How many California contractors say they have no employees
48.5% of the 228,727 California contractor licences in good standing on the state licence board's master list have a workers' compensation exemption on file: the licensee has certified that it has no employees. From 1 January 2028, the board says, every licensee will need workers' compensation insurance whether or not it has employees.
A licence can be perfectly valid and still carry no workers' compensation cover, because the law lets a contractor with no employees file an exemption instead. What that means for the person hiring is simple: if people other than the licensee turn up to do the work, ask who they are and whether they are covered. This page counts how many licences rely on the exemption, trade by trade.
of 228,727 licences in good standing (status CLEAR) carry a workers' compensation exemption (111,016)
of 101,428 B General Building licences in good standing are exempt
exemptions still on file among 25,056 concrete, HVAC, asbestos, roofing and tree-service licences in good standing, whose trades may not use one; the file does not say why
licences on the list are suspended rather than in good standing; 3,003 in good standing carry a pending workers' comp suspension
Exemptions by trade
Licences in good standing holding each classification, ranked by the share with an exemption on file. A licence holding several classifications is counted under each. Classifications with fewer than 1,000 licences are left out.
| Class | Classification, as CSLB names it | Licences in good standing | Exempt | Share exempt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B-2 | Residential Remodeling | 1,582 | 1,149 | 72.6% |
| C-61/D-35 | Pool and Spa Maintenance (Limited Specialty) | 1,595 | 942 | 59.1% |
| B | General Building | 101,428 | 57,506 | 56.7% |
| C-61/D-28 | Doors, Gates and Activating Devices (Limited Specialty) | 2,740 | 1,468 | 53.6% |
| C-54 | Ceramic and Mosaic Tile | 5,960 | 3,156 | 53.0% |
| C-33 | Painting and Decorating | 15,240 | 7,985 | 52.4% |
| C-6 | Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry | 4,151 | 2,166 | 52.2% |
| C-36 | Plumbing | 17,203 | 8,687 | 50.5% |
| C-10 | Electrical | 27,448 | 13,704 | 49.9% |
| C-60 | Welding | 1,043 | 516 | 49.5% |
| C-61/D-52 | Window Coverings (Limited Specialty) | 1,436 | 694 | 48.3% |
| C-15 | Flooring and Floor Covering | 6,577 | 3,108 | 47.3% |
| C-5 | Framing and Rough Carpentry | 1,019 | 465 | 45.6% |
| C-53 | Swimming Pool | 2,831 | 1,174 | 41.5% |
| C-23 | Ornamental Metal | 1,041 | 412 | 39.6% |
| C-13 | Fencing | 1,778 | 694 | 39.0% |
| C-27 | Landscaping | 11,829 | 4,586 | 38.8% |
| C-7 | Low Voltage Systems | 4,593 | 1,738 | 37.8% |
| C-9 | Drywall | 3,142 | 1,177 | 37.5% |
| C-12 | Earthwork and Paving | 2,385 | 870 | 36.5% |
| C-29 | Masonry | 2,019 | 725 | 35.9% |
| C-17 | Glazing | 2,975 | 1,036 | 34.8% |
| C-61/D-12 | Synthetic Products (Limited Specialty) | 1,691 | 562 | 33.2% |
| C-61/D-6 | Concrete Related Services (Limited Specialty) | 1,433 | 476 | 33.2% |
| A | General Engineering | 14,554 | 4,831 | 33.2% |
| C-46 | Solar | 1,130 | 371 | 32.8% |
| C-16 | Fire Protection | 2,159 | 687 | 31.8% |
| C-35 | Lathing and Plastering | 1,781 | 559 | 31.4% |
| C-21 | Building Moving/Demolition | 1,789 | 494 | 27.6% |
| C-61/D-34 | Prefabricated Equipment (Limited Specialty) | 1,347 | 362 | 26.9% |
| C-51 | Structural Steel | 1,484 | 382 | 25.7% |
| H-AZ | Not in CSLB's classification list | 1,771 | 455 | 25.7% |
| C-61/D-21 | Machinery and Pumps (Limited Specialty) | 1,035 | 253 | 24.4% |
| C-38 | Refrigeration | 1,557 | 353 | 22.7% |
| C-2 | Insulation and Acoustical | 1,159 | 240 | 20.7% |
| C-43 | Sheet Metal | 1,254 | 238 | 19.0% |
The highest share is B-2 Residential Remodeling.
Who may claim the exemption, and until when
- Under Business and Professions Code §7125, a licensee keeps on file a certificate of workers' compensation insurance, a certificate of self-insurance, or an exemption certifying that it has no employees. CSLB: “Failure to maintain workers' compensation insurance coverage will result in the license being suspended.”
- Concrete (C-8), warm-air heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (C-20), asbestos abatement (C-22), roofing (C-39) and tree service (C-61/D-49) contractors must carry workers' compensation insurance whether or not they have employees.
- SB 1455 (Chapter 485, Statutes of 2024) delayed the requirement for all licensees to hold workers' compensation insurance to 1 January 2028, and requires CSLB to set up a process for the exemption.
Read at CSLB, Workers' Compensation Requirements and CSLB's industry bulletin on SB 1455, 17 Sep 2026. This is a summary, not legal advice; the statute governs.
| Class | Must carry insurance | In good standing | Exemptions on file |
|---|---|---|---|
| C-8 | Concrete | 5,206 | 12 |
| C-20 | Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning | 11,383 | 7 |
| C-22 | Asbestos Abatement | 315 | 1 |
| C-39 | Roofing | 5,517 | 1 |
| C-61/D-49 | Tree Service (Limited Specialty) | 2,635 | 7 |
A licence holding one of these classes alongside others is counted here. The file records the exemption but not why it remains; CSLB's live license check is the authority for any one licence.
Licences in good standing, by coverage type
| Coverage type, as CSLB records it | Licences | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Workers' Compensation Insurance | 112,824 | 49.3% |
| Exempt | 111,016 | 48.5% |
| Leasing Firm, Temp Agency, etc | 3,159 | 1.4% |
| License does not have current W/C | 1,124 | 0.5% |
| Out of State | 399 | 0.2% |
| Self-Insured | 204 | 0.1% |
| not recorded | 1 | 0.0% |
Every licence status on the list
| Status | Licences |
|---|---|
| CLEAR | 228,727 |
| Contr Bond Susp | 10,235 |
| Work Comp Susp | 3,016 |
| Liab Ins Susp | 564 |
| Susp - No Qualifier | 238 |
| SOS Suspension | 180 |
| Family Sup Susp | 173 |
| Judgement Susp | 140 |
| EMP/WK Bnd Susp | 121 |
| BOND Pay Susp | 115 |
| QUAL Bond SUSP | 110 |
| Out Liab Susp | 110 |
| JDG Entity Susp | 98 |
| BND Pay EN Susp | 25 |
| O/L Entity Susp | 24 |
| Citation Susp | 12 |
| Discp Bond SUSP | 12 |
| J V Entity Susp | 9 |
| ARB Suspension | 5 |
| Cit Entity Susp | 5 |
| ARB Entity Susp | 2 |
How this was computed
- Every row of CSLB's License Master file is loaded, from a copy downloaded in a browser from CSLB's data portal, and checked against its row count.
- “In good standing” means a primary status of CLEAR. Every other status on the list is a suspension of some kind, listed above.
- Coverage type is CSLB's own field. Classifications are split on the file's separator and written without the dash, so C-10 and C10 are one class.
WITH c AS (
SELECT DISTINCT l.license_no, upper(replace(btrim(x), '-', '')) AS class, l.wc_coverage_type
FROM vetting.contractor_licenses l, unnest(string_to_array(l.classifications, '|')) AS x
WHERE l.primary_status = 'CLEAR' AND btrim(x) <> ''
)
SELECT class, count(*), count(*) FILTER (WHERE wc_coverage_type = 'Exempt'),
count(*) FILTER (WHERE wc_coverage_type = 'Workers'' Compensation Insurance')
FROM c GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESCCitation
CivicDelta, “California contractors claiming no employees: workers' compensation exemptions by classification”, computed from the CSLB License Master file, records updated to 13 Sep 2026.
Retrieved from civicdelta.com/research/california-contractors-workers-comp-exemptions/.
Dataset: California contractor licences in good standing by workers' compensation coverage and classification · spatial coverage California · last rebuilt 2026-09-28.
The one-sentence finding: 48.5% of the 228,727 California contractor licences in good standing on the state licence board's master list have a workers' compensation exemption on file: the licensee has certified that it has no employees. From 1 January 2028, the board says, every licensee will need workers' compensation insurance whether or not it has employees.
Download the table: california-contractor-workers-comp-exemptions.csv.
Sources and capture dates| Dataset | Dataset ID | Captured |
|---|---|---|
| CSLB Master List of California Licensed Contractors - License Master | MasterLicenseData.csv | 2026-09-14 |
California Contractors State License Board. The file is a snapshot; CSLB's own license check is live.
What this does not tell you
- An exemption is not wrongdoing. A contractor who works alone is entitled to it, and many do.
- It is a snapshot. The newest record in the file is dated 13 Sep 2026. Licences change daily; check the one you are hiring on CSLB's live license check.
- It counts licences, not people or businesses. A licence holding several classifications appears in each of their rows.
- The file cannot say who actually works on a job, which is the fact that decides whether an exemption is being used properly.
- It is not legal advice, and it is not a background check. CivicDelta does not assess any contractor.
The free contractor check shows a licence's classifications, bond and workers' comp record as CSLB lists them.
Questions people ask
Do California contractors have to carry workers' compensation insurance?
Licensees with employees must. A licensee with no employees may file an exemption instead, except concrete, HVAC, asbestos, roofing and tree-service contractors, who must carry it regardless. CSLB says that from 1 January 2028 all licensees must carry it, under SB 1455. See CSLB's requirements page.
How many California contractors claim a workers' comp exemption?
111,016 of the 228,727 licences in good standing on CSLB's License Master file (48.5%), in records updated to 13 Sep 2026.
What should I ask a contractor with an exemption?
Who will actually be on your site. An exemption certifies that the licensee has no employees; if other people do the work, ask whether they are covered. CSLB's live license check shows the coverage on file for any licence.
Can I download these numbers?
Yes: california-contractor-workers-comp-exemptions.csv, free with attribution.