By Shauna Krause, President, Capitol Services, Inc.
Does experience gained with a foreign ‘accent’ count here at home? My expert second opinion rights an inadvertent ‘wrong’ and helps prevent another mistake. While some questions are easy to learn from, sometimes more information or space to answer may be required so I always welcome your call or call back! …
Q: I currently live in Spain, but I’m originally from the States. My company wants me to move back (and frankly, I do too) and manage work that’s been proposed in CA. The catch is, I’ve been living here for over ten years. I have been an Engineering Contractor all of my life and while working in Spain I have been overseeing projects and managing all of the work being done, however I haven’t actually done any of the work for quite some time. My company wants me to be the license holder in CA. I have a college degree too if that means anything. Does the CSLB consider work done outside of the United States, or does your experience have to be from California in order to get licensed?
A: The CSLB absolutely accepts experience gained outside of the USA, however it may take some additional documentation. The State of California welcomes all Contractors and will issue Contractor’s licenses as long as the experience is backed up, possibly with W-2’s (or the equivalent) or permits (if they required them where your experience was gained), or some other type of documentation.
Q: Is it true that a Vice President cannot be a Responsible Managing Officer (RMO) on a California contractor license? I called the CSLB today to clarify how to fill out an application form and was told that the only Officers they allow to be RMO's are President, Treasurer and Secretary. According to what I was told, our Vice President is going to have be listed as a Responsible Managing Employee (RME) on our license. In previous years we have had Vice Presidents as RMO's, so we were surprised today to find out that is not allowed. Is this a new policy, or were we never actually allowed to have VP's as RMO's?
A: That is absolutely not a new policy, nor a correct one. The call center is usually very good at giving out accurate information, but it is like any other agency where you may need a second opinion. A company can have as many Vice Presidents as they want without them being listed with the Secretary of State. The CSLB needs your personnel to match what is listed at the Secretary of State level, so it’s likely the person you spoke with was referring to the fact that “Officers” need to match the Secretary of State filing. And because the Secretary of State is only concerned with President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and not Vice Presidents, that’s where the disconnect happened. BUT you should absolutely not list your RMO/Vice President as an RME. That would not be appropriate.
Q: I have a Contractor’s license with a ‘dba’ (doing business as). I’m going to be selling my ‘dba’ side, but I want to keep my corporation intact and still be able to do business. Can you help me with the process?
A: I can help you with the process, for sure, however I need to know more background with regards to the sale. For example, are you only selling the use of the dba name (in which case I cannot answer whether or not that’s even possible)? Will it be a stock sale or an asset sale? And all that being said, are you selling the corporation or just the use of the name? Let’s talk!
While knowledge is power, knowing where to go for the answers is half the battle. Get expert assistance immediately when you call 866-443-0657, email info@cutredtape.com, or write us at Capitol Services, Inc., 3609 Bradshaw Rd, Ste H, #343, Sacramento, CA 95827. Research past columns at www.cutredtape.com.
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