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California contractor license statistics 2026
How many contractors hold a California license, how many are active or suspended, and which trades, counties and cities have the most. Built from the full CSLB license file and refreshed daily.
Every license in the CSLB file, statewide. None are past their expiration date: the file lists current licenses, active or suspended.
License status statewide
| Status | What it means | Licenses | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | License is in good standing. | 233,186 | 95.0% |
| Suspended: contractor's bond | The required $25,000 contractor's bond lapsed, was cancelled or isn't on file. | 7,033 | 2.9% |
| Suspended: workers' comp | No valid workers' compensation policy (or exemption) on file with CSLB. | 2,977 | 1.2% |
| Suspended: liability insurance | Required liability insurance (LLC licensees) lapsed or isn't on file. | 790 | 0.3% |
| Suspended: no qualifier | The license has no qualifying individual on record. | 243 | 0.1% |
| Suspended: Secretary of State | The business entity is suspended with the California Secretary of State. | 176 | 0.1% |
| Suspended: other reasons | Judgments, unpaid bond claims, family support and other CSLB suspensions. | 963 | 0.4% |
New licenses and renewals
New licenses
Issued statewide.
New licenses
Issued statewide.
Expiring
Due to expire statewide.
Expiring in SoCal
Five counties, with names.
View list →Top 15 trades by license count
| Trade | Class | Licenses | Share of licenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Building | B | 108,457 | 44.2% |
| Electrical | C-10 | 29,228 | 11.9% |
| Plumbing | C-36 | 18,360 | 7.5% |
| Painting & Decorating | C-33 | 16,325 | 6.7% |
| General Engineering | A | 15,300 | 6.2% |
| Landscaping | C-27 | 12,709 | 5.2% |
| Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating & Air-Conditioning (HVAC) | C-20 | 12,263 | 5.0% |
| Flooring & Floor Covering | C-15 | 7,145 | 2.9% |
| Ceramic & Mosaic Tile | C-54 | 6,421 | 2.6% |
| Roofing | C-39 | 5,800 | 2.4% |
| Concrete | C-8 | 5,645 | 2.3% |
| Low Voltage Systems | C-7 | 4,940 | 2.0% |
| Cabinet, Millwork & Finish Carpentry | C-6 | 4,483 | 1.8% |
| Drywall | C-9 | 3,360 | 1.4% |
| Glazing | C-17 | 3,175 | 1.3% |
A license can hold several classifications, so shares add up to more than 100%. CSLB lists 98 classifications and certifications in the file.
Top 15 counties
| County | Licenses | Active | Suspended | Share of state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | 50,080 | 47,541 | 2,539 | 20.4% |
| San Diego County | 21,760 | 20,704 | 1,056 | 8.9% |
| Orange County | 20,277 | 19,332 | 945 | 8.3% |
| Riverside County | 16,668 | 15,792 | 876 | 6.8% |
| San Bernardino County | 11,279 | 10,701 | 578 | 4.6% |
| Sacramento County | 9,986 | 9,484 | 502 | 4.1% |
| Santa Clara County | 9,863 | 9,419 | 444 | 4.0% |
| Contra Costa County | 7,637 | 7,273 | 364 | 3.1% |
| Alameda County | 7,629 | 7,249 | 380 | 3.1% |
| Ventura County | 6,599 | 6,302 | 297 | 2.7% |
| Sonoma County | 5,626 | 5,367 | 259 | 2.3% |
| San Mateo County | 4,778 | 4,587 | 191 | 1.9% |
| Placer County | 4,770 | 4,557 | 213 | 1.9% |
| Fresno County | 4,365 | 4,135 | 230 | 1.8% |
| San Francisco County | 3,934 | 3,782 | 152 | 1.6% |
8,526 licenses (3.5%) have a business address outside California and no county.
Top 20 cities
| City | County | Licenses | Share of state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | Los Angeles | 6,833 | 2.8% |
| San Diego | San Diego | 6,115 | 2.5% |
| San Jose | Santa Clara | 5,166 | 2.1% |
| Sacramento | Sacramento | 4,255 | 1.7% |
| San Francisco | San Francisco | 3,933 | 1.6% |
| Bakersfield | Kern | 2,829 | 1.2% |
| Riverside | Riverside | 2,763 | 1.1% |
| Fresno | Fresno | 2,590 | 1.1% |
| Anaheim | Orange | 2,169 | 0.9% |
| Santa Rosa | Sonoma | 2,154 | 0.9% |
| Escondido | San Diego | 1,810 | 0.7% |
| Oakland | Alameda | 1,662 | 0.7% |
| Santa Ana | Orange | 1,560 | 0.6% |
| Corona | Riverside | 1,542 | 0.6% |
| Long Beach | Los Angeles | 1,493 | 0.6% |
| El Cajon | San Diego | 1,477 | 0.6% |
| Huntington Beach | Orange | 1,440 | 0.6% |
| Irvine | Orange | 1,391 | 0.6% |
| Simi Valley | Ventura | 1,365 | 0.6% |
| Orange | Orange | 1,355 | 0.6% |
The five counties we cover
Los Angeles
2,539 suspended · 905 expiring in 30 days.
View county →95.3% active20,277Orange
945 suspended · 320 expiring in 30 days.
View county →95.1% active21,760San Diego
1,056 suspended · 433 expiring in 30 days.
View county →94.7% active16,668Riverside
876 suspended · 306 expiring in 30 days.
View county →94.9% active11,279San Bernardino
578 suspended · 217 expiring in 30 days.
View county →Workers' comp, business type and years licensed
Workers' comp coverage
| Coverage | Licenses | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Exempt | 120,215 | 49.0% |
| Insurance policy | 116,991 | 47.7% |
| No current policy | 4,269 | 1.7% |
| Leasing or temp firm | 3,263 | 1.3% |
| Out of state | 421 | 0.2% |
| Self-insured | 208 | 0.1% |
| Not listed | 1 | 0.0% |
Business type
| Type | Licenses | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sole owner | 114,580 | 46.7% |
| Corporation | 112,422 | 45.8% |
| LLC | 14,300 | 5.8% |
| Partnership | 3,594 | 1.5% |
| Joint venture | 469 | 0.2% |
| Not listed | 3 | 0.0% |
Years licensed
| Since first issued | Licenses | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 17,350 | 7.1% |
| 1 to 5 years | 50,553 | 20.6% |
| 5 to 10 years | 38,962 | 15.9% |
| 10 to 20 years | 53,290 | 21.7% |
| 20 years or more | 85,213 | 34.7% |
Quick answers
How many licensed contractors are there in California?
245,368 contractor licenses are on file with the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) as of 10/20/2026. 233,186 (95.0%) are active and 12,182 (5.0%) are suspended. 8,526 list a business address outside California.
What is the most common contractor license in California?
B General Building, held by 108,457 licenses (44.2%). Next are C-10 Electrical (29,228) and C-36 Plumbing (18,360). A license can carry more than one classification.
How many California contractors are exempt from workers' comp?
120,215 licenses (49.0%) are listed as exempt, which means the contractor told CSLB they have no employees. 116,991 (47.7%) have a workers' comp insurance policy on file.
How many contractor licenses are suspended in California?
12,182 licenses are suspended right now. 7,033 are suspended for a contractor's bond problem and 2,977 for missing workers' comp. A suspended contractor can't legally work until CSLB clears it.
How many new contractor licenses does CSLB issue?
CSLB issued 1,721 new contractor licenses in the 30 days ending 10/20/2026, and 291 in the last 7 days. 4,544 licenses are due to expire in the next 30 days.
Cite this page
LicenseWatch CA, "California contractor license statistics 2026," based on CSLB public license data as of 10/20/2026. https://licensewatchca.com/stats/
Free to quote and link with credit. Counts refresh every day from the CSLB data portal. The CSV has every number on this page.
New and lapsed SoCal licenses, every Monday
New licenses, expirations and workers' comp lapses across five counties. One short email a week.