Arizona: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Jul 2026·Laws as cited·Not in the Sep 2026 verification pass
Public recordAZ LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Arizona chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified more recently than this matrix.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Arizona?
#stove-installLICENSE- Credential
- FL-pattern capture: ROC licensure is required above $1,000-or-any-permit-work (§ 32-1121(A)(14) handyman exemption void where a permit is required), but NO classification names solid fuel — R4-9-103 (current through 6/20/2025) has no hearth class; the work rides B- General Residential, B-3 Remodeling, R-61 Carpentry/Remodeling (<=$50,000), R-62 Minor Home Improvements (<=$5,000), with component classes R-45 Sheet Metal (scope names 'Patented chimneys' and 'Metal flues'), R-31/CR-31 Masonry (masonry fireplaces), and R-63 Appliances (no gas/electrical/plumbing lines); R-39 is comfort-air only. EPA AXIS: A.R.S. § 11-875 orders Area A counties (Phoenix metro, § 49-541) to adopt clean-burning fireplace ordinances that 'prohibit the installation or construction of a fireplace or wood stove' unless it is a permanently-installed gas/electric log insert or an EPA-certified device (Maricopa/Pinal ordinances implement); the task-brief's § 49-474.01 cite was NOT located — use § 11-875. No statewide building code (municipal/county IRC adoptions)
- Issuing body
- AZ Registrar of Contractors; Area A counties (clean-burning fireplace ordinances); municipal building depts (permits)
- Statute
- A.R.S. § 32-1121(A)(14); A.A.C. R4-9-103; A.R.S. § 11-875 + § 49-541 (Area A)
- Dollar threshold
- $1,000 or any permit-triggering work
- Exam
- y — trade exam per classification (SRE for B-; none names hearths)
- Local overlay
- y — Maricopa/Pinal Area A fireplace ordinances; city IRC editions vary
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-22
- Sources
Chimney flashing: is a credential required in Arizona?
#chimney-flashingLICENSE- Credential
- CR-42 / R-42 / C-42 Roofing — R-42 scope verbatim (R4-9-103, current through 6/20/2025): 'apply, repair, or install weatherproofing (i.e. asphaltum, pitch, tar, felt, glass fabric, flax, or other commonly used materials or systems) or roof accessories (i.e. FLASHING, valleys, gravel stops, or sheet metal) as required for the licensee to install and repair: roof tile, shingles, shakes, slate, metal roofing systems, urethane foam, roof insulation or coatings' — flashing named as a roof accessory; may replace up to 10% of roof substrate discovered mid-job (more must be subcontracted). >$1,000-or-permit threshold (§ 32-1121(A)(14)). Masonry interplay: CR-31 masonry covers the chimney structure itself and R-45 Sheet Metal also names 'Flashings' — three lawful lanes for the same repair, so audit wording must accept any of CR-42/CR-31/R-45 scope-matched to the service menu (the IL mason-exemption precedent, resolved by classification breadth rather than an exemption)
- Issuing body
- AZ Registrar of Contractors
- Statute
- A.A.C. R4-9-103 (R-42, R-45, R-31); A.A.C. R4-9-104 (CR-42); A.R.S. § 32-1121(A)(14)
- Dollar threshold
- $1,000 or any permit-triggering work
- Exam
- y
- Local overlay
- y — city permit/IRC editions vary
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-22
- Sources
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Arizona?
#gas-fireplace-serviceLICENSE- Credential
- ROC C-37/CR-37 Plumbing — A.A.C. R4-9-102 scope includes 'piping, fixtures, appliances and pressure vessels for manufactured and natural gases... petroleum, fuel oil' = the gas piping + appliance-connection class; C-39/R-39R/CR-39 Air Conditioning & Refrigeration reaches 'gas piping from service connection to the equipment it serves' (gas-fired heater/fireplace install as the served equipment); NO fireplace/hearth/chimney-NAMED class in the current post-2020 classification list; NO LP installer license — the 'A.R.S. § 41-2142 LP licensing' cite circulating in project notes is DEBUNKED (that section is manufactured-housing definitions); LP oversight is split among SFM/DFFM (NFPA 58 + commercial tank permits), Dept. of Agriculture Weights & Measures (meters/dispensers only — expressly NOT installation), and the Corporation Commission (utilities) — LP appliance install rides the ordinary ROC license; masonry chimney = C-31/R-31/CR-31, so chimney work is ALSO licensed >$1,000 (low-mismatch state); R-21 Hardscaping may build outdoor fireplaces but must sub out the gas
- Issuing body
- Arizona Registrar of Contractors
- Statute
- A.R.S. §§ 32-1121(A)(14), 32-1122, 32-1151 et seq.; A.A.C. R4-9-102
- Dollar threshold
- $1,000 handyman exemption (labor+materials) — void if a building permit is required (gas work is permit work)
- Exam
- y (trade + business-management exams)
- Local overlay
- y — Phoenix/Tucson/Maricopa mechanical-gas permit regimes (flag only)
- Confidence
- high (C-37 scope + LP debunk); medium-high (C-39 reach) · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
What insurance does Arizona require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- license (ROC — all trades incl. masonry chimney >$1,000 or any permit-required work; A.R.S. Title 32 ch. 10)
- Liability minimum
- NONE — A.R.S. § 32-1122 licensure requires application/fee/bond/WC-attestation only; GL is never mentioned and ROC holds no COI (headline: an ROC license NEVER implies liability insurance — third-party claims otherwise are wrong); no LP license regime exists to attach insurance to
- Bond
- license bonds sized by class + estimated annual volume (A.R.S. § 32-1152): commercial general $5,000–$100,000 / commercial specialty $2,500–$50,000 / residential general $5,000–$15,000 / residential specialty $1,000–$7,500 (dual = sum of both; the circulating '$4,250' figure is WRONG); residential bonds benefit laborers/suppliers + § 32-1132 owner-occupant claimants (suit against contractor + surety); disciplinary bonds up to 10x (§ 32-1152(H)); residential/dual licensees may opt OUT of the Recovery Fund only by posting an additional $200,000 bond (§ 32-1152(C))
- Guaranty fund
- Residential Contractors' Recovery Fund (A.R.S. § 32-1132): $30,000 per residence / $200,000 aggregate per license; claimant must be an owner-occupant (actual or intended primary residence); funded by biennial assessment $370 initial / $270 renewal (statutory max $600; A.A.C. R4-9-130; SB 1087 (2025) codifies amounts + halves them when balance >$15M; FY2025 balance ~$25.7M); trigger = court judgment OR ROC final order (agency order suffices — the MD pattern)
- Workers' comp threshold
- 1 employee ('workers or operatives regularly employed' — A.R.S. § 23-902; NOT § 23-961, which is coverage methods); no hours minimum; sole props exempt for themselves, may opt in; written independent-contractor agreement = rebuttable presumption (§ 23-902(B)-(D)); ROC linkage: application/renewal must ATTEST WC compliance + supply the policy number (§ 32-1122(B)(1)(i)) — number captured, no certificate on file
- How to verify
- ROC lookup roc.az.gov = AUTOMATED (license-class match — CR-31 masonry vs C-37 plumbing-gas vs C-39 — plus bond and discipline; Recovery Fund participation automatic with residential/dual license); GL + WC = DESK (carrier-direct COI; policy-number cross-check); no free public ICA WC coverage lookup confirmed (UNVERIFIED)
- Confidence
- high; low (ICA lookup mechanism) · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states
Before anyone goes on your roof
What should you ask a chimney company in Arizona?
- Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
- Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
- Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
- What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
- What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
- Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
- Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
- Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?
We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.