California — statewide
Contractors State License Board
In short
Contractors State License Board issues 1 permit we publish for California — statewide, last verified 2026-09-03. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contractor License | Contractors State License Board | $450 original application for one classification, then an initial license fee of $200 for a sole owner or $350 otherwise. Renewal every two years is $450 sole owner or $700 otherwise, with C-10 electrical contractors paying $20 more at each tier | 2 years | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Contractor License
The fees are the small part. Every licensee must carry a $25,000 contractor's bond, raised from $15,000 by Senate Bill 607 with effect from 1 January 2023. Two more bonds can stack on top: a $25,000 Bond of Qualifying Individual where the license is qualified by a responsible managing employee, or by a responsible managing officer who does not own at least 10 per cent of the voting stock; and, for an LLC license, a further $100,000 surety bond for the benefit of employees for unpaid wages. An LLC contractor therefore carries $125,000 of bonding before it starts. Fingerprinting is paid separately to the Live Scan operator — $32 to the Department of Justice and $17 to the FBI, plus a rolling fee CSLB does not set. An inactive license needs no contractor's bond while it stays inactive.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- California — statewide
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
- Website
- www.cslb.ca.gov/
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- California Business and Professions Code section 7071.6 — $25,000 contractor's bond, raised by Senate Bill 607 with effect from 1 January 2023California Legislative Information · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Contractors State License Board — schedule of feesContractors State License Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Other California statewide offices
- California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division
- California Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Branch
- California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology
- California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division
- California Department of Tax and Fee Administration
- California Franchise Tax Board
- California Veterinary Medical Board
California jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.