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California

With a few exceptions, all businesses or individuals who work on 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 of one or more contracts on the project is $500 or more.

maglass.gif (1144 bytes)To find out if a contractor is licensed in California, click http://www2.cslb.ca.gov/General-Information/interactive-tools/check-a-license/License+Request.asp.


To apply for a license, contact:

contact.GIF (447 bytes) Contractors State License Board
9821 Business Park Drive
Sacramento, CA 95826
(916) 255-3900
(916) 366-9130 
http://www.cslb.ca.gov/

CSLB has an automated, toll-free number (1-800-321-2752) you can use to order an application or get other information. Forms and applications are also available online at http://www.cslb.ca.gov/services/forms.asp

To qualify for a license you must verify that you've had at least four years of experience in the last ten years as a journeyman, foreman, supervising employee, contractor, or owner-builder. You may be able to apply from one and one-half to three years of approved education and/or apprenticeship to this requirement. There are also special requirements for contractors who work with asbestos, contractors who remove hazardous substances, and contractors who install or remove underground storage tanks.

Unless you're applying for a joint venture license, you must have more than $2,500 worth of operating capital to apply for a new contractor's license.

CSLB issues these types of licenses to an individual, partnership, corporation, or joint venture:

Class A -- General Engineering Contractor

Class B -- General Building Contractor

Class C -- Specialty Contractor

Class C has these subclassifications:

insulation and acoustical lathing and plastering
boiler, hot water heating and steam fitting plumbing
framing & rough carpentry refrigeration
cabinet, mill work and finish carpentry roofing
low voltage systems sanitation system
concrete sheet metal
drywall electrical signs
earthwork and paving solar
electrical (general) general manufactured housing
fencing steel, reinforcing
flooring and floor covering steel, structural
fire protection swimming pool
glazing tile (ceramic and mosaic)
warm-air heating, ventilating and air conditioning water conditioning
building moving and demolition water well-drilling
ornamental metals welding
landscaping limited specialty
lock & security equipment
masonry
construction zone traffic control
parking and highway improvement
painting and decorating
pipeline

These are the Class C Limited Specialty Subclassifications:

awnings central vacuum systems
concrete-related services drilling, blasting & oil field work
elevated floors synthetic products
hardware locks & safes machinery & pumps
metal products paperhanging
doors, gates & activating devices pole installation & maintenance
pile driving/pressure foundation jacking pool & spa maintenance
prefabricated equipment scaffolding
sand & water blasting siding & decking
service station equipment & maintenance tree service
sign installation window coverings
suspended ceilings trenching
wood tanks air & water balancing
hydroseed spraying non specialized
construction cleanup
weatherization & energy conservation

You'll have to take the Board's Business and Law Exam to get a license. The Board will review your application and let you know whether you need to take the exam or not.

The exam is closed book and has two parts which each take about two and one-half hours to finish. One part has about 100 multiple choice questions on law and business. Here's a summary of its content:

Section Percent of exam
Business Practices 14
Bid Preparation 18
Contracts 15
Contract Operations 19
Safety 8
Labor 13
Legal  13

*Percentages are approximate

The other part of the exam will be on whatever specific trade you apply for. The CSLB will send you a study guide for the trade. It'll tell you the topics on the exam, the weight of each topic, and other materials you should study before taking the exam. The study guides are available online at http://www.cslb.ca.gov/studyguides/default.asp 

fees.GIF (442 bytes)Contractor's license fee: It will cost you $250 nonrefundable to apply for a license and $50 for each trade you apply for after the first. The initial license costs $150. However you can't add a trade that requires an exam until you get your first license. A license is good for two years.

The Board requires a bond before it will give you a license. After you pass the exams they'll notify you how much the bond must be for. This will depend on the type of license you get and which trade it's in. Usually it's $12,500.

The Board may accept your trade experience and/or license in another state. However you'll still have to apply for a license, pass the law and business part of the Board exam, and pay the appropriate fees.

Recommended reading for the business and law exam:
Accounting and Financial Management for Builders
National Association of Home Builders
P.O. Box 2900,
Forrester Center, WV 25438
(800) 223-2665
FAX: (800) 525-5562
INTERNET: www.builderbooks.com

California Building Code
ICBO Order Desk,
5360 Workman Mill Road
Whittier, CA 90601-2298
(800) 284-4406
FAX: (888) 329-4226
INTERNET: www.icbo.org

California Contractors License Law and Reference Book
Department of General Services,
Procurement Publications
P.O. Box 1015,
North Highlands, CA 95660
(916) 928-4630
FAX: (916) 928-0304
INTERNET: www.pd.dgs.ca.gov. Place mouse over Material Mgmt & Repair (do not click on it) and go to menus on the right and click on Publications Distribution Center. Then click on the price list and/or order form.

Cal/OSHA Construction Safety Orders
California Code of Regulations, Title 8
Industrial Relations, Chapter 4, Subchapter 4
Barclays Law Publishers
P.O. Box 95767,
Chicago, IL 60694
(800) 888-3600
FAX: (415) 732-8875
OR
Building News, Inc.
1612 S. Clementine Street
Anaheim, CA 92802
(888) 264-2665
INTERNET: ccr.oal.ca.gov/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll or www.bni-books.com

Cal/OSHA Guide for the Construction Industry
Department of Industrial Relations
Research and Education Unit
2211 Park Towne Circle, Suite #4
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 574-2528, (800) 963-9424
FAX: (916) 574-2532
INTERNET: www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/puborder.asp

Construction Management Guide - Basic Business & Project Management for Contractors
National Association of State Contractors' Licensing Agencies
P. O. Box 14941
Scottsdale, AZ 85267
(888) 755-9765
FAX: (480) 948-4117
INTERNET: www.nascla.org

Guide to Cal/OSHA
Department of Industrial Relations,
Research and Education Unit
2211 Park Towne Circle, Suite #4
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 574-2528, (800) 963-9424
FAX: (916) 574-2532
INTERNET: www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/puborder.asp

Guide to Developing Your Workplace Injury & Illness Prevention Program
Department of Industrial Relations
P.O. Box 420603
San Francisco, CA 94142-0603
(415) 703-5281
FAX: (415) 732-8861
INTERNET: www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/puborder.asp

"Greenbook": Standard Specifications for Public Works Construction
Building News, Inc.
1612 S. Clementine St.
Anaheim, CA 92802
(888) 264-7483
INTERNET: www.bni-books.com

Other publications CSLB recommends are:

Construction Management Guide -- Basic Business & Project Management for Contractors, National Association of State Contractors' Licensing Agencies, Box 30478, Phoenix, AZ 85046

California Employer's Tax Guide, California Franchise Tax Board

Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide, Internal Revenue Service

Employment Taxes and Information Returns, Internal Revenue Service

How to Succeed with Your Own Construction Business, Diller, S. & Diller, J., Craftsman Book Company, 6058 Corte del Cedro, P.O. Box 6500, Carlsbad, CA 92018
http://craftsman-book.com

Accounting and Financial Management for Builders, National Association of Home Builders, 15th and M Streets NW, Washington, DC 20005

Recommended publications on safety are:

California Contractors License Law and Reference Book (1994)

Guide to Cal/OSHA

Cal/OSHA Guide for the Construction Industry

Guide to Developing Your Workplace Injury & Illness Prevention Program

You can get these safety books from:

Department of Industrial Relations
P.O. Box 420603
San Francisco, CA 94142-0603
(415) 703-5281

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Department of Transportation (DOT)

You don't need to be prequalified to bid on Department of Transportation (Caltrans) projects in California. However you do need to be licensed through the Contractors State License Board in the classes of work required to perform the work specified in any contract you bid on. The Department puts out a weekly listing of construction projects called "Advertisement for Bids." To get your name included on the mailing list for this publication, send a request to:

contact.GIF (447 bytes) Department of Transportation
Office Engineer/Engineering Service Center
1727 30th Street, MS #43
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 227-6287
http://www.dot.ca.gov/

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Out-of-State Contractors

Out-of-state contractors must register with the California Secretary of State. For information, contact:

contact.GIF (447 bytes) Corporate Filing Support
Secretary of State
1500 11th Street, 3rd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 657-5448
http://www.ss.ca.gov/

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