Contractor Problems · Checklist · Reviewed July 12, 2026
Contractor license, contract, and complaint check
Check the papers before hiring or after work goes wrong. Use the same path when a payment or mechanics-lien notice arrives.
Why it matters
Each project paper has its own job. Start with the contract and permit file. Then check the contractor's exact license record.
Official first stop
Start here
Find the right public office for everyday paperwork.
First moves
- 1
Write down the address, contractor's legal name, and license number. Add the price, dates, amount paid, and what is still disputed.
- 2
Check the CSLB record. Look at status, license class, bond, workers' compensation, and listed actions. Match the name and number to the contract.
- 3
A contractor generally needs a license in any of three cases. The job needs a permit, uses workers, or costs $1,000 or more for labor and materials.
- 4
For a home job over $500, keep the written contract. It should cover dates, the work, payments, permits, and signed changes.
- 5
The usual down payment cannot exceed $1,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less. Later payments should track work or materials already supplied.
- 6
Save bids, advertisements, permits, inspection notes, photos, invoices, payments, texts, emails, and a dated list of promises and defects.
- 7
If it is safe and useful, send one calm written request describing the correction, documents, or money requested and a reasonable response date.
- 8
File a CSLB complaint with the key records. Include the license, contract, payment proof, photos, and timeline. Keep the confirmation.
- 9
A Preliminary Notice or mechanics lien has its own clock. A CSLB complaint does not remove a lien. It does not stop a foreclosure deadline.
Watch for
- 1
The under-$1,000 exception is narrow. It does not apply when the job needs a permit or uses workers. A larger job cannot be split to avoid the license rule.
- 2
An active license is only one check. The license class, bond, insurance record, permits, references, work, and payment terms still matter.
- 3
Verbal promises are hard to document. Put changes in a signed written change order before the extra work begins.
- 4
A three-day cancellation right can apply to many home-solicitation contracts, with exceptions. Older adults and disaster repairs can have different rules. Read the contract notice and current CSLB source.
- 5
A subcontractor or supplier may keep lien rights even when the owner paid the main contractor. Use the right lien release as each payment moves.
- 6
CSLB can review license and work issues. It may help with a resolution. Court, insurance, lender, and lien paths are separate.
- 7
Stop and get qualified help promptly if a lien, foreclosure notice, injury, abandoned permit, major structural defect, bankruptcy, threat, or large loss is involved.