The California contractor licence guide
Everything CSLB expects of you, written in plain English and checked against the board's own publications. No sales pitch, no guessed numbers.
How to get a contractor licence in California
The seven steps in the order they actually happen: the four-year experience rule, the $450 application, fingerprints, the asbestos exam, both licence exams and the Bond and Fee letter.
What is on the Law and Business exam
The seven sections with their official weights, the closed-book format, the 3½-hour limit, and the truth about what score you need to pass.
What a licence actually costs
Every fee from the $450 application to the two-year renewal, including fingerprinting, the bond and the $100 that a retake costs you.
Failed the exam? What happens next
The 21-day wait, the 18-month void date, the five-year rule most people get wrong, and how to read your failing score report properly.
Quick answers
The things people ask before they read anything longer.
Which exams do I have to pass?
Two: the Law and Business exam, and a trade exam for the classification you applied for. The C‑61 Limited Specialty classification has no trade exam. Both are taken on a computer at a PSI test centre, closed book, multiple choice with four options, 3½ hours each.
How much experience do I need?
The qualifier needs four years of at least journey-level experience in the trade within the last 10 years. An apprenticeship, technical training or accredited education can earn credit toward part of it, but everyone must show at least one year of practical journey-level work.
How long do I have to pass?
18 months from the day CSLB accepts your application. After that it is void and you reapply with new fees.
What does it cost?
$450 for the application and $200 (sole owner) or $350 (non-sole owner) for the initial two-year licence, plus fingerprinting, PSI exam fees and the premium on a $25,000 bond. Full breakdown here.
How soon can I retake if I fail?
After 21 calendar days, if you are still inside your 18 months. Each reschedule is a non-refundable $100 to PSI.
Can I take the exam in Spanish?
Yes. CSLB offers Spanish versions of ten exams including Law and Business. Tick the translator box in Field 16 of the application. Guía en español.
Are these the real exam questions?
Nobody's are. CSLB does not release test questions or answer keys, and they cannot be reviewed after the exam. Anything advertised as the real bank is invented. Good preparation teaches the rules the questions are built from.
Where this comes from
Every page here is written from primary sources, and each one says which. No figure appears on this site unless we can point at the publication it came from.
CSLB
Get Licensed to Build, the Law and Business Examination Study Guide, the Examinations FAQ and the published fee list.
California law
The Contractors License Law & Reference Book, the Labor Code, the Civil Code lien provisions and Cal/OSHA Title 8.
Federal and state agencies
IRS Publication 15, the EDD Employer's Guide (DE 44) and the DIR public works manual.
Rules change, usually on 1 January. Pages carry the date they were last checked. For a real job on site, always confirm against the official source.
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