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Canyon Country / Santa Clarita / California
How to check a contractor's license
The state runs a free lookup. It takes about a minute, and you should use it.
The contractor we introduce is licensed by the state, and you should never take that on our word, or anybody's. California runs a free public lookup that takes about a minute. Here is how to use it, which license class can actually sign for your kitchen, and how to tell a clean record from a bad one.
- California-licensed contractor
- Free, no obligation
- Quoted in writing
The lookup, and three ways to search
The tool is the CSLB license lookup. It takes a license number, a business name, or a person's name, and you only need one of them. A couple of quirks trip people up, so they are worth knowing before you start.
- Search by license number
- The cleanest way, if you have it. A California contractor license number is digits only, never letters, and never more than eight digits. Type it starting from the left.
- Search by business name
- If a business name search comes back empty and the name contains a person, put the surname first. "John Smith Construction" is searched as "Smith John Con".
- Search by person's name
- You can also look up the individual who holds or qualifies the license, which is useful when the business trades under a different name than the one on the paperwork.
- A note on timing
- The database goes down for maintenance every Sunday from 8pm to Monday at 6am. If it will not load on a Sunday night, that is why, not the contractor.
Source CSLB license lookup
Does the class match the job
A license is a permission, not a title, and the class decides what a contractor is allowed to sign for. This is where a lookup earns its minute. A current license in the wrong class is still the wrong contractor for your kitchen.
- A full kitchen
- New boxes, counters, floor, lights and appliances is three or more unrelated trades, so a B general building or a B-2 residential remodeling contractor can sign for the whole thing. The B-2 class was built for exactly this.
- A counters only job
- Often a single trade. A B-2 may not take a contract that narrow, because the class carries a floor of three or more unrelated trades. The right holder is usually a specialty class, or a general contractor who subcontracts it.
- A cabinet led job
- The C-6 class covers cabinets, millwork and finish carpentry, so it is the natural fit when the work is mostly boxes, doors and trim.
- The trades inside the room
- C-36 plumbing, C-10 electrical, C-20 heating and air, C-54 tile, C-15 flooring, C-9 drywall, C-33 painting. On a full kitchen several of these appear at different weeks, whether as the contractor's own classes or as their subcontractors.
Source CSLB license classifications
What a good result shows, and what a bad one does
A clean result is boring, and that is the point. The license is current and active, the classification fits the job you are hiring for, and a contractor bond and workers compensation are on file. Read those four things and most of the risk is answered.
A result worth pausing on looks different. The status is expired or suspended. The classification does not cover your work, so the person quoting your full kitchen holds only a single specialty. There is no workers compensation on file for a contractor who plainly runs a crew. Or there is a wall of complaints and disciplinary actions. None of that is a verdict on its own, but each one is a question you want answered before you sign, not after. When you have the record open, hold it next to what your contract should contain. The contractor we introduce for a kitchen remodel in Canyon Country comes with a license number you can run this way.
Questions people ask first
- How do I check a contractor's license in California?
Use the CSLB online lookup. Search by license number, by business name, or by the person's name, whichever you have. It is free, public, and takes about a minute.
- Does a contractor license number have letters in it?
No. A California contractor license number is digits only and never more than eight of them. If someone gives you a number with letters, that is not a license number.
- What license does a kitchen remodel need?
A full kitchen is three or more unrelated trades, so a B or a B-2 contractor can hold the whole contract. A counters only job is often a single trade, which a B-2 is not allowed to take, so check the class against the scope.
- The lookup will not load, is something wrong?
Probably not. The state database is offline for maintenance every Sunday from 8pm until Monday at 6am. Outside that window, double check the number and try the surname first trick for business names.
Keep reading before you sign
- What a kitchen contract has to containThe headings, notices and bold lines California requires on the page.
- Deposit and payment rulesThe $1,000 or 10 percent cap, the bond exception, and lien releases.
- How to cancel a kitchen contractThree business days, five for a senior citizen, and how to cancel in writing.
- What a kitchen remodel costs hereThe scope ladder that sets the number, and how to read a written quote.
- How this service worksWhat happens after you get in touch, and what we never do.
- Kitchen remodel help in Canyon CountryOne call, then an introduction to a licensed contractor who quotes in writing.
You get a straight answer on the phone, then an introduction to a licensed contractor who can quote it.