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12 permits · verified 2026-10-19

What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Saline County Ar?

In short

No permit applies to every contractor or trade in Saline County Ar, AR. All 12 depend on your premises, the work you do or how you are set up. Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division charges $45 filed online; $50 on paper for the articles of incorporation. 4 of the 12 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-10-19 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a contractor or trade in Saline County Ar

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Permit for Work in a County Road Easement (Saline County Road Department)only if it applies to youSaline County Road DepartmentOrdinance 2024-19 sets no permit fee amount; it requires the county judge's written consent and compliance with the county's utility accommodation permit requirements. Contact the Saline County Road Department, (501) 303-5690, for the current fee and any bond requirement.per job2026-10-19
County Stormwater Permit for Construction Activities (Saline County Engineering Department)only if it applies to youSaline County Road DepartmentThe fee is not published on the county Storm Water page; contact the Saline County Engineering Department, (501) 303-5690, for the current amount.not stated on the county Storm Water page2026-10-19
HVACR Licenseonly if it applies to youArkansas HVACR Licensing Board$200 a year for the top class; lower classes run from $100 to $1501 year from the date of issuance2026-09-04
Home Improvement Registrationonly if it applies to youArkansas Contractors Licensing Board$50 to register; renewal is $25 a yearannual2026-09-04
Electrical Licenseonly if it applies to youArkansas Board of Electrical Examiners$50 a year for a master electrician; a journeyman is $25 a yearannual2026-09-04
Commercial Contractor Licenseonly if it applies to youArkansas Contractors Licensing Board$100 to apply; renewal is $50 a yearannual2026-09-04
Plumbing Licenseonly if it applies to youArkansas Department of Health, Food Protection Program$200 a year for a master plumber; a journeyman is $75 a yearannual — master, journeyman and apprentice licenses expire 31 December; several restricted licenses expire 30 June instead2026-09-04

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Saline County Ar

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Commercial Development Plat / Site Plan Approval (unincorporated Saline County, outside city planning jurisdictions)only if it applies to youSaline County Planning BoardVaries — formula on the Saline County Ar pageone-time approval; an extension of preliminary plat approval is a separate $75.00 filing under Ordinance No. 2003-022026-10-19

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

AR registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youArkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division$45 filed online; $50 on paperperpetual, but a franchise tax report is due every year2026-09-04
Annual Franchise Tax Reportonly if it applies to youArkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services DivisionVaries — formula on the AR pageannual — due 1 May2026-09-04
Certificate of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youArkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division$45 filed online; $50 on paperperpetual, but a franchise tax report is due every year2026-09-04
General Business License — Arkansas Secretary of State Guidanceonly if it applies to youArkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services DivisionNo feenot applicable2026-09-04

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a contractor or trade in Saline County Ar?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 12 records listed for a contractor or trade in Saline County Ar, AR, 0 apply to every business of this type and 12 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

4 of the 12 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 1 has no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Permit for Work in a County Road Easement (Saline County Road Department): Ordinance 2024-19 sets no permit fee amount; it requires the county judge's written consent and compliance with the county's utility accommodation permit requirements. Contact the Saline County Road Department, (501) 303-5690, for the current fee and any bond requirement.

County Stormwater Permit for Construction Activities (Saline County Engineering Department): The fee is not published on the county Storm Water page; contact the Saline County Engineering Department, (501) 303-5690, for the current amount.

The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Saline County Ar permits page and the AR state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Saline County Ar?

Permits for a contractor or trade in Saline County Ar, AR come from 7 separate offices: Saline County Planning Board, Saline County Road Department, Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division, Arkansas HVACR Licensing Board, Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners, Arkansas Department of Health, Food Protection Program. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a contractor or trade need in Saline County Ar that other businesses do not?

7 of the 7 permits particular to a contractor or trade here apply to no other business type we cover in Saline County Ar: Permit for Work in a County Road Easement (Saline County Road Department), County Stormwater Permit for Construction Activities (Saline County Engineering Department), HVACR License and 4 more.

Permit for Work in a County Road Easement (Saline County Road Department)

A contractor digging, placing or situating utilities, poles, lines, fences, cables, wires or any other item within the easement or right of way of a county maintained public road in Saline County needs the county's permission first. Art. 3(c) of Ordinance 2024-19, the Quorum Court's ordinance for the protection of the traveling public and continued maintenance of county maintained public roads (adopted August 19, 2024, as recorded in the minutes printed in the September 16, 2024 Quorum Court packet), makes it unlawful to do so "without first obtaining the written consent of the county judge and complying with the utility accommodation permit requirements of the county". The ordinance states no permit fee amount. The application is the Road Department's Permit for Work in County Road Easement form, linked from the county's Road Maintenance Request / Adoption page; contact the Saline County Road Department at 5555 Cynamide Road, Benton, (501) 303-5690, for the current fee and bond terms before work begins.

County Stormwater Permit for Construction Activities (Saline County Engineering Department)

A contractor carrying out construction activities in Saline County may need a county stormwater permit. The county's Storm Water page states that the Saline County Quorum Court passed a Stormwater Quality Ordinance in 2015, and that the program "requires the county to issue stormwater permits for various construction activities and implements new rules and regulations for construction trades". The page states that the program is managed by Saline County's Engineering Department and directs questions to John Wofford at (501) 303-5690. The permit fee, application form and the list of activities that need a permit are not published on the county Storm Water page; contact the Engineering Department for them before work begins.

HVACR License

HVAC and refrigeration work is licensed across five priced classes — Class A at $200 a year is the highest, Class C the cheapest at $100, with Classes B, D and E each $150 — plus a $25 registrant category and a lifetime Class L license issued at no charge at all. Every license, regardless of class, expires exactly one year from the date it was issued rather than on a shared calendar date, so two contractors licensed months apart renew on entirely different schedules.

Home Improvement Registration

The residential counterpart to the commercial contractor license, with a much lower trigger: work on an existing home exceeding $2,000. Fifty dollars to register and $25 a year to renew. The statute closes an obvious loophole directly — deliberately splitting one job into several contracts each under $2,000 does not qualify for the exemption.

Electrical License

Electrical work is licensed by its own dedicated board under the labour and licensing department, at a genuinely modest cost — $50 a year for a master electrician and $25 a year for a journeyman, with the same $25 covering related classes such as a residential journeyman, an air conditioning electrician or an industrial maintenance electrician. An examination is separately priced by the testing provider, running roughly $56 to $80 depending on the class sought.

Commercial Contractor License

This license is required once a commercial project's combined labour and materials reach $50,000 — below that threshold on commercial work, or on residential work under the separate home improvement rule, it does not apply. A hundred dollars to apply and $50 a year to renew, backed by a minimum net worth of $50,000, at least $25,000 of which must be cash or its equivalent, and a $10,000 surety bond. Working without the license above the threshold is a criminal misdemeanour and carries a civil penalty of $100 to $400 for every day the violation continues.

Plumbing License

Plumbing is licensed by the health department's own plumbing programme rather than the labour and licensing department that handles electrical and HVAC — an agency placement easy to get wrong by analogy to those two trades. A master plumber pays $200 a year, a journeyman $75, and several restricted categories run on a different calendar entirely: a restricted solar mechanic pays the journeyman rate while a restricted supervising solar mechanic, restricted residential maintenance plumber, or restricted water and sewer service line installer each pay the master rate. Late renewal adds a penalty of $5 for every month overdue.

The other 1 local permit in the tables apply to every type of business in Saline County Ar, AR; what each one involves is set out on the Saline County Ar permits page. The 4 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across AR and are covered on the AR state page.

How does a contractor or trade compare with other businesses in Saline County Ar?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A contractor or trade also needs Permit for Work in a County Road Easement (Saline County Road Department), County Stormwater Permit for Construction Activities (Saline County Engineering Department), HVACR License and 4 more. A auto repair shop needs Automotive Repair Shop — Arkansas State Obligations, which a contractor or trade does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Saline County Ar, AR, compared with a contractor or trade
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a contractor or tradeOnly a contractor or trade needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops1071
Childcare centres1071
Coffee shops2072
Fitness studios0070
Food trucks2072
Restaurants2072
Retail stores0070
Salons and barbers2072
Veterinary clinics1071

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Saline County Ar permits page and the AR state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. August 2024 Quorum Court Meeting Agenda & Exhibits (Exhibit "C": Ordinance for the Protection of the Traveling Public and Continued Maintenance of the County Maintained Public Roads, Ordinance 2024-19)Saline County Quorum Court · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-19
  2. QC Meeting Agenda, September 16, 2024 (minutes of the August 19, 2024 meeting adopting Ordinances 2024-18 and 2024-19)Saline County Quorum Court · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-19
  3. Permit for Work in County Road EasementSaline County Road Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-19
  4. Road Maintenance Request / AdoptionSaline County Road Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-19
  5. Road DepartmentSaline County, Arkansas · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-19
  6. StormwaterSaline County, Arkansas · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-19
  7. Arkansas HVACR Licensing Board rules — license fee schedule by classArkansas HVACR Licensing Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  8. Arkansas Code section 17-25-513 — the $2,000 home improvement registration thresholdState of Arkansas · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  9. Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners administrative rules — license fee scheduleArkansas Board of Electrical Examiners · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  10. Arkansas Code section 17-25-103 — the $50,000 commercial contractor licensing threshold and penaltiesState of Arkansas · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  11. Arkansas Code of Rules 007.04.19, rule 8 — plumbing license fee scheduleArkansas Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.