How to Get Your General Contractor License in California

If you build homes, manage remodels, or take on construction projects involving multiple trades in California, the Class B General Building Contractor license is usually the license you’re looking for. California’s limited exemption for work under $1,000 with no permit and no employees rarely applies at the scale most GCs operate.

Here’s how to get it.

Class A vs. Class B: Which GC License Do You Need?

CSLB issues two general contractor licenses. Class A is for General Engineering Contractors whose principal business involves fixed works requiring specialized engineering knowledge: highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, dams, pipelines, and similar infrastructure. If you’re not in heavy civil, this isn’t your license.

Class B is for General Building Contractors: structures built for the support, shelter, and enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, or movable property. Homes, commercial buildings, room additions, remodels, tenant improvements. Most residential and commercial contractors need Class B, and that’s what this article covers.

What the Class B License Covers

The Class B is defined under Business and Professions Code section 7057. A general building contractor’s principal business is in connection with structures requiring the use of at least two unrelated building trades or crafts in their construction.

That’s the scope: projects involving multiple trades. New home construction, room additions, whole-house remodels, commercial tenant improvements. A Class B can also take prime and subcontracts for framing or carpentry specifically, and self-perform that work.

On a project that properly qualifies under the Class B classification, you can generally perform the work using your own crew, licensed subcontractors, or some combination. The core restriction is about what contracts you can take, not a blanket prohibition on who performs the work on a qualifying project.

The Two-Trade Rule

This is the most commonly misunderstood aspect of the Class B license, and the most common source of scope-of-work violations.

The rule: a Class B can take prime contracts and self-perform framing or carpentry. For any project involving other trades, the contract must include at least two unrelated building trades other than framing or carpentry. If it doesn’t, you need to either hold the relevant specialty license yourself or subcontract that specialty work to a licensed specialty contractor. (CSLB)

One detail that trips people up: framing and carpentry don’t count toward the two-trade threshold. A project with framing plus one specialty trade is still a single-specialty project for purposes of this rule.

The restriction bites hardest on standalone specialty jobs. A homeowner wants only an electrical panel upgrade. One trade. You can’t take that prime contract as a Class B unless you hold a C-10 or subcontract it to a licensed C-10. If a GC above you hands you that same job as a subcontract, you can’t take the sub without holding the C-10 yourself. That’s a tighter restriction than it sounds.

Full construction projects are a different story. A remodel involving framing, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC is multiple unrelated trades. A Class B can take that project and can perform it with your own crew, use licensed C-10 electrical, C-36 plumbing, and C-20 HVAC subcontractors, or some combination of both.

Two additional carve-outs: C-16 Fire Protection and C-57 Well Drilling cannot be performed by a Class B without holding those specialty licenses or subcontracting to licensed specialists, regardless of how many other trades are on the project.

CSLB publishes a Fast Facts sheet with additional scope guidance, including notes on roofing, asbestos, hazardous substances, and solar installations.

California Class B License Requirements

Before getting into the application steps, here’s what CSLB requires:

• At least 18 years old
• Four years of qualifying experience within the past 10 years
• Certification of your qualifying experience by someone with firsthand knowledge
• Pass the Class B trade exam and Law and Business exam
• Complete Live Scan fingerprinting
• $25,000 contractor bond before issuance
• Workers’ comp insurance or exemption before issuance

Step 1: Meet the Experience Requirements

CSLB requires four years of qualifying experience within the ten years immediately before you apply. (CSLB) That means experience at the journey level or as a foreman, supervising employee, contractor, or owner-builder. (CSLB) Journey-level experience means you’re fully qualified to perform the trade without supervision. Time spent only as a helper or laborer doesn’t count.

Qualifying apprenticeship training can earn credit toward the four-year requirement.

No matter how much education credit you receive, CSLB still requires at least one year of practical hands-on experience.

Every experience claim has to be verified by someone with firsthand knowledge: an employer, a contractor, a foreman, a union rep, or a building inspector. They sign off on the Certification of Work Experience form. CSLB can ask for supporting documentation at any point. If you can’t produce it, your application is at risk.

Step 2: Apply for Your Class B License

Once you’ve got the experience, you apply through CSLB’s exam application process. Sole-owner applicants can apply online. Other business structures may use a printable application. Either way, include the Certification of Work Experience form (13A-11) and pay the $450 application processing fee.

Don’t submit bonds or your initial license fee with the application. Those come later.

You can only apply for one classification at a time when an exam is required. Get the Class B first, then add specialty classifications later if needed.

CSLB will send you an acknowledgment letter with an Application Fee Number and a PIN. Use those to track your application status online.

Step 3: Get Fingerprinted

After your application is accepted, you’ll get instructions to complete Live Scan fingerprinting. CSLB runs a criminal background review as part of the process. This happens before you’re scheduled for the exams.

Step 4: Pass the Class B and Law and Business Exams

CSLB has a Class B study guide on their site. Use it.

After CSLB accepts your application, you’ll receive a Notice to Schedule an Examination. You’ll need to pass two exams: the Class B trade exam and the Law and Business exam. Both are administered by PSI, CSLB’s testing vendor. You contact PSI directly to schedule your test dates.

You have 18 months from application acceptance to pass the required exams. If you pass one and fail the other, you only have to retake the one you failed, and that passing score stays valid for five years.

Step 5: Get Your License Issued

Pass the exams, and CSLB’s Issuance Unit sends you a bond and fee letter. That letter tells you exactly what to submit. Here’s what’s typically required:

Initial license fee. $200 for sole owners. $350 for any other business type. This covers the first two years.

Contractor’s bond. You need a $25,000 contractor’s bond filed with CSLB. Buy it through a licensed surety company. CSLB doesn’t issue bonds. The $25,000 is the required coverage amount, not the premium you pay to the surety. Depending on how your business is structured and who serves as your qualifier, a separate $25,000 Bond of Qualifying Individual may also be required.

Asbestos open-book exam. Every new applicant has to complete this before CSLB can issue a license, per Business and Professions Code section 7058.5. It’s not a certification to do asbestos work. It’s a knowledge check on how to handle situations where asbestos might be present on a job.

Workers’ compensation. If you have employees, you need proof of coverage. Class B is not among the classifications that must carry coverage regardless of employee status, so if you have no employees, you can file a workers’ compensation exemption instead. If an RME qualifies your license, the exemption isn’t available. (CSLB)

Once everything’s in, CSLB issues your license. You’ll get a wall certificate (required to be displayed in your main office) and a pocket card to carry.

Don’t start contracting just because you’ve passed the exams or submitted the bond. You need to wait until CSLB actually issues and activates the license. See our guide on working while your California contractor license is still pending.

How Much Does a Class B Contractor License Cost in California?

Your minimum CSLB fees are $650 as a sole owner or $800 for another business entity, before fingerprinting and bond premiums.

The $25,000 is the coverage amount CSLB requires the bond to carry. What you pay a surety company for that bond depends on your credit and the surety’s rates.

Renewing Your California Class B License

An active Class B license is good for two years. CSLB currently charges $450 for a sole-owner renewal and $700 for a non-sole-owner renewal. While active, you have to maintain your contractor’s bond, the Bond of Qualifying Individual if required, and workers’ comp coverage if you have employees. Let any of those lapse and your license can be suspended. Don’t let the license itself expire either. Work performed on an expired California contractor license can be treated as unlicensed contracting. See what happens if your California contractor license expires.

You can hold an inactive license if you’re not taking on work. It renews on a four-year cycle and doesn’t require the bond or workers’ comp, but you can’t bid or contract while it’s inactive.

Once You’re Licensed

Getting the Class B license doesn’t end your California compliance requirements. Your license number has to appear on construction contracts, subcontracts, bids, and advertising under California Business and Professions Code section 7030.5. California contractors also have specific invoice requirements, and residential home improvement contractors need to follow the state’s down payment limits and progress payment rules.

Cinderblock automatically carries your contractor license number onto estimates and invoices, so you don’t have to remember to add it every time.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Licensing requirements can change. Consult the relevant licensing authority or a qualified attorney for guidance specific to your situation.