Getting licensed

How to Get a California Contractor License

Updated September 2026

In California you need a CSLB license for most jobs where labor and materials together come to $1,000 or more (or that need a permit or workers). Here is the path CSLB lays out in its Get Licensed to Build booklet, in plain words.

The steps, in order

• Check that you are eligible. You must be at least 18, and the person qualifying the license needs at least four years of journey-level experience (or higher) within the last ten years in the trade.
• Document your experience. CSLB may give credit toward the four years for a completed apprenticeship, technical training or accredited education - but every qualifier needs at least one year of practical journey-level work.
• Fill out the application for your classification.
• Submit it with the application fee.
• Get fingerprinted when CSLB asks, after it reviews your application.
• Schedule and pass your exams - usually two: Law and Business, plus the trade exam for your classification.
• Meet the final requirements and get your license.

Fees and numbers CSLB lists

These come from CSLB's own Get Licensed to Build booklet (2025 edition). Fees change - confirm the current amounts at cslb.ca.gov before you apply.

The exams

CSLB contracts its exams to PSI, which runs test centers around the state. You get 3.5 hours for each exam, they are computer based and multiple choice, and your results are shared before you leave the test center.

The Law and Business exam is one of ten CSLB exams offered in Spanish - the B General Building exam is another. CSLB says candidates who ask for a translator on those exams must take the Spanish version, and it offers accommodations for applicants who need them. CSLB also runs a free monthly Get Licensed to Build workshop, with a Spanish-language version.

In some cases CSLB can waive an exam - for example, when you already serve, or within the last five years served, as the qualifier for the same classification on a license in good standing. Check your situation with CSLB.

After you pass

You get a letter at the test site listing what is left before CSLB can issue the license: the initial license fee, an open-book asbestos exam, fingerprints if not done yet, the $25,000 contractor bond, and proof of workers' compensation insurance or an exemption.

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