Hiring a handyman in California: the $1,000 line, the license check, the deposit

A towel bar has pulled out of the plaster, the back door swells shut whenever the fog rolls in, and the bathroom fan has rattled since spring. That's one afternoon for a handyman, and California lets you hire someone without a contractor's license for it, within limits few people are told about. The limits protect the person paying: they decide who may take the job, how much money changes hands before it starts and what goes in writing.

#Do handymen need a license in California?

There is no handyman license in California. The Contractors State License Board licenses contractors, and a handyman without a license works under one narrow exception in Business and Professions Code section 7048, the minor work or handyperson exemption. It covers work of a 'casual, minor, or inconsequential nature' when the aggregate contract price for labor, materials and all other items is less than $1,000 and the work doesn't require a building permit. Subdivision (c) adds two ways to lose it: advertising as a contractor, or employing anyone to perform or assist with the work.

#How much can a handyman charge without a license?

Less than $1,000 for the whole job, counting labor, materials, haul-away and anything else on the bill, so a modest labor quote plus a vanity or a box of tile can cross it. It counts per project, not per visit or per invoice. A bathroom done over three Saturdays is still one bathroom. When a quote creeps toward the line, ask whether the job belongs with a licensed contractor.

The second condition, no permit, is where San Francisco narrows things. The city's codes list the work that needs no permit, and plenty of jobs people think of as small aren't on the lists. Same price, different answer:

The city adds a catch that surprises condo owners. A homeowner's electrical permit is available only for a single-family dwelling, only when the owner does the work, and never to an LLC (Electrical Code 89.120). Plumbing is similar: a single-family home the owner lives in or will live in (Plumbing Code 104.1.1). The person offering to 'just add an outlet' in a Russian Hill condo is offering a job that, in that building, only a licensed contractor can legally take.

#How do I check a contractor's license?

1. Get the number in writing

   Every contractor advertisement, from a website to the side of a truck, has to carry the state license number, and so do business cards, bids and contracts, CSLB says. A number proves nothing until you check it.

2. Look it up on CSLB's site

   Enter it on Check a License, or search by business or personal name if that's all you have.

3. Match the record to the bid

   The business name should match the bid, the status should be active, and the class should fit the job: C-36 for plumbing, C-10 for electrical, C-33 for painting, B for a general builder. CSLB's class list names them all.

4. Read the rest of the record

   Look at the disciplinary history and the workers' compensation information. Any contractor with employees must carry workers' comp; concrete (C-8), HVAC (C-20), asbestos (C-22), roofing (C-39) and tree service contractors must carry it even with none.

5. Check the card against an ID

   When the contractor comes out to bid, ask for the plastic pocket license and a photo ID, and make sure the person in front of you is the one named on it. A salesperson should show a Home Improvement Salesperson registration card.

#How much deposit can a contractor ask for in California?

That ceiling is section 7159.5(a)(3), and it covers home improvement contracts with owners and tenants alike. After the down payment, the contractor may neither request nor accept payment beyond the value of the work performed or material delivered, and any progress payments must be scheduled in the contract in dollars and cents, each tied to described work. Taking too large a down payment, or payment ahead of the work, is a misdemeanor under subdivision (b).

One narrow exception: a contractor who furnishes a performance and payment bond or an approved joint control covering the full job, or keeps a blanket bond on file with the state, is exempt from those limits. CSLB says only about two dozen licensees hold a blanket bond. Any other contractor asking for half before the first day of work is asking for more than the law allows.

#What has to be in the contract?

Once the total passes $500, section 7159 makes it a home improvement contract: in writing, signed by both of you before work starts, with a signed, dated copy for you. Receiving that copy starts your right to cancel. The parts that settle most arguments:

Keep that last notice. Under Civil Code 1689.6, a home improvement contract made away from the contractor's place of business can be canceled until midnight of the third business day after you receive a signed, dated copy, or the fifth if you're 65 or older. Saturday counts as a business day; Sunday and listed holidays don't (Civil Code 1689.5). Cancel in writing, by email, mail, fax or delivery, and the contractor has 10 days to return what you paid.

#What if I hire someone without a license?

• Heard this?If the job goes wrong, the state will sort it out.Tap for the factsWhat's trueThe CSLB notice required in every home improvement contract says that if you use an unlicensed contractor, CSLB may not be able to help, and your only remedy may be civil court. Complaints against a licensed contractor, filed within the deadline (usually four years), can be investigated.
• Heard this?An injury on the job is the worker's problem.Tap for the factsWhat's trueCSLB warns that if a worker is hurt on your property and the contractor has no workers' compensation coverage, you could be financially liable, and your homeowner's policy may or may not pay.
• Heard this?I'll take out the permit myself and let my guy do the work.Tap for the factsWhat's trueAs owner-builder you answer for the whole project, and anyone working for you who isn't a subcontractor with a license can make you an employer, with payroll taxes and workers' comp (CSLB). CSLB warns that whoever talks you into it usually profits from it.
• Heard this?Once it's paid, it's gone.Tap for the factsWhat's trueSection 7031(b) lets a person who used an unlicensed contractor sue to recover everything paid for work that required a license, and subdivision (a) stops an unlicensed contractor from suing to collect. It's a lawsuit, not a refund; talk to a lawyer first.

San Francisco adds a bill for the permit nobody pulled. When permit work started without one, Building Code 107A.5 requires a special investigation before a permit is issued, plus an investigation fee, and puts the cost on the owner, not on whoever did the work. The permit guide covers how old unpermitted work resurfaces at a sale.

#Questions to ask before you hire, and the red flags

Most bad jobs start with a missing answer, not a bad worker. Send these questions before anyone comes out, print the list for the walk-through, and tick items off as you go.

Red flags

• A down payment request above the legal limit, or most of the money up front 'for materials'.
• No license number on the card, the bid or the truck, or a number registered to a different business.
• An ad that claims a license but shows no number.
• A plan to split one project into several small invoices.
• A suggestion that you take out the permit as owner-builder 'to save money'.
• A contract with blank spaces, or pressure to sign before you've read it.

#What happens when you send a request here

The Handyman SF doesn't do the work and holds no contractor's license. A request sent from this page goes to up to five local handymen or contractors who take that kind of work, and one or more of them call or text you to ask questions and quote. Nobody is assigned to you: you compare who calls, check a license number whenever the job needs one, and choose. Photos help them quote, and you can call or text (415) 449-8213 instead of using the form.