What the CSLB contractor license bond is
The Contractors State License Board will not issue, reactivate, or renew an active contractor license until a contractor's bond is on file. Business and Professions Code section 7071.6(a) makes that bond a condition of issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, and keeping the license, and it sets the bond at $25,000. The section has been operative since January 1, 2023. CSLB's bond requirements page repeats that sum and the filing rules: a surety company licensed through the California Department of Insurance, a form approved by the Attorney General's office, the business name and license number that match CSLB's record, and delivery to CSLB within 90 days of the bond's effective date.
That $25,000 is the penal sum, the statutory ceiling of the surety's obligation on this bond. It is not the premium, and it is not the limit on a general liability policy. The three roles on any surety bond are defined on the surety bond page, from Civil Code section 2787. Here the licensee is the one who has to keep the license conditions, and the people who may claim are the ones section 7071.5 names. A C-10 working from Stockton keeps this bond in force for the license to stay active. General liability, workers' compensation, and this bond are three files. This file starts on the contractor license bond page, with the longer bond comparison on the surety article.
Questions
What has to be on file before CSLB activates a license?
A contractor's bond. Business and Professions Code section 7071.6(a) makes the bond a condition of issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, and keeping the license.
Is the bond amount the same thing as the premium?
No. The figure in section 7071.6 is the penal sum, the statutory ceiling of the surety's obligation. It is not the premium and it is not a general liability limit.
Who may claim on the bond?
The people Business and Professions Code section 7071.5 names. The licensee is the one who has to keep the license conditions.
Where does the bond file start?
On the contractor license bond page. The surety bond page defines the three roles on any bond. The phone is (209) 670-1556.
Sources
- Business and Professions Code section 7071.6 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, checked October 5, 2026). The board shall require a contractor's bond of $25,000 as a condition of issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, or continued maintenance of a license. Operative January 1, 2023.
- CSLB, Bond Requirements (cslb.ca.gov, checked October 5, 2026). The bond must be in place before an active license is issued, reactivated, or renewed; written by a surety licensed through the California Department of Insurance; on a form approved by the Attorney General; in the name and license number on CSLB's record; received within 90 days of the effective date.
- Business and Professions Code section 7071.5. Names the beneficiaries of the contractor's bond.
- Civil Code section 2787. A surety promises to answer for another's default.
Related: Glossary · Surety bonds · Workers' compensation · Esta página en español.