Your rights
Arkansas
Arkansas · home improvement
Before work starts
We have no verified deposit limit for Arkansas. Ask what the deposit pays for, and pay in stages tied to finished work.
Ask: What does the deposit pay for, and can the rest be paid in stages as work is done?
If sold at your home or away from their office ($25+)
Cancel for any reason by midnight of the third business day for a full refund. They must tell you and give you two cancel forms.
Repairs you asked them to come do, such as on appliances, aren't covered.
When it applies
A sale of $25 or more made in your home or anywhere else that is not the seller's permanent place of business, such as a door-to-door sale.
If the job was sold to you in your home or anywhere other than the seller's permanent place of business and costs $25 or more, you can cancel for any reason until midnight of the third business day after the sale and get a full refund. The salesperson must tell you about this right out loud and give you two copies of a cancellation form plus a copy of the contract or receipt.
On a sign at the job site
Residential contractor
Your contractor
Work over $2,000 on a 1–4 unit home needs a Residential Contractors Committee license; residential roofers register instead.
An Arkansas contractor doing more than $2,000 of work (labor and materials) on a one- to four-unit home must hold a license from the Residential Contractors Committee of the Contractors Licensing Board; residential roofers register with the Committee instead. Electricians, plumbers and heating and cooling contractors hold their own state licenses. Check the license with the Contractors Licensing Board before you sign.
Who needs one: Home improvement contractors: anyone who bids on, contracts for or manages the reconstruction, alteration, renovation, repair, improvement, removal, demolition of, or addition to an existing single-family residence (one to four units) or its property and outbuildings, when the work costs more than $2,000 in labor and materials. Splitting a project into separate contracts under $2,000 does not avoid the license. Specialty work (painting, windows, flooring and similar) needs a Home Improvement license; major structural changes or additions need a Residential Remodeler license; building a home needs a Residential Builder license. A Limited license covers only projects under $50,000. Residential roofers register with the Committee instead (Residential Roofer Registration).
Who doesn't
Where the number must appear
Issued by: Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Residential Contractors Committee (Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing)
Some of these come from state guidance rather than a law. Each item's own words say which.
An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 10 in writing before you sign.
In the rule's words
Before work starts on a home with four or fewer units, the contractor must give you the 'Important Notice to Owner' about liens, by hand or by certified mail. It must be in bold capital letters, worded exactly as the law states, and may be part of the contract or attached to it.
In the rule's words
Be made in the exact name the contractor is licensed under.
In the rule's words
For a sale of $25 or more made in your home or anywhere other than the seller's permanent place of business, come with a spoken explanation of your right to cancel, two copies of a cancellation form and a copy of the contract or receipt.
In the state's guidance
Be in writing and signed by you and the contractor before any work begins (advice, not a stated legal requirement: the Contractors Licensing Board's licensing material says a verbal contract may be enforced but strongly suggests putting every contract and change order in writing, and the Attorney General advises a written, signed contract).
In the state's guidance
Show your name and the contractor's name, address and telephone number (Attorney General's advice, not a legal requirement).
In the state's guidance
Describe the work and the materials in detail, including grade, quality and quantity (Attorney General's advice, not a legal requirement).
In the state's guidance
Require your written approval before any price increase or any expansion of the work (Attorney General's advice, not a legal requirement).
In the state's guidance
Explain the contractor's guarantee on the work (Attorney General's advice, not a legal requirement).
In the state's guidance
Give a starting date and a completion date (Attorney General's advice, not a legal requirement).
In the state's guidance
Spell out the full cost, the payment terms and any financing costs (Attorney General's advice, not a legal requirement).
Notes from our check
General information from official Arkansas sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.