Life is a challenge and every day a test, but when can you expect to sit down for your contractor license exams? I share why you cannot franchise experience in applying or borrow someone’s license to bid and work…
Q: Our company has the opportunity to perform some work in California. From what I’ve read, it can take half a year to get licensed! I was speaking with a General Contractor who told me that we could just use his license while we are in the process of obtaining our own. Is that legal?
A: It is never legal to use someone else’s license. If your company is signing a contract for work to be performed, your company needs to have its own contractor’s license. There are situations which allow for you to use an already licensed contractor’s qualification in order to obtain a license more expeditiously, but you cannot outright use their license. The good news is that it absolutely should not take six months to obtain a license! Give our office a call and we would be happy to assist you with the process.
Q: I am an attorney and I have a client interested in buying a Contracting business. While my client has plenty of business experience, he doesn’t have experience in the construction industry. The business he is interested in purchasing is a Franchise. I was reading that the CSLB gives credit for technical training and such. The Franchise offers training and support for all of it’s franchisees and we are wondering if the training they receive counts towards qualifying for the license.
A: Unfortunately, no, that doesn’t count. With regards to contractor licensing, technical training refers to vocational training, apprenticeship programs, education beyond high school/GED, and military experience (if its construction related).
Q: When submitting an application for a new license, approximately how long after the application is submitted should I expect to be approved to sit for the exams? And are the exams open book? I’m trying to plan for study time.
A: You will likely be approved to schedule the exams about 6 weeks after the application is submitted, and no such luck on the open book though! You are not permitted to bring any material in to the exam with you.