California Form 13L-50 is the one-page certification you file with the Contractors State License Board to declare that you have no employees and therefore do not need workers’ compensation insurance. Every active California contractor’s license must show one of three things at all times: a workers’ comp policy, a certificate of self-insurance, or a signed 13L-50 exemption on file. The form itself costs nothing. The fastest way to submit it is through CSLB’s online portal, which updates your license record right away.
Who Can File the Exemption
Under Business and Professions Code Section 7125, you qualify only if you employ no one subject to California’s workers’ compensation laws. In practice, that covers sole proprietors working alone, partnerships with no outside staff, and corporations or LLCs where the owners or officers do all the work themselves. Hire one person and the exemption no longer applies.
Two situations catch people off guard. A registered Home Improvement Salesperson (HIS) counts as an employee for this purpose, so having one on your license disqualifies you from filing. And if your license qualifier is a Responsible Managing Employee rather than the owner, you can’t file either, because an RME is by definition someone you employ.1Contractors State License Board. Exemption from Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Classifications That Cannot Use the Exemption
Five specialty classifications are barred from filing 13L-50 regardless of whether the contractor has employees. If you hold any of these, you must carry workers’ compensation insurance or a certificate of self-insurance:
- C-8 Concrete
- C-20 Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning
- C-22 Asbestos Abatement
- C-39 Roofing
- C-61/D-49 Tree Service
The restriction comes from BPC Section 7125(b)(2). If you hold one of these classifications alongside others that would otherwise qualify, the restricted classification controls and you still can’t file.2Contractors State License Board. Workers’ Compensation Requirements The one exception is a joint venture organized under BPC Section 7029: a joint venture with no employees can file the exemption even if it holds one of the five restricted classifications.3California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code BPC 7125 – Workers Compensation Insurance Requirement
Filling Out the Form
You can download the PDF from the CSLB website or complete it directly in the online portal. Either way, you are certifying under penalty of perjury that you employ no one subject to California workers’ comp law.4Contractors State License Board. Exemption from Workers’ Compensation
The form asks for a short list of items:
- License or application number. Use your active CSLB license number, or if you’re a new applicant, the application number assigned when you applied.
- Business name. It has to match the name on your CSLB record exactly, including punctuation and entity suffixes like “Inc.” or “LLC.” A mismatch is the most common reason filings get rejected.
- The certification statement. Read it before you sign; you are making a legal declaration.
- Signature and date. Only an authorized person can sign: the sole owner, a general partner, or a corporate officer listed on the license.
Every field has to be filled in. Incomplete forms come back, and while the paperwork sits in limbo your license can lapse. Keep a copy for your records.
Submitting the Form
Online
The interactive tool at www2.cslb.ca.gov walks you through each field and flags problems before submission, including classification conflicts. Once you finish, the CSLB database updates immediately.1Contractors State License Board. Exemption from Workers’ Compensation Insurance
By Mail
Print and sign the PDF and send it to:
Contractors State License Board
P.O. Box 26000
Sacramento, CA 958265Contractors State License Board. Contact CSLB
Mailed forms take longer. CSLB posts the date its Workers’ Compensation/Liability Insurance Unit is currently processing, and that date can run several weeks behind depending on volume.6Contractors State License Board. CSLB Processing Times Use a traceable mailing service so you have proof of delivery. If the reviewer finds an error, the board mails back a notice describing the fix.
Confirming the Exemption Took Effect
After you submit, look up your license on the CSLB public license lookup. A processed exemption shows “Exempt” in the workers’ compensation field instead of a policy number and expiration date. Online filings update almost right away; mailed filings take longer, so check back until the record changes.
This matters because your license has to show either active coverage or a valid exemption at all times. Under BPC Section 7125.2, the license automatically suspends by operation of law on the date coverage lapses with no exemption on file. Any work performed during a suspension is unlicensed contracting.2Contractors State License Board. Workers’ Compensation Requirements
What Happens at Renewal
A California contractor’s license expires every two years.7Contractors State License Board. General Renewal Information You do not file a new 13L-50 at renewal. The renewal application includes a recertification checkbox that carries your exempt status into the new term as long as you still have no employees and none of the five restricted classifications.8Contractors State License Board. Step 2 – Completing Your Renewal Application Miss the renewal deadline without either the recertification or proof of insurance and the license goes inactive.
When You Hire Someone
The exemption ends the moment you hire an employee subject to California workers’ compensation laws. From that hire date, you have 90 days to obtain a policy and file proof of coverage with CSLB headquarters.2Contractors State License Board. Workers’ Compensation Requirements Once the certificate is processed, the exemption on your license record is replaced with the policy information.
That 90-day window is not a grace period for going without coverage. If an employee is injured before a policy is in place, you are personally liable for medical costs and lost wages. Under BPC Section 7125.2, operating without required workers’ comp results in automatic license suspension effective on the date coverage should have begun, not 90 days later. The suspension lifts once acceptable proof of insurance reaches CSLB headquarters.9California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code BPC 7125.2
If you later part ways with that employee and go back to working alone, you can file a new 13L-50 to restore the exemption. No employees, you can certify. One employee, you need a policy.