Licensing requirements
This lesson explains who must hold a CSLB license and who is exempt, the license classifications, the experience and exam rules, workers' compensation at licensing, renewal and inactive status, and how CSLB disciplines licensees and uses arbitration. Many exam questions test the exact numbers here: $1,000, 4 of 10 years, 18 months, 90 days, and 2 or 4 years.
A contractor is anyone who builds, alters, repairs, adds to, subtracts from, improves, moves, wrecks, or demolishes any building, road, excavation, or other structure or improvement, or who offers or bids to do so, personally or through others. ‘Contractor’ includes subcontractors and specialty contractors (B&P §7026). It also includes people who service fixed heating and air-conditioning equipment, remove or prune trees, or drill water wells (§7026.1).
Know this
Unless exempt, acting as a contractor without a license is a misdemeanor (B&P §7028).
The $1,000 minor work exemption
Since January 1, 2025, the minor work exemption applies only when all of these conditions are met (B&P §7048):
- The total price for labor, materials, and all other items on the project is less than $1,000, even if there are several contracts.
- The work is casual, minor, or inconsequential, and it does not require a building permit.
- The work is not part of a larger project, and the job was not split into smaller contracts to avoid the law.
- The person does not employ anyone to do or help with the work.
- The person does not advertise or use a sign or card suggesting they are a contractor.
Worked example
Is a license required?
- A handyperson quotes $600 for labor and $450 for materials to replace a fence section. No permit is needed and there are no helpers.
- Add labor and materials: $600 + $450 = $1,050.
- The exemption requires a total of less than $1,000.
Yes. A license is required because the total is $1,050.
Exam trap
The limit counts labor and materials together, and it must be less than $1,000, so a $1,000 job needs a license. A permit or a single helper ends the exemption, even on a $200 job.
Other exemptions
| Who is exempt | Key limits |
|---|---|
| Owner-builder doing the work (§7044(a)(1)) | The owner does all the work personally or with employees paid only wages, and the improvements are not intended or offered for sale. |
| Owner-builder hiring licensed contractors (§7044(a)(2)) | The owner contracts directly with properly licensed trade contractors. For single-family homes, no more than four may be offered for sale in a calendar year (this limit does not apply if the owner hires a general contractor). |
| Homeowner improving their principal residence (§7044(a)(3)) | Lived there the 12 months before the work was finished, the work is done before sale, and the homeowner has not used this exemption on more than two structures more than once in any three-year period. |
| Employees (§7053) | Wages are the only pay, there is no independent business, and the person does not control how the final results are achieved. |
| Government agencies (§7040) | Acting in an official capacity. They still may not hire an unlicensed contractor for work that needs a license. |
| Material suppliers and sellers (§7045, §7052) | They only supply materials, or install products that do not become a fixed part of the structure. Installing home improvement goods is not exempt. |
| Architects and engineers (§7051) | Acting only in their professional capacity. |
| Mural artists (§7050, effective 2026) | Hand-painted fine art murals; painted wall signs are not included. |
Know this
If an owner-builder sells or offers a structure for sale within one year after completion, the law presumes it was built for sale, but the owner can try to prove otherwise. Selling or offering five or more structures within one year after completion is conclusive proof they were built for sale (§7044(b)).
License classifications
| Classification | What it covers |
|---|---|
| A – General Engineering Contractor (§7056) | Fixed works that require specialized engineering knowledge, such as highways, bridges, dams, pipelines, sewers, airports, grading, and paving. |
| B – General Building Contractor (§7057) | Structures that shelter people, animals, or property and require at least two unrelated building trades or crafts. |
| B-2 – Residential Remodeling Contractor (§7057.5) | Improvements to existing residential wood-frame structures that require at least three unrelated trades in a single contract; no structural changes to load-bearing parts. |
| C – Specialty Contractor (§7058) | Work in one specialized trade, such as C-10 Electrical, C-36 Plumbing, or C-39 Roofing (16 CCR §832). |
| C-61 – Limited Specialty (16 CCR §832.61) | A narrow specialty not covered by another C class, tracked as ‘D’ subcategories. The licensee is limited to the field endorsed on the license. |
No trade exam is required for the C-61 Limited Specialty classification, but the qualifier must still pass the Law and Business exam (§7065.01). A licensee can add classifications by qualifying for them; the application fee to add a class is $230 as of 2026 (§7059; 16 CCR §811).
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