LBExamGuide
The solar energy system disclosure documentBus. & Prof. Code s. 7169 puts a disclosure page on the front of every residential solar contract. What it shows, in what type, and the reminder.
Publications
Guides to the exam, bulletins when a rule moves, and case notes on published enforcement decisions.
Guide
Cash or accrual: how a contractor keeps the booksThe two accounting methods the IRS lets a contractor choose, when income and expenses land under each, the inventory rule and the tax year (Pubs. 334 and 583).
Guide
Injury and illness records and the reporting clockWhich California contractors keep the Cal/OSHA Form 300, what goes on it and by when, the February 1 posting, retention, and the reporting clocks.
Guide
The asbestos certification and the open-book examTwo asbestos rules sit in Bus. & Prof. Code s. 7058.5: the certification for asbestos-related work, and the open-book exam every new licensee completes.
Recent changes to the rules
- 2027-01-01 (upcoming) Bus. & Prof. Code s. 7145.5 names the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration among the agencies whose unresolved final liabilities can block a license. Unpaid tax liabilities and your license.
- 2027-01-01 (upcoming) The California minimum wage is $17.40 per hour.
- 2026-08-24 (upcoming) A sole owner can file the original contractor license application online with CSLB and pay on the spot. CSLB's online sole owner application.
- 2026-07-01 (upcoming) Citation fine ranges under 16 CCR s. 884 follow the statutory minimums and maximums set by SB 779 and SB 291. Contractor citation fines from July 1, 2026.
- 2025-01-01 (upcoming) SB 1455 rewrote Bus. & Prof. Code s. 7059(b)(1): on a public works bid the awarding authority sets the license classification from CSLB's own rules. Public works bids and the classification rule.
Bulletins
Records of rule changes that touch the exam, with the date each takes effect.
- Public works bids and the classification rule
CSLB's June 2026 bulletin on SB 1455: since January 1, 2025, s. 7059(b)(1) makes the awarding authority set the classification from CSLB's own rules.
- CSLB's online sole owner application
Since August 24, 2026 a sole owner can file the original contractor license application online and pay on the spot. Who it is for, what it costs, what stays.
- CSLB's unlicensed practice study: what it found
CSLB's September 2026 study estimates more than 70,000 unlicensed contractors in California, and names three sections licensees break: 7030.5, 7117 and 7033.
Guides
Reference pages on how the exam and its rules work.
- Cash or accrual: how a contractor keeps the books
The two accounting methods the IRS lets a contractor choose, when income and expenses land under each, the inventory rule and the tax year (Pubs. 334 and 583).
- Injury and illness records and the reporting clock
Which California contractors keep the Cal/OSHA Form 300, what goes on it and by when, the February 1 posting, retention, and the reporting clocks.
- The asbestos certification and the open-book exam
Two asbestos rules sit in Bus. & Prof. Code s. 7058.5: the certification for asbestos-related work, and the open-book exam every new licensee completes.
- Change orders under a home improvement contract
What Bus. & Prof. Code ss. 7159 and 7159.6 require before extra work on a California home improvement job is enforceable: writing, signatures, three items.
- The $1,000 or 10 percent down payment limit
Bus. & Prof. Code s. 7159.5 caps a home improvement down payment at $1,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less. The rule, the notice, the bond exception.
- Preliminary notice and the mechanics lien clocks
The Civil Code deadlines behind a California mechanics lien: 20 days for the preliminary notice, 90 or 60 days to record, 90 to sue, and the stop notice.
Case notes
Summaries of published enforcement decisions, with their citations.
- AVL v. Hensel Phelps and the s. 7045 exemption
A published April 2026 Court of Appeal decision: whether installed equipment becomes a fixed part of the structure under s. 7045 is a question of fact.
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