How to check a contractor's license in Los Angeles

The two-minute check

Go to cslb.ca.gov and use the license lookup. Search by license number if you have it, or by business name. Every contractor advertising in California is required to print their license number on ads, bids, and contracts — if you cannot find a number anywhere on their paperwork, the check is already over.

On the license page, read four things:

1. Status — it should say active, with no suspensions. Note the expiration date.
2. Classification — the license class has to match the work. Class B (General Building) covers kitchen and bath remodels, additions, and whole-home work. A C-33 painting license does not make someone a general contractor, and unlicensed contracting on anything over $500 is illegal in California.
3. Bond — every licensed contractor must carry a $25,000 contractor's bond. The lookup shows the bond company and whether it is current.
4. Workers' compensation — this one catches people. If the page says the contractor has filed an exemption, they have certified they have no employees. If that same contractor shows up to your job with a crew of five, something is wrong — and an injured, uninsured worker on your property can become your problem.

Also glance at the business name and personnel. The name on the license must match the name on your contract. A very common LA-area scheme is "borrowing" a license — the number checks out, but it belongs to someone who has never seen your project.

The rules that protect you — by the numbers

California's contractor law is unusually specific, and the numbers are worth knowing cold. Any home improvement job over $500 requires a written contract. The down payment is capped at 10% or $1,000, whichever is less. Progress payments must be tied to defined milestones — not "half up front," not a schedule that runs ahead of the work. A contractor who follows these rules without being asked has told you something about how they run jobs; so has one who doesn't.

We would add one LA-specific habit: verify permits were actually pulled. Whether the job is in Los Angeles (LADBS), Burbank, or Glendale, permit records are public, and each city runs its own department — we covered how the Burbank permit process works in detail. A contractor who "handles permits" but produces no permit card by the first inspection is building you a problem that surfaces at sale. Fixing it later is a real, expensive project — here is what it costs to legalize unpermitted work in LA.

What the license does not tell you

A clean license is the floor, not the ceiling. It tells you the contractor passed an exam, posted a bond, and has not been caught doing something disqualifying. It does not tell you whether their jobs finish on schedule or their tile lines are straight. For that, the old advice still works: recent references you actually call, addresses of finished projects, and photos that are clearly theirs. Ask specifically about the last project that went wrong and what the contractor did about it — the answer is more informative than any portfolio.

Run our number

We think this check should be so normal that we will start: DN Builders Group Inc, CA License #1139710, Class B, bonded, based in Burbank. Look us up at cslb.ca.gov before you ever call us — and do the same for everyone else bidding your kitchen or whole-home renovation.

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DN Builders Group Inc is a licensed, bonded general contractor based in Burbank (CA Lic. #1139710), serving Burbank and Greater Los Angeles. This is general consumer information, not legal advice — current rules and license records are at cslb.ca.gov.

Questions

How much deposit can a contractor legally ask for in California?

For home improvement contracts, the down payment is capped at 10% of the contract price or $1,000 — whichever is LESS. On a $60,000 kitchen, the legal maximum deposit is $1,000, not $6,000. After that, payments must track actual progress through milestones written into the contract. A contractor demanding a large upfront payment is either unaware of the law or counting on you being unaware, and neither is a person you want holding your money.

Is the $25,000 bond enough to cover my project if something goes wrong?

No, and it is important to understand why. The bond is not insurance for your project — it is a compliance backstop, shared by every claimant against that contractor, and $25,000 does not go far against a six-figure remodel gone wrong. What actually protects you is hiring someone whose license is clean, whose insurance is real, and whose contract ties your money to completed work.

What if the contractor asks me to pull the permit myself?

Treat it as a serious warning sign. When you pull an owner-builder permit, you legally become the builder — liability for the work, for code compliance, and for anyone injured on site shifts to you. Licensed contractors pull their own permits. The usual reason someone asks a homeowner to do it is that their license or insurance will not survive the city's scrutiny.