Contractor’s law can sometimes make for some funny, even strange, changes when you reorganize, as you will see, logic does not always apply. Accurate, up-to-date documents are essential to ‘win’ bids or work, so you already know what happens when you take your eye off the ‘prize’, while we all learn a ‘secret’ about replacing an agent. We begin with an aspiring contractor who may succeed in using his education as experience, but I can’t really say to what ‘degree’…
Q: I want to get my Contractor’s License and some of my experience is from a long time ago and I know they will only consider experience within the last ten years. I only have two years of construction experience within the last ten years. Will the CSLB give me any credit for an AA degree from a Community College?
A: If your Associate Arts (AA) degree is in Building or Construction Management, the CSLB will give you up to one and a half years of experience credit. You will need to submit your sealed transcripts along with your license application and the CSLB will determine the months of experience credit based on the courses you completed. They typically give credit for the fields of construction, accounting, business, etc.
Q: We currently have a corporate license as well as several Joint Venture (JV) licenses. We are in the process of transferring our corporate license to a newly formed Limited Liability Company (LLC). Since we are keeping the same license number, will the JV licenses automatically be updated with the new entity, or do we need to do something on our end to notify the CSLB?
A: When a Sole Ownership or Corporate license number is reissued to an LLC, all Joint Venture licenses that were associated with them are cancelled. You will be required to reapply for the JV license and be issued a new license number.
The remaining entities of the Joint Venture can request a continuance of the JV license in order to complete projects already contracted for or in progress before the Cancellation Date. The CSLB may grant a continuance for a period of up to one year. This request for continuance must be submitted within 90 days after the cancellation date of the JV license.
Q: My license was recently suspended for not having Worker’s Comp. I was under the impression that my insurance company would be sending an updating certificate to the CSLB but they apparently did not. I submitted the updated certificate but they told me that it will take up to two weeks to apply it to the license and lift the suspension. Am I allowed to continue working since I technically have a policy in place and the CSLB has confirmed that it’s been received?
A: Any contracting work done while the license is Suspended is considered unlicensed and you risk disciplinary action by the CSLB. I would suggest contacting the Worker’s Compensation unit to see if they can apply it immediately due to the Suspension. It’s worth a try!
Q: We are currently registered with the California Secretary of State. The “Agent for Service of Process” showing on their website is no longer with the company. We have the form for “Resignation of Agent” but I can’t find out how to replace the agent. Can you give us some advice on this?
A: In order to update your Agent for Service of Process, you need to file a new Statement of Information. There is no need to file a “Resignation of Agent” when filing a new Statement of Information.