What’s yours, may actually be their’s, or so license law reads. For another contractor there is no ‘grace’ in answering his many questions! Let’s go wild on dba’s to wrap it up…
Q: We are working on changing our Responsible Managing Employee (RME) (our qualifier) on our California contractor’s license. When we change our RME, will that change our contractor number? We are trying to determine if we need to update all of our contracts with vendors, etc. in connection with the change.
A: Your license number will not change when you change your Qualifying Individual. The license belongs to the company, not an individual, so the individual does not “take” the number with them when they leave.
Q: Is there a grace period for an HIS to be able to sell contracts? For example, can they sell if they have an application submitted but not yet processed by the CSLB? Similarly, is there a grace period for HIS registrations? For example, how long do we have to notify the CSLB of an active HIS? For HIS licenses, what are the parameters to either renew an expired license OR apply for a whole new license? We have some reps that held licenses previously but have expired, some less than, some greater than, 10 years ago.
A: No, there is no grace period for an HIS to be able to sell contracts. You must wait until the CSLB issues an Home Improvement Sales (HIS) number to have them start working as an HIS. When your company hires an HIS, you are required to complete and submit the notification form to the CSLB upon employment of the individual, but submission of that form meets the notification requirement. So as soon as it’s submitted, the person can start acting as home improvement salesperson. With regards to the expiration/renewals, they can renew an HIS registration for up to three years after it expires. After three years have passed, they must apply for a new registration number.
Q: How many assumed names (i.e., doing/business/as) can we operate under our license? Are assumed name assignments based on the specific trade or the name of the entity? We are thinking about adding plumbing to our business and want to know if we can use a name other than [ex] XYZ A/C (which implies just air conditioning).
A: You can only have one dba attached to your license. You can have as many dba’s as you want, but if you are operating under separate dba’s each one needs it’s own license.
Ex: XYZ Services dba XYZ A/C, license number 1000000
XYZ Services dba XYZ Plumbing, license number 1000001
And yes, the dba name needs to be indicative of the classification the license is holding.