Alaska water-heater replacement: installation is plumbing/heating under the mechanical contractor definition (§ 08.18.171(13)) — mechanical registration with an assigned mechanical administrator licensed under AS 08.40 and 12 AAC 39 (12 AAC 21.600(a)); the 'mechanical, exempt' specialty of 12 AAC 21.420 reaches only AS 08.40.390-exempt work, which was not read this phase; and the handyman tier cannot carry administrator work no matter how small the job. The $2,500-per-project insurance carve-out and the no-threshold registration rule still apply. Every claim sourced and dated.
Mechanical contractor registration requires an AS 08.40 mechanical administrator — AS 08.18.028 verbatim: '(a) The department may not issue a certificate of registration as a mechanical contractor to an applicant unless the applicant is, or employs, a person currently licensed as a mechanical administrator under AS 08.40. (b) Each applicant for a mechanical contractor's certificate of registration may employ more than one mechanical administrator. (c) If the relationship of the only mechanical administrator with a registered mechanical contractor is terminated, the registration is void 30 days after the next regularly scheduled mechanical administrator's examination unless the mechanical contractor has hired a licensed mechanical administrator in the interim.' 12 AAC 21.420 adds the 'mechanical, exempt' specialty for work exempt from administrator supervision. S-AK-AS-0818
Handyman category: one project with aggregate contract price ≤ $10,000 — AS 08.18.071(b)(4) verbatim: the $5,000 bond covers a 'contractor whose work on one project with an aggregate contract price of $10,000 or less, including all labor, materials, and other items, when the work is not part of a larger or major operation or otherwise divided into contracts of less than $10,000 to evade a higher bonding requirement.' 12 AAC 21.700: a handyman registrant 'may (1) only submit bids for or work on projects within the scope of a contractor; (2) not perform or employ a person to perform activities requiring an electrical or mechanical administrator under AS 08.40; and (3) not perform or employ a person to perform activities requiring a residential contractor endorsement under AS 08.18.025.' FAQ verbatim: 'Starting January 1, 2015, a professional "General Contractor - Handyman" license is required. If someone is doing business under this license, the aggregate total of the project must not exceed $10,000 and they must carry public liability and property damage insurance as required by AS 08.18.101.' S-AK-CON4816
General liability $20,000 / $50,000 / $100,000 with a $2,500-per-project carve-out — AS 08.18.101(a)(2) verbatim: applicants must file evidence of 'public liability and property damage insurance covering the applicant's contracting operations in this state in the sum of not less than $20,000 for damage to property, $50,000 for injury, including death, to any one person, and $100,000 for injury, including death, to more than one person; this requirement does not apply to an applicant whose contracting operations are for work on projects where each project has an aggregate contract price, including all labor, materials, and other items of $2,500 or less.' § 08.18.101(b): proof may come from the employer's policy covering the applicant. Form 08-4815 repeats the three limits and accepts Certificate of Insurance Coverage form 08-4977; documents must be dated no more than 30 days before receipt. § 08.18.121(a): 'If the insurance required in AS 08.18.101 ceases to be in effect, the registration of the contractor or home inspector shall be suspended until the insurance has been reinstated.' § 08.18.111: contractors 'may not advertise that they are bonded and insured simply because they have complied with the bond and insurance requirements of this chapter.' S-AK-AS-0818
Certificate of registration required before ANY bid or work (no dollar threshold) — AS 08.18.011(a) verbatim: 'A person may not submit a bid or work as a contractor until that person has been issued a certificate of registration as a contractor by the department.' AS 08.18.171(4) defines contractor to reach any person who undertakes, offers to perform, claims capacity to perform or SUBMITS A BID for construction, alteration, repair, moving or demolition of a building or fixed structure — there is NO dollar threshold anywhere in the chapter (the $10,000 figure is the handyman bond tier, not an exemption). § 08.18.011(b): a general contractor may not 'use a bid or proposal from, award a bid or proposal to, contract with, or allow a person required to be registered under this chapter to work for the general contractor as a specialty contractor unless the person is registered as a specialty contractor under this chapter.' S-AK-AS-0818
02 Which credentials this project can touch
Project
Credential
Relation
Rule
Source
water-heater-replacement
Mechanical Contractor (needs an AS 08.40 mechanical administrator)
Bonds are priced separately — $25,000 general / $20,000 exclusively-residential endorsed / $10,000 mechanical or specialty / $5,000 handyman (AS 08.18.071(b)). Municipal permit fees are LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED and are not published here.