How do you check an electrician’s license?
Use the free lookup on the Contractors State License Board’s Check a License page. Search by license number (CSLB requires it on the contract, so ask for it with the bid), by business name, or by a person’s name. The record shows whether the license is active, what it’s classified for, the bond, the workers’ compensation status and any complaint disclosure.
Here’s how to read one, using our own record as the example. License #354550 belongs to Clyde Kent Farmer, the “C.K.” in the name; you can open it on CSLB and check every line below yourself.
Reading a CSLB license record, with #354550 as the example| Field | What you want to see | License #354550 (Sep 22, 2026) |
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| License status | “This license is current and active” | Current and active |
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| Classification | C-10 Electrical for electrical-only work | C-10 Electrical |
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| Issue date | How long the license has existed | March 23, 1978 |
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| Expiration date | A date in the future | January 31, 2027 |
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| Contractor’s bond | $25,000 on file (the amount since January 1, 2023) | $25,000, effective February 2, 2026 |
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| Workers’ compensation | A policy on file, or an exemption for a licensee with no employees | Exempt (certified no employees) |
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A license that’s expired, suspended or inactive can’t legally contract for the job, whatever the truck says. If the name on the bid turns up nothing, ask for the number and search again.
Does it have to be a C-10, or can a general contractor do it?
For an electrical-only job such as a panel upgrade, an EV charger or a rewire, you want a C-10. CSLB defines the classification as placing, installing or connecting “any electrical wires, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, raceways, conduits, solar photovoltaic cells or any part thereof” for any purpose.
A B general building contractor can include electrical work in a bigger job. Under Business and Professions Code 7057, a B can take a prime contract that involves other trades when the contract requires at least two unrelated trades besides framing and carpentry, or when it holds the right specialty license, or when it subcontracts the trade to a licensed specialty contractor. A kitchen remodel with cabinets, plumbing, drywall and electrical fits. A B quoting only your panel upgrade doesn’t, unless it also holds a C-10 or hands the work to one.
There’s a second layer on C-10 shops. California Labor Code 108 requires the people performing work as electricians for C-10 contractors to be certified by the Department of Industrial Relations, in categories such as general electrician and residential electrician, or to be registered trainees. DIR has a certification status search if you want to check a name.
Can a handyman do electrical work?
Only small jobs that don’t need a permit. Since January 1, 2025, the minor work exemption in Business and Professions Code 7048 lets an unlicensed person take a job when the total price for labor, materials and everything else is under $1,000 (it was $500). Two conditions come with it: the work can’t require a permit, and the unlicensed person can’t employ anyone on the project. Ads for that kind of work have to say the person isn’t licensed, and splitting a bigger job into pieces under $1,000 to dodge the law doesn’t count.
The permit condition is the one that rules out most electrical work. A new circuit, an added outlet, recessed lights, an EV charger, a sub-panel or a panel change all need a permit in every South Orange County city, so none of them is handyman work at any price. The short list of exempt swaps (a receptacle in the same spot, a same-size breaker, some low-voltage wiring) varies a little by city; the permit checker shows each city’s list.
What do the bond and workers’ comp lines tell you?
The contractor’s bond has been $25,000 since January 1, 2023, when SB 607 raised it. A homeowner damaged by a violation of the contractors’ license law can claim against it, and so can employees owed wages. That $25,000 isn’t set aside for your job, though. CSLB points out the amount isn’t per job; it covers every job the contractor takes on during the life of the bond.
The workers’ compensation line shows either a policy or an exemption. “Exempt” means the licensee certified to CSLB that the business has no employees. That exemption stops being valid as soon as the contractor hires someone. Some classifications (C-8 concrete, C-20 HVAC, C-22 asbestos abatement, C-39 roofing and tree service) have to carry coverage regardless; C-10 isn’t one of them.
What does California require in the contract?
A written contract is required for any home improvement job over $500, and Business and Professions Code 7159 sets what goes in it: the contractor’s name, address and license number, a description of the work and materials, a payment schedule, start and completion dates, and who gets the permits. The numbers that protect you most are these.
Money and paperwork rules in a California home improvement contract| Rule | What the law says | Where it comes from |
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| Written contract | Required when the job is over $500 | B&P 7159; CSLB |
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| Down payment | No more than $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less | B&P 7159(d)(8) |
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| Progress payments | Can’t run ahead of the work performed | CSLB |
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| Right to cancel | 3 business days; 5 business days if a buyer is 65 or older | B&P 7159(e)(6); CSLB |
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| Service and repair exception | No 3-day right on a labeled service-and-repair contract under $750 that you requested | CSLB |
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| Change orders | In writing and signed before the extra work starts | B&P 7159(d)(5) |
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| Liability coverage notice | Must say whether the contractor carries commercial general liability coverage | B&P 7159(e)(1) |
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| Workers’ comp notice | Must say whether the contractor has employees and coverage, or is exempt | B&P 7159(e)(2) |
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| Unlicensed minor work | Under $1,000 total, no permit needed, no employees | B&P 7048 (since Jan 1, 2025) |
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The liability notice is a disclosure, not a requirement to carry coverage. The contract has to check one of four boxes: the contractor carries commercial general liability coverage (with the carrier’s name and number so you can verify it), doesn’t carry it, covers it itself, or is an LLC with the coverage or security the law requires of LLCs. Read which box is checked.
The right to cancel applies to most contracts signed at your house; one negotiated at the contractor’s place of business doesn’t get it. The contract should also include a “Notice to Owner” explaining mechanics liens, since unpaid workers or suppliers can place a lien on the property.
Extra work needs its own paperwork. The sample contract CSLB publishes says a change order isn’t enforceable against you unless it spells out the scope, the price change and the effect on the schedule before the work begins. So if an electrician opens a wall and finds a problem, get the change order signed before the extra work.
Who pulls the permit?
The contractor. CSLB’s homeowner checklist asks, “Does the contract require the contractor get any needed permits before the work starts?” and tells you to confirm the permit fees are included in the price. We pull the permit on the panel upgrades, EV chargers and rewires we do, and the inspection happens with us there.
Be wary when a contractor asks you to take the permit out in your own name as an owner-builder. CSLB says signing as an owner-builder means you assume full responsibility for the whole project, and if you use anyone other than a licensed contractor you may be treated as an employer. Unpermitted work also has a way of coming back: California’s seller disclosure form asks whether any alterations or repairs were made without necessary permits.
Which jobs need a permit depends a little on the city. The South Orange County permit checker covers Mission Viejo, San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita, Aliso Viejo, Lake Forest, and Ladera Ranch and Coto de Caza, where the County of Orange issues permits because neither is a city.
What are the red flags?
Any one of these is reason enough to get another bid:
- No license number on the bid, or a license that isn’t active on CSLB.
- A B general contractor quoting a panel, charger or rewire by itself with no C-10 involved.
- A down payment over $1,000 or over 10% of the price, or cash only.
- “That doesn’t need a permit” about a new circuit, a panel or an EV charger.
- A request that you pull the permit yourself as an owner-builder.
- No written contract on a job over $500, or pressure to sign before you’ve read the cancellation notice.
- Payments that get ahead of the work, or extras agreed on verbally.
- A handyman quoting anything that needs a permit, or a job that only fits under $1,000 by splitting the bill.
If something has already gone wrong, CSLB handles violations of the license law by licensed and unlicensed contractors alike, for up to four years from the date of the act.
