By Shauna Krause, President, Capitol Services, Inc.
Time is everything for our first contractor whose out-of-state office was ‘out of the loop’! Our second contractor has returned in the nick of time to keep his license before the first ‘domino’ also takes his down and when the clock starts for another his time is quickly running out! Don’t let this happen to you…
Q: We have a CA Contractor’s License and have several offices here in California, however the business mailing address on our license is a Florida address. Our Contractor’s Bond renewal notification was sent to the Florida address, and the office there was unaware that we have ongoing projects still in California, and I just found out today that instead of renewing it, they cancelled it! Now our license is showing Suspended. How do I get this corrected and what implications may this have on the license status?
A: I looked up your license and the cancellation date of the bond luckily is still within the 90 days to get this corrected. Contact your bonding company to obtain a new Bond and request that they backdate the effective cancellation date. The CSLB will lift the Suspension retroactively to that date so there shouldn’t be any break in the license.
Q: I have been out of the country and I need to make sure that my Contractor’s License and corporation are in order. I contacted my Responsible Managing Officer (RMO), who also has his own personal license, and he tells me that he was sued by a large company and lost in relation to his personal license. Is that going to affect my license?
A: It has the potential to affect your license depending on whether he complies with the Judgement or not. If your RMO has an unsatisfied Judgement attached to his license, the CSLB will suspend any/all licenses he is associated with. I would suggest that you disassociate him from your license to avoid the potential for suspension. Once you disassociate him, you have 90 days to replace him on the license.
Q: Our current Responsible Managing Employee (RME) gave his notice that he will be leaving our company to start his own business, so we need to replace him on our license. He has agreed to remain on the license until we replace him. We have a couple other candidates in mind. Is the best way to proceed to have everyone obtain their own personal license, or should we just have one of them apply outright to replace the current RME? I’m just wondering if filing the replacement application automatically starts the 90-day clock ticking. We don’t want our license to lapse in the event our new person doesn’t pass the exam!
A: Understandable! Filing the replacement application does not automatically start the 90-day clock. If your current Qualifier has agreed to stay on board until you replace him, there is a box you can check on the replacement application to not remove him/her until the new person is officially added to the license.
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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 columns at www.cutredtape.com.