Arkansas: 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 recordAR LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Arkansas chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified more recently than this matrix.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Arkansas?
#stove-installLICENSE- Credential
- THE SOUTH'S STRONGEST STOVE CAPTURE — and it comes from the chimney side, not the mechanical side: residential work >$2,000 requires an ACLB credential (A.C.A. § 17-25-513, per Pass 1), and 'Chimneys, Fireplaces' is a NAMED classification — available as a Home Improvement Specialty classification (experience proof, no Business & Law exam) and inside the Residential Remodeler scope — so a wood/pellet stove or insert install over $2,000 is licensable work under a chimney-named heading (resolves the Pass 1 flag: the specialty DOES reach stove installs; scope wording is classification practice, not statute text); HVACR Act capture of solid fuel is textually gray ('treating air to control temperature... to meet human comfort requirements,' A.C.A. § 17-33-101 — the DE-family ambiguity; no board guidance found); CODE: 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Vol. III = 2021 IRC statewide eff. 1/1/2023 (enforcement local)
- Issuing body
- Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board (Dept. of Labor and Licensing)
- Statute
- A.C.A. § 17-25-513; A.C.A. § 17-33-101; 2021 AFPC rules (eff. 1/1/2023)
- Dollar threshold
- $2,000 (residential)
- Exam
- n (HI Specialty); y (Residential Builder/Remodeler B&L exam)
- Local overlay
- y — Little Rock permits; § 17-33-104 preempts local HVACR licensing
- Confidence
- medium · checked 2026-07-22
- Sources
Chimney flashing: is a credential required in Arkansas?
#chimney-flashingLICENSE- Credential
- ACLB capture at the generic $2,000 residential floor — roofing/flashing repair >$2,000 is home-improvement work requiring a Home Improvement Specialty (roofing classification) or Residential Builder/Remodeler license; no roofing-SPECIFIC statute beyond the generic scheme located (no IL/MN-style standalone roofing act found — absence, medium); commercial roofing >= $50,000 = Commercial license with Roofing specialty + the $10,000 universal commercial bond (per Pass 1/4); the $2,000 floor makes AR the tightest flashing regime in the South by threshold — tighter than its own $0-floor gas regimes only in the dollar dimension
- Issuing body
- Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board
- Statute
- A.C.A. § 17-25-513 (residential >$2,000); A.C.A. § 17-25-401 (commercial bond, per Pass 4)
- Dollar threshold
- $2,000 (residential); $50,000 (commercial)
- Exam
- n (HI Specialty); y (B&L for builder/remodeler)
- Local overlay
- n
- Confidence
- medium · checked 2026-07-22
- Sources
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Arkansas?
#gas-fireplace-serviceLICENSE- Credential
- Three overlapping gas regimes, all with NO dollar floor: (1) HVACR Board Class A/B license — 'HVACR gas fitting work' = up to 75 feet of final gas-piping connection to a HEATING UNIT from an existing accessible shutoff + flue-gas vents + combustion air (§ 17-33-101(8)), performable by any HVACR licensee without other license (§ 17-33-103); state license PREEMPTS city/county licensing (§ 17-33-104); (2) AR Dept. of Health Plumbing & Natural Gas Section — Restricted Plumber Gas Fitter track (Trainee → Gas Fitter → Supervisor Gas Fitter, exams): 'practical installation of gas piping, appliances, fixtures, devices and appurtenances' — the credential for NG gas-log/appliance work beyond the HVACR carve-out (whether a decorative log set is a 'heating unit' is a gray zone — Gas Fitter is the safe credential); (3) LP = Arkansas LP Gas Board (A.C.A. § 15-75-101 et seq.) CLASS 10 permit — 'installation of LP-Gas piping and appliances in buildings both domestic and commercial' (Master Plumbers exempt from Class 10); § 17-33-106 exempts LPGB permittees from HVACR licensure for LP appliance work; homeowner own-home exemption (§ 17-33-102); MISMATCH: chimney/fireplace work free below $2,000, ACLB home-improvement/residential license above it — but § 17-25-513(5) exempts work within the scope of another agency license, so a pure-gas job rides the gas credential. FLAG: AR GC regime researched in this batch (no rights file yet) — ACLB commercial >=$50,000, residential >$2,000 (anti-splitting rule § 17-25-513(3)(B)); NOTE: 'Chimneys, Fireplaces' is a named ACLB commercial specialty classification
- Issuing body
- AR HVACR Licensing Board (Dept. of Labor and Licensing); AR Dept. of Health, Plumbing & Natural Gas Section; Arkansas LP Gas Board; ACLB (contracting layer)
- Statute
- A.C.A. §§ 17-33-101(8), 17-33-102, 17-33-103, 17-33-104, 17-33-106; A.C.A. § 17-38 + ADH gas-fitter rules (Act 200 of 1951); A.C.A. § 15-75-101 et seq. + § 15-75-305 (LP fees); A.C.A. §§ 17-25-503, 17-25-513 (residential thresholds/exemptions)
- Dollar threshold
- none (all three gas regimes); $2,000 (ACLB residential layer for the chimney side); $50,000 commercial
- Exam
- y (HVACR exam § 17-33-302(a)(6); ADH gas fitter exams; LPGB written/oral examination of qualified personnel)
- Local overlay
- n for licensing (HVACR preemption § 17-33-104; ADH statewide); Little Rock permits/inspections still apply (detail UNVERIFIED)
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
Gas log installation: is a credential required in Arkansas?
#gas-log-installLICENSE- Credential
- NG gas logs = ADH Gas Fitter (or Master Plumber) — 'gas piping, appliances, fixtures, devices and appurtenances' in the gas-fitter scope; LP gas logs = LPGB Class 10 permit ($100 annual, qualified personnel proven by current written or oral examination, $500k/$500k insurance) or Class 1/2 dealer; HVACR licensees only if the unit qualifies as a 'heating unit' within the 75-foot carve-out (gray zone)
- Issuing body
- AR Dept. of Health Plumbing & Natural Gas Section (NG); Arkansas LP Gas Board (LP)
- Statute
- ADH gas-fitter rules; A.C.A. § 15-75-305 + LPGB Class 10 permit conditions; A.C.A. § 17-33-101(8)
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- y
- Local overlay
- n
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
What insurance does Arkansas require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- license (ACLB commercial >=$50,000, residential >$2,000; HVACR/ADH gas-fitter/LPGB credentials at $0) — FLAG: GC regime researched this batch, no rights file yet
- Liability minimum
- ACLB licenses (commercial AND residential): NO GL insurance requirement — applications require a WC certificate (if 1+ employees) but no liability policy (absence, primary application PDFs); LPGB CLASS 10 (LP appliance/piping installers): manufacturers & contractors BI $500,000/person + $500,000/accident + PD $500,000/accident + $500,000 aggregate (official LPGB page; statutory section for the amounts UNVERIFIED); HVACR Board: statute merely AUTHORIZES a GL minimum by rule (§ 17-33-202(8)) — current rule content UNVERIFIED; ADH plumber/gas fitter: none found
- Bond
- $10,000 CONTINUOUS SURETY BOND (or cash bond) required of ALL commercial contractors and registered subcontractors, filed with ACLB (A.C.A. § 17-25-401; surety may cancel on 60 days' written notice to principal AND Board) — the consumer-facing money instrument in AR; the residential-builder application checklist shows NO bond — whether § 17-25-401 reaches residential-only licensees UNVERIFIED (treat as commercial + registered subs only); optional bond-in-lieu-of-financial-statement exists separately for commercial applicants
- Guaranty fund
- NONE — no recovery/guaranty fund in A.C.A. ch. 17-25 (subchapters reviewed) or on ACLB pages; the § 17-25-401 bond is the only statutory payment vehicle (medium-high)
- Workers' comp threshold
- 3+ employees general (§ 11-9-102); construction trades reported at 2 employees and subcontractors (or contractors who sublet any part) at 1 (secondary only — MEDIUM, primary subsection unread); ARTIFACT: construction sole props/partners may file Form AR-A 'Certificate of Non-Coverage' (issued under §§ 11-9-102(9)(D)/11-9-402 — protects the prime from statutory-employer liability) with a PUBLIC holder search; ACLB withholds/holds licenses without the WC certificate
- How to verify
- insurance: NO ACLB insurance proxy exists — carrier-direct COI required for any insured badge; the checkable instruments are the $10k ACLB bond (commercial/subs) and the LPGB Class 10 $500k insurance; lookups aclb.arkansas.gov + arkansaslpgasboard.com + ADH (AUTOMATED); WC: AWCC coverage verification via NCCI (awcc.state.ar.us/electron.html) + AR-A non-coverage certificate holder search (portal.arkansas.gov/service/ar-wc-insurance-non-coverage-cert-holder/)
- Confidence
- high (bond/LP); medium (construction WC thresholds) · 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 Arkansas?
- 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.