Los Angeles contractors are required to carry a $25,000 license bond to maintain an active license with the CSLB.
Purpose of the Contractor License Bond
A Los Angeles Contractor License Bond is a surety bond required by the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) to protect consumers and employees from financial harm caused by defective work, contract violations, or unpaid wages. The bond is a financial guarantee, not insurance for the contractor, and ensures that claims can be paid without the injured party pursuing the contractor directly. If a claim is paid, the contractor must reimburse the surety company for the full amount plus any legal costs.
Bond Requirements
Amount: $25,000 for all contractors as of January 1, 2023, per Senate Bill 607.
Form: Must be written on a form approved by the Attorney General and signed by the surety company's attorney-in-fact.
Filing: The bond must be received at the CSLB headquarters within 90 days of its effective date.
Eligibility: Required before issuing, renewing, or reactivating a license.
Surety: Must be issued by a company licensed through the California Department of Insurance.
Additional Bonds
Bond of Qualifying Individual: Required if the license is qualified by a Responsible Managing Employee (RME) or a Responsible Managing Officer RMO) who owns less than 10% of the corporation.
Maintaining the Bond
The bond must remain active continuously; lapses trigger automatic license suspension.
Key Considerations
The bond protects the public and employees, not the contractor.
Contractors are responsible for reimbursing the surety if a claim is paid.
Understanding bond requirements is critical to avoiding license suspension and ensuring compliance with CSLB regulations.
For more information, contractors can consult the CSLB’s official bond requirements page or contact a licensed surety company to obtain or maintain their bond
Los Angeles is the largest contracting market in California, and home improvement work here stretches from the hillside homes below the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory to the beach bungalows near the Santa Monica Pier and Venice. Downtown has seen a wave of loft conversions and seismic retrofits around Los Angeles City Hall and the Arts District, while the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, and the South Bay are full of mid-century ranch homes due for kitchen, bath, ADU, and roofing upgrades. Landmarks such as the Getty Center, Dodger Stadium, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall draw the tourists, but it is the roughly four million residents of the city and ten million across Los Angeles County who keep local remodelers, electricians, plumbers, and general contractors busy year-round. Whether your shop is in Long Beach, Glendale, Santa Clarita, or Torrance, the CSLB license bond requirement is the same, and we can have a Los Angeles contractor bond issued for you online in minutes.