Since its creation almost 90 years ago, the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) has carried out its mission to protect consumers by regulating California’s construction industry in the most financially responsible way possible.
CSLB operations are funded entirely by license fees, and today a combination of increased costs, including extensive disaster response and a decline in the number of license renewals, necessitates that CSLB raise renewal fees to their statutory maximum. The new fee schedule was approved as an emergency measure by the Office of Administrative Law in December of last year and takes effect February 1, 2020.
Please note that if your license expires on or after February 1, 2020 you cannot renew early to avoid the fee increase.
The decision to raise fees is not made lightly, and over the past number of years CSLB has taken multiple measures to reduce costs. Unfortunately, CSLB cannot further reduce the expenditures that support our licensing and enforcement programs without negatively affecting our ability to process applications in a timely manner, to quickly mediate or investigate consumer complaints, and to effectively respond to disasters throughout the state.
In addition, beginning on February 1, 2020 and per Senate Bill 610 (Statutes of 2019), CSLB will start charging active C-10 Electrical contractors a supplemental $20 fee when they renew their license. This fee is to support efforts by CSLB to enforce electrician certification requirements.
The increase in renewal fees will help ensure CSLB’s continued effectiveness in regulating the construction industry for the state of California.
The chart below highlights the current and new fee schedule.
