CSLB Business Organization & Licensing Practice Questions

1. A contractor who holds a Class "B" General Building Contractor license may perform work in which situation?

A Class B licensee may take contracts for structures and can self-perform two or more unrelated subcontractor trades. Installing only an electrical panel or replacing water mains would require C-specialty licenses, and grading/paving is Class A work.

2. What is the maximum amount of the Contractor License Bond required by the CSLB?

All licensed contractors must maintain a $25,000 Contractor License Bond filed with the CSLB. This bond protects consumers from contractor misconduct.

3. A Responsible Managing Employee (RME) may qualify how many contractor licenses simultaneously?

An RME may qualify only one license at a time. This differs from a Responsible Managing Officer (RMO), who is an owner and may be associated with multiple licenses in some circumstances.

4. A contractor must notify the CSLB of a change in the qualifying individual (RME or RMO) within how many days?

Contractors must notify CSLB within 90 days when the qualifier leaves, is replaced, or the business structure changes. Failure to notify can result in license suspension.

5. Which of the following business entities CANNOT hold a CSLB contractor license?

Trusts cannot hold CSLB licenses. Eligible entities include sole proprietorships, partnerships (general and limited), corporations, and limited liability companies (LLCs).

6. A licensed contractor must display their license number on all of the following EXCEPT:

§7030.5 requires a licensee to include the licence number in all construction contracts, in subcontracts and calls for bid, and in all forms of advertising as the registrar prescribes. That squarely covers (c) and (d), and it covers (a) as well: a business card put into a customer's hand is a form of advertising, not private correspondence. What the section reaches is the material the public sees. Internal bookkeeping is published to no one, so no licence number is required on it, which makes (b) the exception the question asks for. The purpose is the one §7027.1(a) enforces from the other side — a consumer must be able to read the number off whatever brought the contractor to the door and check it against the board's record before signing anything.

7. If a contractor operates under a fictitious business name (DBA), the name must be:

Any fictitious business name used by a contractor must be registered with the CSLB and listed on the license. Operating under an unregistered DBA is a violation.

8. The CSLB may issue a Disciplinary Bond in addition to the regular license bond when:

The disciplinary bond lives in B&P §7071.8, not §7071.17. After a formal disciplinary action against the license, the Registrar may require it as a condition of reissuance, reinstatement or continued licensure (d). Since SB 607 took effect on January 1, 2023 the amount is at least $25,000, capped at ten times the §7071.6 bond, and it sits on top of the standard $25,000 license bond; $15,000 is the pre-2023 figure. (a) is too narrow: an unpaid citation fine is one road to discipline, not the trigger itself. (b) is wrong because the bond is imposed by the Registrar, never applied for voluntarily. (c) confuses this with the §7071.9 bond of qualifying individual, which turns on how much of the entity the RMO or RME owns.