LBExamSources
California contractor law, the full text
Everything the exam draws on, in one place. The paper is closed book, so this is reading to do now, not on the day.
The Codes
Enacted law, reproduced in full where the publisher allows it. Where only part of a code is here, the page says which part.
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Contractors State License Law, B&P 7000 to 7191
Business and Professions Code, Division 3, Chapter 9 (sections 7000 to 7191). Every Article of the chapter, ingested whole from the code-text page.
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Mechanics liens and preliminary notice, Civil Code
Sections 8000 to 9566: preliminary notice, mechanics liens, stop payment notices, payment bonds and prompt payment, in seventeen chapter pages.
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California Labor Code, the contractor sections
Labor Code chapters on wages, hours, the minimum wage, minors, layoff notice, public works, apprenticeship, workers' compensation claims and safety.
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Financial Code: PACE program administrators
Sections 22680 to 22697, the whole chapter: PACE program administrators, solicitors, and the solicitor agents who sell PACE.
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Home solicitation contracts and the right to cancel
Sections 1689.5 to 1689.14: what a home solicitation contract is, the three-day right to cancel, five for a senior citizen, and the seller's notice.
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Public Contract Code, bidding and subcontractors
Public Contract Code on subcontractor listing, bidder relief, license checks, bid security, bonds and retention on public works.
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Insurance Code, liability and workers' comp policies
Two branch pages joined under one id: the provisions a liability policy must contain, and what a workers' compensation policy says and how it is canceled.
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Unemployment Insurance Code, employer duties
Unemployment Insurance Code on who is a subject employer, the taxable wage limit, contribution rates, reports and late penalties.
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Sales and use tax, seller's permit and resale
Three chapter pages joined under one id: the sales and use tax definitions, the seller's permit and resale certificate, and the use tax.
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Civil Code, contracts and construction indemnity
Civil Code on what makes a contract, express and implied contracts, which contracts must be written, and construction indemnity.
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Small claims and time to sue, Code of Civil Procedure
Code of Civil Procedure: the small claims limits, and how long a party has to sue on a contract or a construction defect.
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Government Code, excavation and job discrimination
Government Code on the excavation penalty, and the Fair Employment and Housing Act on unlawful employment practices and harassment training.
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Fictitious business names, B&P 17900 to 17930
B&P 17900 to 17930: who files a fictitious business name statement, where, and when it expires.
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Federal Unemployment Tax Act, 26 USC 3301 to 3311
The Federal Unemployment Tax Act: the 6 percent tax, the state credit and the $7,000 wage limit.
What it is and where to find it -
Unfair labor practices, 29 USC 158
The National Labor Relations Act on unfair labor practices, including an employer's.
What it is and where to find it
The Regulations
Rules made under the codes above, reproduced in full where the publisher allows it. Where only part of a regulation is here, the page says which part.
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Cal/OSHA construction safety orders, Title 8
Cal/OSHA permit, construction, general industry and injury-recording sections, one committed file per section, as the department serves them.
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Wage Order 16, construction occupations, 8 CCR 11160
Wage Order 16: hours, overtime, meal and rest periods and reporting time pay in on-site construction.
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Public works apprentices and prevailing wage, Title 8
Title 8 rules on apprentices on public works and on prevailing wage coverage and wage determinations.
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CSLB board rules, 16 CCR 810 to 890
Board rules 810 to 890, the rules the Contractors State License Board makes under the license law, printed in full from the board's 2026 Law Book.
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Minimum wage for 2027, Director of Finance
The Director of Finance's certification of the state minimum wage for 2026 and 2027.
What it is and where to find it -
Employment tax deposits, 26 CFR Part 31 Subpart G
Treasury rules on the Form W-2 deadline and on employment tax deposits: the monthly and semiweekly schedules, the one-day rule and the FUTA deposit.
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Employment verification and Form I-9, 8 CFR Part 274a
Federal rules on the Form I-9: when it is completed, what the employer examines, and how long it is kept.
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Social Security determinations for 2026, 90 FR 49047
The SSA notice that sets the 2026 Social Security wage base.
What it is and where to find it
Guides
The regulator's own guidance and exam material. Guidance says how a rule is read; it is not the rule.
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CSLB Law and Business study guide, 13E-LAW
CSLB's own study guide, form 13E-LAW (03-2026): the examination outline, its weights and its sample questions. The wording is not reproduced here, only linked.
What it is and where to find it -
Contractors License Law and Reference Book 2026, CSLB
2026 edition. The board's annual compilation of the license law, the regulations under it and the related statutes.
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Get Licensed to Build, CSLB applicant guide
How an applicant qualifies, applies, sits the examinations and pays, as the board explains it.
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DIR Public Works Manual, prevailing wage
Department guidance on prevailing wage and the duties of a contractor on a public work.
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DE 44, the California Employer's Guide
2026 edition, Rev. 52 (4-26). How an employer registers, withholds, deposits and reports the four California payroll taxes.
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IRS Publication 15 (Circular E)
For use in 2026. How a federal employer withholds, deposits and reports employment taxes, and what sets the deposit schedule.
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Maintain and Change Your License
The hub and its twelve subpages, joined under one id and read from each page's own content element.
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Applying for a Contractor License
Seven pages joined under one id: the hub, applying, the examination and fingerprinting answers, the study-guide list, the fee list and reciprocity.
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License Check, complaints and enforcement
Five pages joined under one id: License Check, filing a complaint, reporting unlicensed work, a consumer's legal options, and enforcement for building officials.
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CSLB Industry Bulletins, 2025 and 2026
Every bulletin the board issued in 2025 and 2026, one document per bulletin. The board publishes them as PDFs, so this is a PDF set and not a set of pages; its index is the page named above.
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Sales tax for contractors, CDTFA Publication 9
How the sales and use tax falls on a contractor: consumer or retailer, materials or fixtures, and what each kind of contract does to the answer.
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IRS Publication 15-T, Withholding Methods
The withholding tables and the two methods an employer may use to work out federal income tax withholding on a wage payment.
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IRS Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business
Accounting methods, business income, deductible expenses and self-employment tax, as the federal revenue service explains them to a sole proprietor.
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IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business
Starting a business and keeping records: the identification number, the accounting method, the books to keep and how long to keep them.
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FTB Publication 1060, Guide for New Corporations
The franchise tax, the minimum franchise tax and the filing duties of a corporation in its first years, as the state tax department explains them.
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How to depreciate property, IRS Publication 946
IRS guidance on depreciation: MACRS recovery periods, methods and conventions, and section 179.
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Commercial insurance, Department of Insurance guide
Department of Insurance guide to commercial property and casualty lines, with a glossary of policy terms.
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Your Home Loan Toolkit, CFPB
The CFPB's guide for a home buyer: the down payment, the Loan Estimate, the Closing Disclosure and the cash to close.
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Labor Commissioner: wage claims and retaliation complaints
Two pages joined under one id: how to file a wage claim, and how to file a retaliation or discrimination complaint.
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California Secretary of State, Types of Business Entities
Secretary of State overview of business entity types and what each files to form.
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Construction contractors tax guide, CDTFA
The five pages of the department's construction contractors guide, joined under one id and read from each page's own content element.
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EDD payroll tax pages for employers
Four pages joined under one id: registering as an employer, new hire reporting, the filing and deposit due dates, and the rates and wage limits.
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Manuals and reference documents
Not law: manuals, forms and industry material, read for how something is built or described. Named here and linked, never authority for what the law requires.
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Licensing Examination Information Guide
The Law and Business candidate bulletin, reached through the testing organization's page for that examination and downloaded from the address that page links.
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CSLB 2023 Sunset Review Report
The board's 2023 filing to the legislature, with the tables of license, examination and enforcement volumes and the appended consultant reports.
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CSLB Accomplishments and Activities 2025
The newest annual report on the board's own reports page, and the report that carries the counts the 2023 sunset filing carried for its own period.
Read it at the publisher