How to check a contractor license in California
Use the Contractors State License Board's (CSLB) Check a License tool. You can search by license number, business name or personnel name, and the record includes complaint disclosure. California requires a CSLB license when a job needs a building permit, uses employees, or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials. Make sure the license name matches your contract.
How do I look up a contractor's license in California?
Use CSLB's free Check a License tool and search by license number, business name or personnel name. The result includes complaint disclosure, so you learn more than whether the license is active.
- Get the license number from the contractor's bid or contract. CSLB's search takes a number of up to eight digits.
- Open Check a License and search by the number. If you only have a name, a business name search returns up to 50 results and a personnel name search returns up to 100.
- Compare the name on the license with the business on your contract. If the license belongs to one company and the contract names another, such as a newly formed LLC, stop and ask the contractor why before you sign.
- Check that the classification fits the job, using the table below.
- Read the complaint disclosure on the record before you refer or hire.
| Classification | CSLB name |
|---|---|
| B | General Building Contractor |
| B-2 | Residential Remodeling Contractor |
| C-10 | Electrical Contractor |
| C-20 | Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning Contractor |
| C-36 | Plumbing Contractor |
| C-39 | Roofing Contractor |
We last checked this lookup on 2026-10-19. The CSLB database is down for scheduled maintenance from Sunday at 8 p.m. until Monday at 6 a.m., so try again later if a search fails then. CSLB also has a ZIP code search for finding licensed contractors near a property. For other states, see how to check a contractor license, state by state.
How do you check a home improvement salesperson?
Use the same tool. Check a License also searches Home Improvement Salesperson registrations by registration number or salesperson name, which helps when a salesperson, not the contractor, comes to the house to sell the job.
How much work can a handyman do in California without a license?
An unlicensed handyperson can take a job under $1,000 in labor and materials, as long as it needs no building permit and the handyperson hires no workers. CSLB says Assembly Bill 2622 raised the limit from $500 to $1,000 on January 1, 2025, so older sources that quote $500 are out of date.
The $1,000 includes every cost on the project. An unlicensed person may advertise for jobs under that amount, but the ad must say the person isn't licensed. If a small job needs a permit or a helper, it needs a contractor with a license in the right classification.
Who certifies electricians in California?
The Department of Industrial Relations does, through the Labor Commissioner's Office, which is also called the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). Electrical contractors hold a CSLB C-10 license, and state law requires the electricians who work under a C-10 contractor to be certified to DLSE standards.
To check an individual electrician, use DLSE's electrician certification search. You can search by certification card number, or by the first four letters of the electrician's last name plus the last four digits of the driver license or ID number on the application. In practice, you'll need to ask the electrician for one of those.
What does a California license lookup not tell you?
It doesn't tell you whether the work will be any good. An active license and a clean complaint disclosure are the minimum before you refer someone, and the lookup has other limits too.
- It says nothing about quality. Only past customers can tell you whether a contractor is slow, hard to reach or careless.
- It may not show current insurance. Ask for a certificate of insurance before a large job starts.
- Complaints only appear if someone filed them. A clean disclosure can mean unhappy customers never contacted CSLB.
- It doesn't control the payment terms. CSLB cautions that a down payment shouldn't exceed 10 percent of the contract price, and that later payments shouldn't run ahead of the work done or materials delivered.
- It doesn't confirm who's at the door. Make sure the person on site works for the business on the license.
A job near a state line can involve a contractor based next door, so check that state's records too. The lookups for Oregon, Nevada and Arizona are on their own pages. If the contractor has also worked in Hawaii, that lookup has its own page too.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm details with the Contractors State License Board.
Sources
- Contractors State License Board: Check a License
- Contractors State License Board: Handyperson Exemption to Increase to $1,000 in 2025 (PDF)
- Contractors State License Board: Licensing Classifications
- California Department of Industrial Relations: Electrician Certification Program
- California Department of Industrial Relations: Electrician Certification Search
Agents can keep these contractors in Proferral
Proferral is a free app real estate agents use to keep a go-to list of the providers they trust and to remember every referral they send. Its license checks cover Oregon and Washington only, so for California you still run the lookup above by hand. Here's how Proferral's license checks work.
It's free, no credit card needed, and you're never charged unless you choose Pro.