STATE LICENSE
RequiredContractors State License Board (CSLB)
C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry covers form work, framing or rough carpentry necessary to construct framed structures, installing or repairing individual components of framing systems, and associated rough carpentry including sub-flooring, siding, exterior staircases and railings, overhead doors, roof decking, truss members and sheathing.
The interesting law here is structural rather than technical. B&P § 7057(b) lets a general building contractor prime or subcontract a framing or carpentry project outright — no two-trade test — but then bars the B from counting framing or carpentry when calculating the two unrelated trades needed to prime anything else. Framing is simultaneously the B licence's freest scope and the one trade that earns it no credit.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
Framing licensure is state-only. Local building departments carry the practical weight: they issue the building permit, must collect the B&P § 7031.5 statement of licence number or exemption basis, and run the framing inspection that gates the rest of the job. Cal/OSHA sits alongside them with project permits for structures over three stories, and cities levy business tax certificates.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every California county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of September 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
A general building contractor may take a prime contract or a subcontract for a framing or carpentry project without satisfying the two-unrelated-trades test — the only trade that works this way.
The same section says a B contractor may not count framing or carpentry when calculating the two unrelated trades needed to prime a project involving other trades. Framing plus one other trade is not enough.
The classification was amended in 2002, operative January 1, 2003, splitting framing from finish carpentry. Licensees who passed the former C-5 Carpentry, Cabinet and Millwork examination on or after January 10, 2000 had C-6 added to their licences automatically.
A practical sequence for a new framing contractor in California. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
A misdemeanor. First conviction up to $5,000 and/or six months in county jail; second and third convictions carry percentage-of-contract fines and mandatory jail time.
An unlicensed framer cannot sue for compensation, and the person who hired them may bring an action to recover all compensation paid.
A specialty contractor may only use other crafts where that work is incidental and supplemental to their own. Taking the plumbing and electrical on a framing contract is unlicensed activity in those trades.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on September 2026.
Pending verification: Whether Cal/OSHA charges a fee for the Labor Code § 6500 project permit — the statute sets none and no fee was confirmed on a state page · The dollar cost of the C-5 trade examination; B&P § 7137(a)(2) sets exam fees at the administering organization's actual cost · Whether the $150 additional-classification fee reaches every original application — the CSLB fee schedule qualifies that line as 'with waiver or joint venture application for original license', while the $230 'for existing license' line is unqualified · How CSLB applies the 'incidental and supplemental' test in practice to a framing contractor who also installs windows, siding or exterior doors
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.