Do I have to pass two exams?
Usually, yes. An applicant for a contractor license passes the Law and Business exam and a trade exam for the classification applied for, unless the requirements for an exam waiver are met. The C-61 Limited Specialty classification has no trade exam at all. The Law and Business exam is the same paper whichever classification you are after, which is why more people sit it than any other CSLB examination.
How much experience do I need, and who can sign for it?
Four years, inside the ten years before you file, as a journeyman, foreman, supervising employee or contractor in the class you are applying for, and a qualified and responsible person has to verify your statement of experience.
The four years, and who can sign for them
Does a degree or an apprenticeship shorten the four years?
Partly. Acceptable training at an accredited school, or completion of an approved apprenticeship program under the Labor Code, counts as experience, but never for more than three of the four years, so at least one year has to be work. If you were the qualifier on a license in the same classification before, you can count that experience without the ten-year limit. The rule names no other credit. Anything else, an owner-builder permit or a degree in another field, is argued under the separate rule that lets the registrar accept comparable knowledge, training or experience.
What is an RMO, what is an RME, and what is the difference?
Both are the qualifying individual: the person whose knowledge and experience the license rests on, and who sits the exams. Which one applies depends on the entity. An individual qualifies in person or through a responsible managing employee (RME). A partnership qualifies through a general partner or an RME. A corporation qualifies through a responsible managing officer (RMO) or an RME. A limited liability company (LLC) qualifies through a responsible managing officer, manager, member or employee. An RME has to be a bona fide employee, permanently employed and actively engaged, which the statute defines as working 32 hours a week or 80 percent of the hours the business runs, whichever is less. Replacing a qualifier is its own application with its own fee, and the license is suspended, or the classification removed, if it is not done inside 90 days of the qualifier leaving.
Can I be the qualifier for a company I do not own?
Yes, and you carry the company. A qualifier is responsible for exercising supervision and control of the construction operations of the employer so the company complies with the license law, and an act or omission that is cause for discipline against the company is cause for discipline against whoever was its qualifier when it happened, whether or not they knew about it or took part. A qualifier who is neither the proprietor, a general partner nor a joint licensee files a bond of $25,000 of their own, on top of the contractor bond. One person may qualify no more than three firms in a one-year period, and only where the ownership or management overlap that the statute describes exists.
Can the Law and Business exam be waived?
Sometimes, and the statute says when. Under s. 7065(d) no examination is required of a qualifying individual who, in the five years before applying, personally passed the written exam for the same classification, or served as the qualifying individual for a licensee in good standing in it. Sections 7065.1 and 7065.2 set out further cases, one of which CSLB says the registrar has suspended. Reciprocity waives the trade exam. The Law and Business exam is waived only under ss. 7065(d), 7065.1 and 7065.2, so an applicant coming in through reciprocity sits it unless one of those three applies.
Every waiver section, and what each one covers
Does an out-of-state license get me out of this exam?
No, not on its own. Reciprocity waives the trade exam. The Law and Business exam is waived only under ss. 7065(d), 7065.1 and 7065.2, so an applicant coming in through reciprocity sits it unless one of those three applies. The registrar may accept the qualifications of an applicant licensed in a similar classification in a state that does the same for California licensees, and may waive the trade exam where that other license has been in good standing for the previous five years. CSLB adds that a reciprocity applicant still has the relevant work experience certified. Which states are in the program changes, so read the reciprocity page for the current list.
What happens if I miss the 90 days for the live scan?
CSLB says the application may be voided. Once an application is accepted, everyone named on it is mailed a Request for Live Scan Service form in three copies. The live scan operator keeps one, you keep one, and the third has to reach CSLB within 90 days of the day the packet reached you. An applicant outside California, or one with no live scan site in reach, is fingerprinted on hard cards instead, and CSLB says those take substantially longer to process.
- CSLB's fingerprinting questions and answers
How long do I have to pass?
You have 18 months from the day the application is accepted. Miss that and the application is void, and a new one with new fees starts the clock again. Results last longer: they are good for five years, so if you pass one paper and fail the other you only retake the one you failed.
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