California’s Contractors State License Board gives homeowners one rule above all: “Check the License First.” Anyone doing a construction project “valued at $500 or more (combined labor and material costs) must be licensed.” The board tells consumers to “Verify the license and make sure it is in good standing.”
A license requires more than a test. Contractors must “post a license bond,” and those with employees “must carry workers’ compensation insurance.” A common phrase in American trade advertising puts it in three words: licensed, bonded and insured.