By Shauna Krause, President, Capitol Services, Inc.
Sometimes the ‘waiting’ is the hardest part for a contractor. After that lengthy question, a ‘quick’ one! A happy answer for a ‘suspenseful’ issue and another contractor comes up short in ‘owning’ my answer…
Q: You helped us back in 2016 when the former owner of our business retired, and my Partner and I took over as the Responsible Managing Officers (RMO). At the time, my Partner had been an Officer on the license for over five years, so she was able to replace him on the license for four separate classifications without having to take any exams.
At the same time, I added the two classifications to the license, which I was already qualified for, so now we have a total of six classifications. We would like to switch things around and have me take over all of the classifications, so that my Partner can start another business and bring her classifications to that new license.
We seem to remember you warning us last time that once a license is granted a Waiver, there is a certain amount of time we are required to wait before we can ask for another waiver, and for obvious reason, I would prefer to Waive the exams. We had one year, four years, and five years in our heads but cannot remember which it was you told us. Can you remind us? I’m hoping it’s just not five years, in which case we will have to wait until next year to accomplish this. The other two options we could work with!
A: I never like telling people exactly what they are hoping not to hear, but it’s five years. If you wanted to replace your Partner for the classifications she holds, you would be required to do one application at a timeand take the trade exam for each.
Q: I hope this inquiry finds you well. We have a quick question. About 3 years ago, the license for one of our affiliated companies Expired (we accidentally failed to renew on time), and we reinstated the license shortly after the Expiration date. Is the period of time between the expiration and reinstatement just considered a lapse, or is it a “suspension?” I was thinking that it’s just a lapse based on an expiration. I’ve always thought of suspension as an act taken by the CSLB on the license based on the failure of the contractor to do something, disciplinary issues, etc. We are looking into this in connection with a project pre-qualification question that asks whether any of our licenses have ever been “suspended.”
A: Hope all is well with you and all our readers as well. It would be considered a lapse, and the CSLB would reflect that time period actually as “Expired” if you were to pull a History on the license. It wouldn’t have been “Suspended” unless there were another issue besides just failing to renew the license. You should be safe to answer that question with a solid “no”.
Q: I have a current “A” Sole Owner license number in CA, and I am starting a new company with a partner where I will be 50/50 owner. Can I use my current number for this new company, and is this something your company can help me set up?
A: You cannot automatically use your license number for a new entity, you would need to re-apply for a license. As far as transferring your sole owner license number to the new entity, you would need to have to own at least fifty one percent of the new company. Keep in mind if you choose that option, you can never get that number as a sole proprietor in the future. And always, we would be happy to help you with the process either way!
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. Search past column at www.cutredtape.com.