Guide

The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) requires potential licensees to have at least 4 years of full-time experience within the last 10 years, at the journeyman level or higher, in your chosen trade.

You may have many more years of experience, but you only need to satisfy the legal requirement of 4 years of work experience within the past 10 years. Work experience older than 10 years from the time you apply will not be accepted by the CSLB.

If you do not have enough field experience, college education may be used towards satisfying the 4 year requirement (even if you attended more than 10 years ago) depending on the type of degree and its relation to the construction industry. Similarly, technical training or apprenticeships may be applied toward the 4 year requirement, even if the program was more than 10 years ago. You will receive 50% credit for proven apprenticeship or part-time work. For instance, if you served a 2 year apprenticeship, the CSLB equates that to 1 year of full-time work.

Choose from the list on the Licenses page. The CSLB will only issue you one license classification at a time. If you wish to add more classifications to your license, obtain the first classification and then move on to supplemental classifications. You must satisfy the 4 year experience requirement for each classification.

Your choices are outlined on the CLC Courses page! Go ahead, choose a course! Then, click the Enroll! button, complete the Enrollment Agreement and pay your tuition fee to CLC. You will receive materials on construction law and your trade. You will also receive an Application Worksheet, "How to Take the Course" study guide, a lecture schedule, map of our location, and updates to your manuals.

The worksheet summarizes the information needed to properly prepare your application for the Contractors State License Board. For each block of experience that you claim, you will assign someone else to certify your time. That person will be a certifier, and must be someone you worked for or worked with (i.e., employer, co-worker, building inspector, and sometimes even a supplier). The Worksheet does NOT need to be signed. It is a rough draft for our own in-house use. You do NOT need letters of recommendation, nor do you need W-2 forms or pay stubs to verify your work history. Just follow the instructions and return the worksheet to our office. Let CLC do the rest!

Once you and your certifier(s) sign your CLC-prepared application, we will submit it with your application fee to the CSLB. Then, the CSLB will mail you directly, acknowledging receipt of your submission. You are assigned an application fee number to check the status of your application by phone or Internet. The CSLB then issues your exam date. Contractors License Courses does not issue exam dates. The CSLB also requires all applicants to have their fingerprints taken. We recommend AMERIPRINTS (www.ameriprints.com) with locations in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Petaluma, and San Rafael

Your exam date has finally arrived! Students in the North Bay area will go to a state examination site of either Sacramento or Oakland. Once you pass your exams, you will be assigned a license number from the CSLB and need to get a license bond from an insurance company. In the unlikely event that you do not pass, the CSLB will send you a form to reschedule your exam. You must pay the CSLB a $60.00 rescheduling fee each time you re-test.