Moving to California as a residential contractor: every state's rule

California licenses residential contractors statewide through the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), and the homes-only classification is B-2 Residential Remodeling Contractor, created by Business and Professions Code section 7057.5 and issued since January 1, 2021. A B-2 contractor improves an existing residential wood frame structure and may only take a contract that requires at least three unrelated building trades or crafts; it cannot make structural changes to load-bearing parts of a building such as footings, foundations, load-bearing walls or roof structures, and it cannot install, replace or extend electrical, mechanical or plumbing systems unless it holds the matching specialty classification or subcontracts that work. A Class B General Building license also covers houses, including new construction and structural remodeling, so many residential builders apply for B instead of or as well as B-2. CSLB issues the license to a business (sole owner, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or joint venture) and the person who meets the experience and examination requirements is named on it as the qualifying individual, a responsible managing employee (RME) or responsible managing officer (RMO), so the reader who is moving states applies as that qualifier. A contractor license from another state cannot be used in California, even as a subcontractor or for a single project, and any project worth $1,000 or more in labor and materials, or any project needing a permit or workers, requires a CSLB license. Cities and counties separately require a local business tax registration, which is an additional step and not a substitute for the state license.