Contractor License Guides

Everything you need to know about the Law and Business exam: format, topic weights, how to schedule, how hard it is, and exam-day strategies. Required for every California contractor license applicant, regardless of trade.

Every CSLB license classification in one place: Class A, B, B-2, and all 42 Class C specialty trades grouped by industry. Covers the two-trade rule, the AB 2622 $1,000 threshold, workers' comp requirements, solar authorizations, and how to choose the right classification for your work.

The Class B General Building Contractor license is California's most common classification. What it covers, the two-trade rule, B vs B-2, experience requirements, what the trade exam tests, and what it costs to get licensed.

A step-by-step walkthrough of the full CSLB application process: eligibility requirements, qualifier rules, fees, fingerprinting, the asbestos exam, and what happens after you submit.

What counts as qualifying experience, how to document it, what CSLB checks in an audit, and your options if you do not yet have four years of journey-level work in the trade.

Which bonds CSLB requires, how much they cost, how to get bonded, and what happens if your bond lapses. Covers the contractor license bond, Bond of Qualifying Individual, and the LLC Employee/Worker Bond.

California mechanics lien deadlines are strict and unforgiving. This guide covers the full timeline, the 20-day preliminary notice, lien waivers, stop payment notices, and 2026 updates to retention and change order rules.

California defaults to treating every worker as an employee. Learn how AB5 and the ABC test determine contractor status, and what misclassification actually costs you.