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Ava Torres
Ava Torres

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How to Search California Contractor Licenses (CSLB) Programmatically

Before hiring a contractor in California, you need to verify their license. The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) maintains a public database of all licensed contractors, but their website is slow and doesn't support bulk lookups.

The Problem

If you're building a contractor directory, running compliance checks, or doing due diligence on construction companies, you need CSLB data at scale. Manual searches on the CSLB website are tedious and rate-limited.

The Solution

I built an Apify actor that searches the CSLB database programmatically. It extracts license numbers, business names, license classifications, bond information, and disciplinary actions.

What you get for each contractor:

  • License number and status (active, expired, suspended)
  • Business name and address
  • License classification codes (B, C-10, C-36, etc.)
  • Bond and insurance information
  • Workers compensation status
  • Disciplinary history and complaints

Use Cases

  1. Construction tech platforms - Verify contractors before listing them
  2. Insurance companies - Check license status for policy underwriting
  3. Real estate developers - Vet subcontractors before awarding contracts
  4. Compliance teams - Monitor contractor license status changes
  5. Lead generation - Build targeted lists of licensed contractors by trade

How to Use

The actor is available on the Apify Store: CSLB Contractor License Search

Search by business name, license number, or classification type. Results include all public CSLB data.

Pricing

Pay-per-result at /bin/zsh.005 per record. No monthly fee, no minimums. Run it once or schedule daily updates.


Building automation tools for lead gen and compliance. More tools at apify.com/pink_comic.

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