By Shauna Krause, President, Capitol Services, Inc.
You may not use it now, plan to keep it in its current form; add to or subtract from it, but your contractor’s license is golden, and the result of hard work and study. These contractors illustrate how changes in life and business can affect your licensing…
Q: I recently started working for a new company and they would like me to add my license HVAC (“C-20”) to their existing General Building (“B”) license. How will this affect my own personal license? Will I be required to disassociate from my license? I am the only Officer of my corporation.
A: If you have no ownership in the new company that you work for then you will be required to inactivate your own Corporate license. Since you are the only Officer listed on the license if you disassociated from the license there would be no one left with signing authority. Which means if you wanted to reactivate it at some point in the future you would need to “jump through a few hoops” first. My recommendation would be to inactivate the license instead of disassociating.
Q: I was previously a contractor in the State of California but about a year and a half ago I moved out of state. I noticed that my contractor’s license is currently expired, which is no big deal because I don’t plan to use it anytime soon. However, I do have family in California and there’s a possibility that I may move back at some point. Will I be able to just renew my license at that time? I don’t really want to pay fees for something that I’m not using…
A: Once your license is expired you have 5 years to renew before you need to apply for a new license and re-take the exams. As long as you are within a 5-year window, you can renew without needing to take the exams again.
Q: I’ve had an Arizona electrical license for 20 years. When I applied for a Nevada license I was required to still take the trade exam because they didn’t recognize the electrical trade as a reciprocal classification. Is California the same way? I’d like to get my license there but would love to avoid taking the exams.
A: Nevada has determined that the electrical trade is not reciprocal, however it is reciprocal between California and Arizona. So as long as you’ve been licensed for 5 out of the last 7 years in Arizona, you will be able to waive the trade exam in California. The Law exam is still required.
Q: We currently have a Joint Venture license with a General Engineering (“A”) classification. One of our new employees recently added the “B” license to our company’s corporate license, which is one of the entities that makes up the Joint Venture (JV). Can we add that classification to our JV license or are we required to apply for a brand new license?
A: You can add the General Building or “B” classification to the Joint Venture license. There are certain requirements that must be met for the application paperwork so please contact Capitol Services for assistance with the process.
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., 1225 8th St. Ste. 580, Sacramento, CA 95814. Research past columns at www.cutredtape.com.
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