How to Read a CSLB License Record

A CSLB license record answers three questions: can this license contract today, which work does it cover, and are the bond and workers' compensation on file. Read the status line first. A license number on a business card proves nothing until the record confirms it.

Look Up a License

1. Take the license number from the bid, contract, business card or ad. CSLB requires the number on all three documents and on every contractor ad.³
2. Open Check A License on cslb.ca.gov, under Online Services.¹
3. Choose the search by Contractor License Number. Enter digits only, up to 8. A California contractor license number has no letters.¹
4. No number? Search by business name (up to 50 results) or by personnel name (up to 100 results). Type only the first 10 to 15 letters of a business name.¹
5. Open the license detail. Read the License Status line and any Additional Status notes before anything else.²
6. Compare the business name and address of record with your contract.³
7. Check that the classes fit the job: C-10 for electrical work, C-39 for roofing. See California Contractor License Classifications.
8. Check the bond and workers' compensation sections, then write down the date you looked. CSLB notes that license status can change daily.¹⁶

The CSLB database is offline every Sunday from 8 p.m. to Monday 6 a.m. for maintenance.¹

Fields on the License Detail

License Status and Expiration

An active record reads: "This license is current and active." CSLB adds that all information below should be reviewed.² Other records say a license is expired, revoked or under suspension. They say it is "not able to contract at this time," or list the reasons for the suspension.²

A license expires two years from the last day of the month it was issued. A renewed license runs two years from its last expiration date.⁴ A suspension can follow a canceled bond, lapsed workers' compensation, an unpaid court judgment, or a qualifier who left and was not replaced within 90 days.⁵

Qualifiers: RMO and RME

Every license is qualified by a person who has shown the experience and knowledge for the class. Under section 7068, an individual qualifies in person or through a responsible managing employee (RME). A partnership uses a general partner or an RME. A corporation uses a responsible managing officer (RMO) or an RME.⁶

The qualifier must exercise supervision and control of the construction operations to secure compliance with the license law.⁷ A qualifier may serve an additional firm only in limited cases, such as at least 20 percent common ownership.⁷ If a disassociated RMO or RME is not replaced within 90 days, the license can be suspended.⁵

Bonds

Section 7071.6 makes a $25,000 contractor's bond a condition for issuing, renewing and keeping a license.⁸ CSLB says the bond is filed for consumers damaged by defective construction or other license law violations, and for unpaid employees.¹⁰

A qualifier who is not the proprietor, a general partner or a joint licensee must also file a $25,000 bond of qualifying individual.⁹ CSLB requires it for every RME. An RMO who owns 10 percent or more of the voting stock files an exemption instead.¹⁰

A bond is canceled 30 days after CSLB receives a cancellation notice from the bond company. If no reinstatement or replacement bond arrives in that time, the license is suspended.¹¹ More on claims and amounts is in Contractor Bonds.

Workers' Compensation

A contractor with employees must carry workers' compensation insurance, even with only one employee.¹² A contractor with no employees may file an exemption. Five groups cannot: active C-8, C-20, C-22, C-39 and C-61/D-49 licenses must carry coverage. A license qualified by an RME cannot file one either.¹²

The record lists the class codes on the policy. CSLB states that it does not verify or investigate the accuracy of those codes.² A lapse in coverage suspends the license by operation of law. The suspension takes effect no later than the date the coverage lapses.¹³ More is in Workers' Comp on a License.

Complaints and Disciplinary Actions

Not every complaint is public. Section 7124.6 makes a complaint public once it is referred for accusation. It also makes public a complaint referred for investigation after staff find a probable violation that could justify suspension, revocation or prosecution.¹⁴ A disclosed complaint carries a disclaimer that it is an allegation. A complaint resolved in the contractor's favor is not disclosed.¹⁴

A new action during a disclosure period keeps all actions public as long as the newest one is.¹⁴ On the record, a pending case appears under Additional Status. One wording reads: "Disciplinary action is pending against this licensee in the form of an accusation."² CSLB defines a stayed suspension or stayed revocation as one that does not bar the contractor from operating, on conditions.¹⁶

Pending Suspension

Additional Status can also warn that a suspension or a class removal will take effect on a future date. One example is a qualifier who has not been replaced by a stated deadline.² The law sets other clocks that end in suspension:

• a canceled bond: 30 days after CSLB receives the notice;¹¹
• an unsatisfied final judgment not reported to CSLB within 90 days: suspension on the date CSLB learns of it;¹⁵
• lapsed workers' compensation: no later than the lapse date.¹³

A license that is active today but has a pending suspension may not be active on the day work starts. Check again before you pay a deposit. Work done without a valid license is covered in Unlicensed Contracting.