At CSLB rules are rules and deadlines serious, so it’s up to contractors to plan ahead. We suggest a ‘detour’ but you have to follow through to make it work.
Ironically, a specialty contractor in Nevada learns that he can do other trade work, but the idea of ‘subbing’ it out has gone down the drain…
Q: Our Responsible Managing Officer (RMO) left our company at the end of last year and our license is due to Suspend at the beginning of next month. We have hired a new employee with a license and he is aware he will need to Inactivate his license in order to be added to ours, however according to the CSLB processing times it will take several weeks for them to process the application. The law says that the Qualifier should be replaced within 90 days, so if we get our application in before the 90 days will the CSLB keep our license Active since we are technically complying with the law and the Suspension would be due to their processing delay?
A: The CSLB will not automatically keep your license active. The CSLB has to abide by what the law states and it’s up to the contractor to prepare for processing times to make changes to their license in a timely manner. However, the good news is once you have an application in process, assuming you get it submitted before the 90-day deadline, you can request (in writing) a 90-day extension which should buy you enough time to not go Suspended.
Q: We recently applied for a Contractor’s License for our Limited Liability Company (LLC) and the CSLB rejected the application for not having a California Secretary of State registration number in Section 2 of the application form. We are a Delaware LLC company. Can you confirm if we need to have a California registration number?
A: Yes, all corporations and LLC’s are required to be registered with the California Secretary of State. As a Delaware entity, you would register as “foreign” Limited Liability Company. Once registered, you are issued an entity number, which is your California Secretary of State registration number as reflected in Section 2 of the CSLB’s application form.
Q: We have had a Nevada “C-3” (Carpentry) license for a little over a year. Sometimes our bathroom projects require some plumbing work, which we subcontract out to licensed Plumbing contractors. We recently received a complaint against our license for sub-contracting this work out. It was my understanding that we could sub-contract the work out as long as it was incidental and supplemental to the project we are licensed to perform. Am I not understanding this correctly?
A: “C” contractors, such as yourself, are considered “specialty” contractors and therefore, you cannot subcontract work out. I believe what you are referring to is NRS 624.220 which states that specialty contractors can perform trades other than which they are licensed for, if the work is incidental and supplemental to the performance of the work in the craft for which the specialty contractor is licensed.
In other words, you can perform work that is incidental and supplemental to your “C-3” projects, but only licensed “General” Contractors are permitted to hire sub-contractors directly.