I have to ‘say it isn’t so’ to answer one contractor and suggest to another that time has passed for his hope, but there is a silver lining. Finally, the last act in this edition also finds a positive ending…
Q: I have both a Sole Proprietor license in California as well as one for the company I work for, both licenses holding the “B” (General Building) and the “C-20” (HVAC) classifications. I’m not using my personal license however I want to keep it active. I received a notice from the CSLB stating that my Sole Prop license is going to be suspended come July 1st if I don’t attach Worker’s Comp Insurance. I (obviously) don’t have employees, so I called the CSLB to explain the situation and they suggested that I just remove the “C-20” from my personal license. When I asked them if this would cause the company to also lose the “C-20”, they said no. I’m not understanding this and I’m hoping you can further enlighten me. Aren’t I lending my license to the company? Therefore, actions such as removing a classification or failing to pay a renewal fee will in turn influence the company license as well?
A: I understand your thinking here, but you aren’t “lending” your personal license to the company. You have to think of it as two separate entities, there’s you, and then there’s the company. Actions such as removing a classification from one of them, adding a classification to one, non-renewal, etc. does not affect the other. Being that you are qualified for the “B” and the “C-20” classifications, that qualification is with you outside of any licenses. Even if you were to remove the “C-20” from both licenses, you would still be considered qualified for that classification for a period of five years. So, you are lending your qualification to the company, not your license.
Q: I recently sold my contracting business, and the buyer took over as the RMO on the license. I had a personal license that expired back in 2008. Is there any way I can revive that license, or do I need to get a new license since it’s been so long?
A: You cannot renew a license once it’s been expired for over five years, but you can apply for a “new” license and request the original license number be re-issued to you.
Q: Our Office Manager recently left the company, and she was in charge of keeping our licenses current. It was brought to our attention that one of our licenses is not in good standing. Can you take a look at it and let me know what needs to be done to get it back to Active status?
A: To get the license back to Active status on an immediate basis, you just need to renew your Bond or obtain a new one. The Bond expired last month. For the long term, please note your license is set to expire at the end of next month and it cannot be renewed until your corporation’s status at the Secretary of State level is brought back to Active. Currently, the corporation is “FTB forfeited”. FTB forfeited can mean one of three things – the company owes taxes, the company needs to file tax returns, or both. You’ll need to contact the Franchise Tax Board to find out what is required and once you satisfy the requirement, you’ll need to file a revivor. I would suggest still submitting and paying for the license renewal before its expiration even if the SOS status is not corrected in order to avoid the delinquent filing fee!