About This Book
The Maintain and Change Your License section of the CSLB website is the official portal where California licensed contractors can manage, update, renew, or modify their license status.
Key Actions Available:
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Name/Address Changes: Report legal name changes (due to marriage, divorce, or court order) or update business names and addresses within 90 days of the change.
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Change in Business Entity: Transitioning between entity types (e.g., sole owner to corporation) requires applying for a new license, not simply renewing.
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License Renewal: Active licenses renew every two years; inactive licenses renew every four years.
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Inactivating/Reactivating Your License: An inactive license is placed "on hold"—you cannot bid or perform work, and bonds and workers' compensation insurance are not required. Reactivation restores the license to active status.
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Bonds and Insurance: Keep contractor bonds, bonds of qualifying individuals (BQI), and workers' compensation insurance current to avoid automatic license suspension.
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Personnel Changes: Add or remove corporate officers, partners, or responsible managing employees (RMEs/RMOs).
Practice Tests Using This Book
This book is required or recommended for 1 licensing exam. We've written 18 practice questions directly from this material, each one citing the chapter and section it comes from.