Does California recognize contractors licenses issued by other states or countries?
No. However, California does have reciprocal agreements with some states that recognize the experience qualifications for certain trades. It is only after the Registrar of Contractors has entered into a reciprocal agreement with the other state and under certain conditions that the Registrar may waive the written trade examination for a contractor licensed in another state. Applicants must still qualify by taking and passing the Law and Business Examination. If you have trade experience or a contractor’s license issued by another state or country and you want to contract for work in California, this experience may be acceptable. In any case, you must apply for and be issued a license by the California Contractors State License Board.
*Note: Waiver Changed by CA State Contractors Division *7065.1(a) License Exam Waivers Discontinued Effective September 1, 2004, except in cases of family-owned partnerships and corporations, the CA State Contractors Division is no longer granting license exam waivers based on section 7065.1(a) of the Contractors License Law. Under this provision, the Registrar may, but is not required to waive the exam portion of the license application if the applicant has been listed on a license and actively engaged in the contracting business for five of the last seven years. In each of the last two fiscal years, approximately 8,600 license applicants applied for an exam waiver. It is estimated that roughly 20-25 percent of those waiver applications fell under section 7065.1(a). About one-third of all waiver requests are rejected for failure to meet requirements. “Waiver applications take considerably longer to process and have a significantly higher rejection rate,” explains Licensing Unit Chief,
