How to Add Someone to Your California Contractor’s License

To add someone to your California contractor’s license, identify what kind of personnel change you’re making, file the matching Contractors State License Board (CSLB) form with a $125 fee, and do it within 90 days of the effective date. The person being added has to be fingerprinted through Live Scan, and if they’ll serve as your qualifying individual, they also need four years of journeyman-level experience, passing exam scores, and in most cases a separate $25,000 bond.

What Kind of Addition You’re Making

Your business entity decides whether an addition is even possible and which form applies.

  • Corporations can add officers, and adding or removing a non-qualifier officer does not affect license status. A corporation can also add a new qualifying individual (RMO or RME).
  • LLCs can add managers or members, and those managers or members can be corporate or LLC entities rather than individual people.
  • Limited partnerships can add limited partners. Changing a general partner or removing all limited partners cancels the license.
  • General partnerships cannot add or remove partners. Any change to the partnership structure requires canceling the existing license and applying for a new one.1Contractors State License Board. Change in Personnel

The general-versus-limited partner distinction trips people up. If you run a general partnership and want to bring on a new partner, there is no form for that. The CSLB treats the altered partnership as a new entity that needs its own license.

The 90-Day Reporting Deadline

California law requires you to report any personnel change to the CSLB within 90 days of the effective date. That applies to both additions and departures.1Contractors State License Board. Change in Personnel

If your qualifying individual leaves and you fail to notify the CSLB within 90 days, the license is automatically suspended effective the date the CSLB eventually receives written notice. In a general partnership, if a partner disassociates and the CSLB hears about it late, the cancellation date is set to whenever the notice arrives, which means you may have been operating on a canceled license without knowing. The same rule applies to limited partnerships when a general or qualifying partner leaves.

Which Form to File and What It Costs

Using the wrong form will slow things down or get your application returned. Match the change to the form:

One trap worth flagging: the Application to Report Current Officers of a Corporation cannot be used to remove a qualifying officer, change a non-qualifier into a qualifier, or change an RME to an officer. Those situations need different forms.1Contractors State License Board. Change in Personnel

The application fee is $125, whether you’re adding personnel to a corporation or LLC or adding a limited partner.4Contractors State License Board. List of All CSLB Fees All forms are available on the CSLB website as interactive PDFs.

What the New Person Has to Provide

Live Scan Fingerprinting

Every individual added to a license, whether qualifier, officer, partner, or member, has to be fingerprinted through Live Scan so the CSLB can run a criminal background check with both the California Department of Justice and the FBI.5Contractors State License Board. Get Fingerprinted Live Scan After the CSLB accepts your application as complete, each listed person receives a Request for Live Scan Service form (BCII 8016) with instructions.

The government processing fee for a contractor Live Scan is $49. Live Scan vendors add their own rolling fee on top, typically $20 to $40.

A criminal record does not automatically disqualify anyone. The CSLB evaluates each case on the nature of the offense, time passed, and evidence of rehabilitation. As a general guideline, the board looks for at least three years after a misdemeanor and seven years after a felony, measured from the end of incarceration or probation. Convictions must be disclosed even if the record has been expunged. Failing to disclose is treated as falsifying the application and is independent grounds for denial.6Contractors State License Board. Application for Original Contractor’s License (LLC)

Age and Identification

Qualifying individuals must be at least 18 and must provide either a Social Security number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.

Experience and Exams (Qualifiers Only)

If the person you’re adding will be the RMO or RME, they need to document at least four years of journeyman-level experience within the last ten years in the classification they’re qualifying for.7Contractors State License Board. Certification of Work Experience The experience has to be verified by someone with firsthand knowledge, such as a former employer or another licensed contractor, with dates, employers, and the type of work performed.

New qualifying individuals typically also have to pass the trade exam for the license classification and the law and business exam. If exams are required, the CSLB sends a Notice to Schedule an Examination after accepting the application. You then self-schedule and pay exam fees through PSI, the CSLB’s testing vendor.8Contractors State License Board. CSLB Examinations Frequently Asked Questions

Non-qualifier additions, such as corporate officers who won’t supervise construction or limited partners, do not need to meet the four-year experience requirement or sit for the exams.

Bond and Workers’ Comp When You Add a Qualifier

Adding a new RME or RMO triggers bonding that catches many licensees off guard. In addition to the standard $25,000 contractor’s bond every active license must carry, a separate $25,000 Bond of Qualifying Individual is required in most cases.9California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 7071.9

There are two exceptions. An RMO who owns at least 10% of the corporation’s voting stock can file an exemption certification with the CSLB instead of purchasing the bond. A qualifying individual who owns at least a 10% membership interest in an LLC can claim the same exemption. Everyone else, including every RME (employees by definition don’t own the business), has to carry the bond.10Contractors State License Board. Bond Requirements If your license has multiple qualifiers, each must independently comply.

Adding an RME also affects workers’ compensation. A license qualified by an RME cannot use the Exemption from Workers’ Compensation form. The licensee must carry workers’ comp coverage. If your license previously had an exemption on file and you’re switching to an RME qualifier, you need to obtain coverage and submit proof to the CSLB within 90 days.11Contractors State License Board. Workers’ Compensation Requirements

Submitting the Application

To complete the form, you’ll need the existing license number and business name, along with the new person’s full legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number or ITIN. If the person is a qualifier, add their detailed construction experience history. If an LLC is adding a corporate or LLC entity as a manager or member, skip the fields that don’t apply, like date of birth and SSN.2Contractors State License Board. Application to Add New Personnel to Existing Corporate or Limited Liability Company License

Mail the completed form and $125 fee to CSLB headquarters:

CSLB
P.O. Box 26000
Sacramento, CA 9582612Contractors State License Board. Contact CSLB

The CSLB processes applications in the order received and publishes the dates it’s currently working on for each document type. If the application is incomplete, the CSLB will contact you for more information. If exams are required, the scheduling notice comes after initial review. Once the new person passes any required exams and clears the background check, the CSLB updates the license record.

Replacing a Departing RMO or RME

This is the version of the question that puts the most pressure on a licensee. When your qualifying individual leaves the company, you have 90 days from the disassociation date to replace them. Miss that deadline and the CSLB suspends the license or removes the classification the departed qualifier was responsible for.1Contractors State License Board. Change in Personnel

Two things need to happen at once. You have to file a Disassociation Request for the departing qualifier within 90 days, and you have to submit an Application for Replacing the Qualifying Individual for the new one. The replacement application can double as the disassociation notice for the former qualifier if you enter the disassociation date in the designated area on the form.

Completing the replacement process within 90 days is often unrealistic given exam scheduling and background check timelines. You can request a single 90-day extension in writing, signed by an officer listed on the license and sent to CSLB headquarters. Only one extension is granted as of right.

The replacement qualifier has to meet every requirement of any new qualifying individual: four years of journeyman-level experience, both exams (unless waived), a clear background check, and a Bond of Qualifying Individual if required. The exam and background check alone can eat most of the 90-day window, so start the moment you know your qualifier is leaving.