What you believe you know or think is right may not always be the case when it comes to contractor regulations. We often hear from contractors who heard a rumor or were given inaccurate or incorrect information by someone else. Another aspiring contractor hopes to ‘qualify’ his experience into a license number but first we have to disappoint a contractor who hopes to ‘divide and conquer’ with just half his license…
Q: I have a Sole Owner license that has HVAC and Electrical classifications. I went to work for a company that wanted me to add my Electrical classification to their General Building license so I did that. Being that you can only use one license at a time when you are a Responsible Managing Employee (RME), I inactivated my Sole Owner license when I became the RME for my company. With summer coming up, I was wondering if it’s possible to reactivate just the HVAC classification on my license so that I can do side jobs?
A: The CSLB does not allow you to split a license in which one classification stays active while the other is inactive. When you inactivate license you cannot use the license, period.
Q: I have been told that I can act as the Responsible Managing Officer (RMO) for two companies as long as I have a Bond of Qualified Individual (BQI) attached to both licenses? Is that correct?
A: There are several scenarios in which a person can act as an RMO for two different companies, however the BQI doesn’t play a role in how many licenses you are listed on. The BQI is necessary only when the Qualifying Individual owns less than 10% of the company. Having a BQI on file does not permit you to be on two licenses at the same time. Contact us to discuss this at greater length and we may be able to help you.
Q: I have really enjoyed your site (www.cutredtape.com) and have found it very valuable. Thank you! My question is regarding whether my experience running a wood products manufacturing business over the past 2 years combined with my Bachelor’s degree in business would be sufficient experience to qualify for the finish carpentry and millwork license. We would now like to be able to subcontract out installations of our products and we believe a license is required to do so.
A: Yes, a license would be required in order to subcontract out the installation of your products. To qualify for a “C-6” (Cabinet/Millwork) license you are required to show a total of four years of work experience. At least one year of that needs to be practical experience, meaning you have to prove that you’ve physically done the installation work full time for at least a year. You would likely get two years of experience credit for your Bachelor’s Degree in business. Therefore, it doesn’t appear that you meet the experience requirement just yet.