{
  "locale": "en",
  "access": {
    "cost": "free",
    "signupRequired": false,
    "loginRequired": false,
    "readCountsAreAnonymous": true,
    "readingHistoryAssociatedWithReader": false,
    "note": "Everything here is free to read. There is no account, no signup, and no login. Verifiant counts anonymous reads of each lesson; no reading history is associated with you."
  },
  "notice": "Verifiant is not the State of Arizona, the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, or a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. It describes public process and public record, and links to the official sources so you can read them yourself.",
  "lawyerNotice": "This page describes public process. It is not legal advice, and it does not say how any situation will come out. For decisions about your own situation, a licensed Arizona attorney is the right reader.",
  "question": {
    "slug": "what-must-a-contractor-contract-contain",
    "locale": "en",
    "title": "What Has to Be in a Residential Contractor Contract in Arizona?",
    "answer": "Over one thousand dollars, the contract goes on paper, by law, and the statute lists what the paper must carry. Holding your document up to that list takes ten minutes and tells you exactly who you are dealing with before money moves.",
    "lawyerFlag": true,
    "publicationStatus": "published",
    "updatedOn": "2026-08-11",
    "path": "/learn/questions/what-must-a-contractor-contract-contain",
    "sections": [
      {
        "heading": "The Statute's Own List",
        "body": "Arizona wrote the required elements into the statute itself, which means the check is mechanical: read the statute at the source link, read your contract beside it, and note what is missing.",
        "factSlugs": [
          "written-contract-required-elements"
        ]
      },
      {
        "heading": "Pools Have Their Own Payment Law",
        "body": "For swimming pool contracts, Arizona wrote the payment schedule into the statute too, so a draw schedule that runs ahead of the work is not a style choice; it is measurable against the law.",
        "factSlugs": [
          "pool-contract-draw-schedule"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "officialLinks": [
      {
        "label": "A.R.S. § 32-1158",
        "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01158.htm"
      },
      {
        "label": "A.R.S. § 32-1158.01",
        "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01158-01.htm"
      }
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "question": "The contractor wants a big deposit before starting. Is that legal?",
        "answer": "For most residential work the statute's required elements are the frame to read against; for pools specifically, the draw schedule is set by statute. Read your document against the source links on this page, and for your own situation, talk to a licensed Arizona attorney."
      },
      {
        "question": "We never signed anything. Where does that leave me?",
        "answer": "The statute requires the writing over its threshold, and the absence of one is itself worth noting in any complaint or filing. Keep every text, invoice, and receipt; a paper trail exists even without a signature page."
      }
    ]
  },
  "facts": [
    {
      "slug": "written-contract-required-elements",
      "locale": "en",
      "title": "What a Residential Contract Must Contain",
      "statement": "Over one thousand dollars, the contract goes on paper, by law. Arizona requires it to carry the license number, the total amount, the deposit, the schedule of payments tied to stages of the work, and a ten point bold notice of the homeowner's complaint rights with the Registrar. Cash earns a signed receipt on request, and changes belong in writing too.",
      "factType": "public_rule",
      "source": {
        "label": "A.R.S. § 32-1158",
        "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01158.htm"
      },
      "authority": 1,
      "authorityName": "primary authority",
      "topic": "Contracts and payment",
      "observedOn": "2026-08-11",
      "recheckBy": "2027-02-11",
      "publicationStatus": "published",
      "updatedOn": "2026-08-11",
      "path": "/learn/facts/written-contract-required-elements"
    },
    {
      "slug": "pool-contract-draw-schedule",
      "locale": "en",
      "title": "The Payment Schedule Arizona Sets for Pool Contracts",
      "statement": "Arizona wrote the payment schedule for pools into the statute itself. Fifteen percent down at most; then no more than a quarter of the total after excavation, another quarter after the steel, plumbing, and gunite, another after the decking, and the rest only as the job actually finishes. A pool contract that wants more, sooner, wants what the statute does not allow.",
      "factType": "public_rule",
      "source": {
        "label": "A.R.S. § 32-1158.01",
        "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01158-01.htm"
      },
      "authority": 1,
      "authorityName": "primary authority",
      "topic": "Contracts and payment",
      "observedOn": "2026-08-11",
      "recheckBy": "2027-02-11",
      "publicationStatus": "published",
      "updatedOn": "2026-08-11",
      "path": "/learn/facts/pool-contract-draw-schedule"
    }
  ]
}