California Carpentry & Framing Contractor License Cost & Requirements (2026)
There is no California license called carpentry, and an applicant who goes looking for one will not find it on the Contractors State License Board's list. California divides the trade in two. The C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry classification covers the structural skeleton: form work, framing and rough carpentry for framed structures.
The C-6 Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry classification covers the finished surface: cabinets, millwork, doors, trim and non-bearing partitions. The CSLB's own reciprocity list, mapping other states' carpentry licenses into California, points to exactly this answer: 'B General Building, or C-5'.
This page is built on the C-5, the classification a working carpentry contractor most often needs, at the CSLB's standard fees: $450 to apply, $102.86 of examinations, $200 to a sole owner on passing, a $25,000 bond and four years of journey-level experience. The C-6 carries identical fees, and the two are set out side by side below, together with the Class B contractor's special right to do carpentry, which explains most of the confusion around this trade.
California Carpentry & Framing Contractor Fee Estimator
Regulatory fee breakdown for C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry Contractor (finish carpentry: C-6)
California requires a $25,000 surety bond. Its annual premium is set by the surety provider; the board publishes no rate, so it is not included in the total.
Itemized Fee Schedule
Need your $25,000 Surety Bond?
Boards do not sell bonds. Before you buy one, read how a surety bond works, what the premium is based on, and how a bond differs from liability insurance.
Read: Bonds vs Liability InsuranceContractors State License Board (CSLB)
All applications and exams must be registered directly with this board.
Fee figures on this page were checked against Contractors State License Board (CSLB) — C-5 classification (Title 16 CCR §832.05) and Reciprocal Classifications List on October 30, 2026. View the official source
Regulatory & Licensing Requirements Summary
| Official License Classification | C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry Contractor (finish carpentry: C-6) |
| Minimum Experience | 4 Years (Journeyman / Field Supervisor) |
| Mandatory State Surety Bond | $25,000 Bond Required |
| General Liability Insurance | LLCs only: $1,000,000 minimum (Bus. & Prof. Code §7071.19). California sets no GL minimum for other license types. |
| Estimated Application Processing Time | Not published by the board |
| Renewal Cycle & CE Requirement | Every 2 year(s), with no continuing education requirement |
Warning: Unlicensed Contracting Penalties in California
Misdemeanor: a first conviction can bring up to 6 months in county jail and/or a fine of up to $5,000 (Bus. & Prof. Code §7028), plus a possible CSLB administrative fine of $200 to $15,000 (§7028.7). Consumers harmed by unlicensed work can also sue for treble damages under Code Civ. Proc. §1029.8, with the added award capped at $10,000.
Note: In many states, unlicensed contractors also lose the ability to file mechanic's liens or sue for non-payment in civil courts.
Special Statutory Notes for California
California issues no license simply called 'carpentry'. The trade is split in two: the C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry classification (Title 16, California Code of Regulations, §832.05) covers form work, framing and rough carpentry to construct framed structures, including sub-flooring, siding, exterior staircases and railings, overhead doors, roof decking, truss members and sheathing. The C-6 Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry classification (§832.06) covers cabinets, cases, sashes, doors, trims, non-bearing partitions and other finish carpentry.
The CSLB's own reciprocal-classifications list maps other states' carpentry licenses to 'B General Building, or C-5'. The fees on this page are the C-5 schedule, and the C-6 schedule is identical: $450 application, examinations $102.86 in total ($51.43 per part — Law & Business plus the classification's trade examination, through PSI), $200 initial license fee for a sole owner on passing ($350 for an entity), $450 renewal every two years, and a $25,000 contractor bond.
Four years of journey-level experience in the classification within the last ten years are required, with accredited education substitutable for up to three years. Live Scan fingerprinting follows acceptance.
A Class B General Building contractor may also self-perform framing and carpentry on its own projects under Business and Professions Code §7057, and may take a contract involving only framing or carpentry, but carpentry does not count toward the two-unrelated-trades rule that otherwise governs a B contractor's self-performed work. California requires no continuing education.
California licenses contractors through the CSLB. A license is required for any project where the combined cost of labor, materials and all other costs is $1,000 or more, and also whenever a building permit is required or employee labor is used, whatever the project costs.
C-5 and C-6: the rough and the finish
The C-5 definition, at Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations, section 832.05, is a framer's job description: any form work, framing or rough carpentry necessary to construct framed structures, and the installation or repair of framing components, expressly including sub-flooring, siding, exterior staircases and railings, overhead doors, roof decking, truss members and sheathing.
The C-6, at section 832.06, works at the other end of the build: it makes, places, erects and finishes cabinets, cases, sashes, doors, trims, non-bearing partitions and other finish carpentry, cutting, surfacing, joining, gluing and fabricating wood and other products into a functional surface. A carpenter whose work is structural framing belongs in C-5; a cabinet shop that installs its work belongs in C-6; a firm doing both holds both, each with its own trade examination.
The examinations follow the split: the Law & Business paper (115 questions) shared by all classifications, plus the C-5 or C-6 trade examination, at $51.43 per part through PSI after the application is accepted. Experience is four journey-level years in the classification within the last ten, certified from firsthand knowledge, with accredited education substitutable for up to three years. The board prorates part-time work; it does not lower the journey-level bar.
The Class B exception: why general contractors can frame
Business and Professions Code section 7057 gives the Class B General Building contractor a position in carpentry that it holds in no other specialty trade. A B contractor may take a contract that involves only framing or carpentry and perform it with its own forces.
On multi-trade projects the usual rule is that a B contractor may self-perform work only where the contract includes at least two unrelated trades (or where it holds the specialty classification), but carpentry is carved out of that arithmetic: framing and carpentry cannot be counted as one of the two trades, precisely because the B license already carries them.
The practical consequence is that much California framing is lawfully done by B licensees, while the C-5 is the license of the specialist framing contractor who contracts for framing as a trade, typically as the framing subcontractor on other builders' projects.
For a carpenter deciding what to apply for, the question is therefore commercial, not just technical. Contracting to frame other people's buildings as a trade: C-5. Building whole projects and framing within them: Class B, with its own broader examination and the same fee ladder. Finish carpentry as a business: C-6. Each route uses the same application machinery, the same $450 application, $102.86 examinations, $200 sole-owner issuance, $25,000 bond and two-yearly $450 renewal, and none of them involves continuing education, which California does not require.
Reading this page's fee table honestly
Because California splits the trade, this page's numbers describe the C-5 license, and they are the CSLB's standard schedule rather than a carpentry-specific one: every classification in the state shares the $450 application fee and the $51.43-per-part examination charges, and the C-6's figures are the same to the cent.
The initial license fee shown, $200, is the sole-owner figure; a partnership, corporation or LLC pays $350. Live Scan fingerprinting after application acceptance and the premium on the $25,000 contractor bond sit outside the table, as they do on every California page on this site.
One workers' compensation note completes the picture: neither C-5 nor C-6 is among the classifications barred from the section 7125 no-employee exemption, so a carpentry contractor working genuinely alone may file the exemption certificate, and must obtain cover and file proof if they hire. That is the whole of the state's carpentry answer: two classifications, one general-building privilege, and a fee schedule that does not care which of them you choose.
Mistakes that delay a California Carpenter application
- Applying for a 'carpentry license': it does not exist. The classifications are C-5 (framing and rough carpentry) and C-6 (cabinet, millwork and finish carpentry).
- Framing commercially on a C-6: finish carpentry does not authorize structural framing. The skeleton belongs to C-5 (or a Class B on its own projects).
- Assuming a Class B can count carpentry toward its two-trade rule: section 7057 carves carpentry out; a B needs two other unrelated trades, or the specialty classification, for self-performed multi-trade work.
- Certifying laboring time as journey-level experience: the four years must be journey-level work in the classification, certified from firsthand knowledge.
- Quoting the sole-owner fee to an LLC: issuance is $200 for a sole owner and $350 for an entity, on the same $450 application.
- Letting the $25,000 bond lapse: the license cannot issue, and does not stay active, without the bond live on the board's record.
California Carpenter Licensing FAQ
Is there a carpentry license in California?
Not under that name. California splits carpentry into the C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry classification (form work, framing, sub-flooring, siding, roof decking, trusses, sheathing) and the C-6 Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry classification (cabinets, millwork, doors, trim, non-bearing partitions). The CSLB's reciprocal classifications list maps other states' carpentry licenses to 'B General Building, or C-5'. A Class B contractor may also self-perform framing and carpentry under Business and Professions Code section 7057.
What does the C-5 framing license cost in total?
The CSLB's standard schedule: $450 application, $102.86 of examinations ($51.43 each for Law & Business and the C-5 trade examination, through PSI) and a $200 initial license fee for a sole owner on passing, $752.86 in total, plus the premium on the $25,000 contractor bond and Live Scan fingerprinting. The C-6 finish carpentry license costs exactly the same; an entity pays $350 rather than $200 at issuance. Renewal is $450 every two years.
How much experience do C-5 and C-6 require?
Four years of journey-level experience in the classification, gained within the last ten years and certified by someone with firsthand knowledge of the work. Accredited education can substitute for up to three of the four years, and part-time experience is prorated. Framing experience supports a C-5 application; cabinet and finish work supports C-6; the board assesses each classification on its own scope.
Can a general building contractor do carpentry work?
Yes. Under Business and Professions Code section 7057, a Class B General Building contractor may self-perform framing and carpentry, and may even take a contract involving only framing or carpentry. The carve-out runs the other way as well: carpentry does not count as one of the two unrelated trades a B contractor otherwise needs in a contract to self-perform specialty work, because the B license already includes it.
Which license should a carpentry business choose?
By the work it contracts for. Framing other builders' projects as a trade: C-5. Cabinets, millwork and finish carpentry as a business: C-6. Building whole projects and framing within them: Class B. Firms spanning rough and finish carpentry hold C-5 and C-6 together; each classification has its own trade examination, and both share the same fees, bond and four-year experience rule.
Do C-5 or C-6 contractors need workers' compensation if they work alone?
A contractor with no employees may file the Business and Professions Code section 7125 exemption certificate instead of a policy: neither carpentry classification is on the barred list (which is C-8, C-20, C-22, C-39 and C-61/D-49). The exemption lasts only while the firm has no employees; hiring requires coverage and proof filed with the CSLB within the statutory window.
How much does a Carpentry & Framing Contractor license cost in California?
The filing and licensing fees on the California Carpentry & Framing Contractor schedule total approximately $752.86. This consists of a $450 application fee, a $102.86 examination fee, and a $200 initial license fee. A $25,000 surety bond is also required; its annual premium is set by the surety provider and no official rate is published.
How long does it take to get a Carpentry & Framing Contractor license in California?
Contractors State License Board (CSLB) does not publish a fixed end-to-end processing time for this license.
What are the penalties for working as an unlicensed Carpenter in California?
Misdemeanor: a first conviction can bring up to 6 months in county jail and/or a fine of up to $5,000 (Bus. & Prof. Code §7028), plus a possible CSLB administrative fine of $200 to $15,000 (§7028.7). Consumers harmed by unlicensed work can also sue for treble damages under Code Civ. Proc. §1029.8, with the added award capped at $10,000.
How often do you need to renew a Carpenter license in California?
Licenses must be renewed every 2 year(s) with a renewal fee of $450. No continuing education is required for renewal.