Glossary · Institutions & Instruments
Registrar of Contractors
In short
The state agency that licenses contractors to perform construction work. When a contractor says they are licensed, this is usually what they mean — and it is not a TPT license.
In full
A different agency from ADOR, with a different license. The ROC license is the one that permits the work. A TPT license is the one that permits reporting the tax. Holding either says nothing about holding the other.
ADOR states plainly that when most contractors claim to be licensed, they are referring to ROC licensure. The distinction has a tax consequence. For periods from and after December 31, 2018, the prime contracting classification does not include any work or operation performed by a person who is not required to be licensed by the Registrar under A.R.S. § 32-1121. A business outside ROC licensing requirements may therefore be outside prime contracting entirely, though it may still be taxable under another classification such as retail.
Which work escapes ROC licensing is set out at A.R.S. § 32-1121(A), and two of its exemptions reach contracting directly.
A materialman, manufacturer or retailer that furnishes finished products without installing them is exempt — and so is one that does install them, where the total value of the sales contract or transaction, including labor, materials and everything else, **does not exceed $1,000**. The seller must tell the purchaser that a licensed contractor could do the installation instead, and give a name and address on request. A separate carve-out covers certain plug-in electrical fixtures and appliances that are unaltered and connect to a common household outlet.
An owner who improves their own property is exempt where the work is done by the owner, the owner's employees or duly licensed contractors, and the structures are intended for occupancy solely by the owner — not by the public, not by employees or business visitors, and not intended for sale.
Against § 42-5075(A) the consequence is concrete. A retailer who sells and installs flooring for a total of $900 is not required to be ROC-licensed, so that work is outside the prime contracting classification altogether — not MRRA, not Modification — and is taxed under retail instead. The same work at $1,100 is contracting.
A.R.S. § 42-5075(A); A.R.S. § 32-1121(A)(1)–(5); Laws 2018, Ch. 341; ADOR Contracting FAQs, Licensing