California contractor license lookupCalifornia contractor license lookup · CSLB public fileCheck the license before the sub starts work.
Status, bond, workers' comp and the people on it. Free, no account.Status, bond, workers' comp and the people on the license, straight from the state's file. Free, no account.
How to read a license
Four lines worth reading before you put a contractor on the job.
01 · Status
Whether the license is active on the file date. Active, expired and suspended are said in words. Anything else is marked unknown, not guessed.
02 · Bond
The surety and the amount listed for this license. Worth seeing on a bid. It isn't a promise the bond is in force this hour.
03 · Workers' comp
The insurer, policy number and dates matched to this license. Or the exemption, if the contractor has no employees.
04 · Expires
An expired license can stay in the file for five years. Cancelled and revoked ones are left out, and the file doesn't say which.
Browse instead of searching
Before you hire
How do I search?
Type the license number from the bid, or the business name. If you only have a person's name, search by person. That list is people currently on the license; former staff aren't in it.
What does the status mean?
Status shows whether the license is active today, as of the file date. Active means the file lists it as active. The master file's word for that is CLEAR. Expired means it lapsed and can still be renewed for up to five years, so it stays in the download. Suspended means the board has paused it. The file says so, often as a suspension such as "Work Comp Susp." If we don't recognize the word, we label it unknown instead of guessing.
What does the bond line mean?
Who the surety is, and the bond amount on the license. Use it when you compare bids. We don't sell bonds, and the line isn't a promise the bond is still in force past the file date.
What does workers' compensation on the file mean?
The insurer, policy number, and the dates the policy runs. We match that download to the license number so you can see coverage is listed before you sign. It isn't a claims history, and we don't phone the insurer.
What if the number is missing?
Check the number for a typo first. If it's still missing, the license was cancelled, revoked, or expired past the five-year renewal window. The free file leaves those out and doesn't say which. You can also look it up on CSLB's own check-a-license page.