Get Your Contractor's License

Who can become a licensed contractor?

To qualify to become a licensed contractor an individual must be 18 years of age or older and have the experience and skills necessary to manage the daily activities of a construction business, including field supervision. Or, you must be represented by someone else with the necessary experience and skills, who serves as your qualifying individual.

The contractor or other person who will act as the qualifying individual must have had, within the ten years immediately before the filing of the application, at least four full years of experience at a journey level, or as a foreman, supervisor, or contractor in the classification for which he or she is applying. The experience claimed on the application must be verifiable and individuals who have knowledge of the experience must certify the accuracy of the experience information provided by the applicant (page 3 of the application).

Who must be licensed as a contractor?

All businesses or individuals who construct or alter any building, highway, road, parking facility, railroad, excavation, or other structure in California must be licensed by the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) if the total cost (labor and materials) of one or more contracts on the project is $500 or more. Contractors, including subcontractors, specialty contractors, and persons engaged in the business of home improvement (with the exception of joint ventures and projects involving federal funding) must be licensed before submitting bids. Licenses may be issued to individuals, partnerships, corporations, or joint ventures. The CSLB does not issue licenses to Limited Liability Companies (LLC's).

Applying for a License

How do I apply for a contractor's license?

You must complete the following steps:

Obtain an Application for Original Contractor's License from any office of the Contractors State License Board, by telephone from the CSLB's 24-hour automated public information line, (800) 321-CSLB (2752), or via the CSLB Web site, www.cslb.ca.gov

Online Information for Applicants

www.cslb.ca.gov:80/Applicants/applicants-overview.asp