Check Your California Contractor License
Enter your CSLB license number to review available public licensing, bonding, and workers' compensation information. Built from the Contractors State License Board's public data file; Plumbers Pro is an independent insurance service of Pembroke Insurance Solutions, not a government site.
No account, no email. Lookups aren't stored; we count them anonymously. If you go on to request a quote or bond, we start the form with the public details shown here. How this works
How to read your results
The checker reads the License Master file that the Contractors State License Board publishes on its public Data Portal. For each current license it lists the status CSLB reports, the expiration date, classifications, the contractor's bond (surety, effective date, any cancellation), the workers' compensation certificate or exemption on file, and, for LLCs, the employee/worker bond. We load that file into our own database and show the record for the number you enter, with the date CSLB last updated it.
What the labels mean
- Active (CLEAR) is CSLB's own term for a license in good standing with no suspension. Inactive means an inactivation date is on file and the license cannot be used to contract.
- Suspension statuses such as Contr Bond Susp or Work Comp Susp are shown exactly as CSLB reports them. Work performed while a license is suspended is treated as unlicensed work.
- Workers' compensation shows what CSLB has on file: a carrier and policy dates, an exemption, or "does not have current W/C". It is not a verification that coverage is in force today or that payroll is classified correctly. An exemption on file does not by itself mean the business has no employees.
- Bond shows the surety and effective date of the contractor's bond on file. The standard amount is $25,000; that is the bond's penal sum, not the premium a contractor pays.
What is not in the file
The bond of qualifying individual, general liability insurance (except that LLC licensees must carry it), commercial auto, and disciplinary case detail are not in the public file, so the checker does not report them. Expired and cancelled licenses are not included; if your number returns no match, check it on CSLB's Instant License Check.
The bigger picture
The same file shows that about half of California's C-36 licenses are on file as exempt from workers' compensation and that bond lapses cause more suspensions than anything else. See California plumbing contractors by the numbers, with county-by-county breakdowns.
Alerts and dates
We flag an expiration within 90, 60 and 30 days, a workers' compensation policy expiring within 60 days, bond or policy cancellations, and pending suspensions. These are our reading of the dates in the record, not a CSLB determination. Changes to license status can occur at any time, and the file is updated by CSLB periodically; the dataset date is shown on every result.
This tool is general information, not legal advice, and not an official CSLB certification of compliance. Verify any decision on CSLB's Instant License Check.