Business & LicensingQuestion 677 of 1632

When a sole proprietor licensed contractor incorporates the business and wants the new corporation to hold the license:

a.Use the sole proprietor's license number as soon as the articles are filed
b.Wait 12 months after incorporating before the corporation may apply
c.File a new license application for the corporation as a new entity
d.Ask CSLB to transfer the license once the new EIN has been issued

Explanation

§7075.1(a) is absolute: no license, whatever its type or classification, is transferable to another person or entity under any circumstances. The corporation is a separate legal person, so it applies under §7065 with its own $25,000 contractor bond, its own qualifying individual, and its own workers' compensation certificate. §7075.1(c)(5) does allow the old license NUMBER to be reissued to a corporation formed by the individual licensee who keeps more than 50 percent of the voting power — but only on application, which is exactly what (a) skips and (d) imagines the board does by itself. (b) invents a waiting period; and the qualifier escapes a new examination only through §7065.1, which requires five of the seven years immediately preceding the application in the same classification.

Law Reference: Bus. & Prof. Code §7075.1(a), (c)(5); §7065; §7065.1; §7071.6

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Reviewed by Abraham Chen — Licensed California General Contractor (CSLB License #1101856 — verify)
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