks of goods or services. It does not name tree work.
Licence rules
Arkansas has two licence tracks. The commercial definition starts at US$50,000 and leaves out single-family residences. The residential track covers home improvement on a single family residence and the property and structures appurtenant to it, with a US$2,000 exemption. Whether tree removal on a residential lot counts as work on the "property" is not stated in the sections read, and the board is the office to ask. For how other states treat tree work, see contractor licences for tree work. The scam warnings that attorneys general issue after storms are on the storm tree scams page.
Sources
- Arkansas Attorney General, Price Gouging, read October 9, 2026
- Arkansas Attorney General, Disaster Victim Tips, read October 9, 2026
- Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Commercial Contractors Law, revised April 2026, read October 9, 2026
- Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Residential Contractor Law, revised April 2026, read October 9, 2026