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CaliforniaTrades: Pay, Licensing, Apprenticeships and Lien Law

California licenses general contractors and the electrical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing trades at the state level.

What do the trades pay in California?

Median hourly pay, May 20251. Pick a trade for training, pay and the license.

Electrician

Wiring, panels and fixtures

$36.62/hrCalifornia median

Plumber

Water, drain and gas lines

$35.01/hrCalifornia median

HVAC tech

Heating, cooling and ductwork

$34.88/hrCalifornia median

Roofer

New roofs and repairs

$30.58/hrCalifornia median

General contractor

Runs the job and the crews

$46.96/hrCalifornia median, construction supervisors

Is there work in California?

Construction jobs in California, September 2026: 883,800, down 0.5% from a year earlier.

BLS Current Employment Statistics, Sep 2026

New homes permitted in California, September 2026: 9,329, up 0.6% from a year earlier.

Census Building Permits Survey, Sep 2026
California issued 1,650 new contractor licenses in the last 30 days.California CSLB license file, Oct 28, 2026
Licensing

Who licenses contractors in California?

California licenses general contractors and the electrical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing trades at the state level.2

State board Contractors State License Board (CSLB)

  • ElectricalState license
  • PlumbingState license
  • HVACState license
  • RoofingState license
  • General contractorState license

California contractor license requirements

License examRenewalBond and insurance

License lookup

Check a California contractor

Enter the license number or business name. We read it from the state board's own file.

California license lookup: what a record shows

Getting paid · California

Miss a date, lose the lien

20 daysafter you first furnished work: send the preliminary notice.3
  • Record the claim of lien: 90 days after completion of the work of improvement4
  • Sue to enforce: 90 days after the claim of lien is recorded5

Work out your dates Every California lien rule

Training

Training near you

Apprentices are hired first and paid while they learn on the job and in class. Trade school comes first and charges tuition.

Apprenticeships in California

Trade schools in California

Near you

Where to train and find work near you

Union locals take apprenticeship applications and send members out to union contractors. Open-shop chapters run apprenticeship classes for the people their member contractors hire.

IBEW union locals

19 more IBEW locals

Electrical training centers (JATCs)

17 more centers

IEC chapters (open shop)

No IEC chapter lists an office in California. Chapters cover several states; the finder shows each one's area. IEC chapter finder

Electrician apprenticeships in California

UA union locals

20 more UA locals

Training

UA apprenticeships run through a joint committee of the local and union contractors. Call the local for the next application date.

PHCC chapters

2 more chapters
Plumber apprenticeships in California

SMART union locals

Sheet metal training centers

7 more centers

PHCC chapters (heating, cooling, plumbing)

2 more chapters

ACCA member contractors near you

Pipefitters and HVAC service techs also apprentice through the UA: UA locals in California.

HVAC Technician apprenticeships in California

Carpenters union locals

  • Carpenters Local 22San Francisco
  • Carpenters Local 34Oakland
  • Carpenters Local 46Sacramento
  • Carpenters Local 68Livermore
  • Carpenters Local 91Carson
  • Carpenters Local 99Fresno
18 more Carpenters locals
  • Carpenters Local 102Livermore
  • Carpenters Local 109Sacramento
  • Carpenters Local 110Los Angeles
  • Carpenters Local 152Martinez
  • Carpenters Local 180Vallejo
  • Carpenters Local 217Foster City
  • Carpenters Local 405San Jose
  • Carpenters Local 619San Diego
  • Carpenters Local 646Marina
  • Carpenters Local 713Hayward
  • Carpenters Local 714Buena Park
  • Carpenters Local 751Santa Rosa
  • Carpenters Local 818Sylmar
  • Carpenters Local 909Ontario
  • Carpenters Local 951Riverside
  • Carpenters Local 2159Whittier
  • Carpenters Local 2236Oakland
  • Carpenters Local 9144San Jose

Training

Union carpentry apprenticeships run through the regional council's training centers. Carpenters regional council finder

Home builder associations

4 more chapters
General Contractor apprenticeships in California

Roofers union locals

  • Roofers Local 27Fresno
  • Roofers Local 36Los Angeles
  • Roofers Local 40San Francisco
  • Roofers Local 45San Diego
  • Roofers Local 81Oakland
  • Roofers Local 95San Jose
1 more Roofers locals
  • Roofers Local 220Orange

Training

Roofers locals run their apprenticeship through a joint committee with union contractors.

Contractor associations

The national trade group for roofing contractors is the National Roofing Contractors Association.

Roofer apprenticeships in California

Trade schools: where to apply

All 118 trade schools in California

Sources

  1. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, California, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)
  2. Contractors State License Board (CSLB) (cslb.ca.gov)
  3. California lien law: Cal. Civ. Code 8204(a); 8200; 8202 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
  4. California lien law: Cal. Civ. Code 8412, 8414, 8180, 8182(a) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
  5. California lien law: Cal. Civ. Code 8460(a),(b); 8462 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
  6. U.S. Department of Labor, apprenticeship.gov registered apprenticeship partners (apprenticeship.gov)
  7. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (field of study and institution data) (collegescorecard.ed.gov)
  8. BLS Current Employment Statistics, Sep 2026 (bls.gov)
  9. Census Building Permits Survey, Sep 2026 (census.gov)
  10. FEMA disaster declarations, Oct 16, 2026 (fema.gov)
  11. CSLB License Master (Contractors State License Board (CSLB)) (cslb.ca.gov, Oct 28, 2026)