To roof in California you need a C-39 Roofing license from the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), and to sit its exams you need four years of roofing experience from the last ten. You take two closed-book, multiple-choice exams, one on law and business and one on roofing, and CSLB posts a free study guide for each.
Past the exams, you’ll need the fees paid, a bond filed, workers’ comp in place and, if you don’t hold the license yourself, a qualifier who does.
Any roofer who advertises in California needs a C-39
CSLB describes a C-39 contractor as one who “installs products and repairs surfaces that seal, waterproof and weatherproof structures.” Its list runs from shingles, shakes, tile and slate to metal roofing, membranes and urethane foam.
California lets an unlicensed person do minor work only when the whole job, labor and materials included, comes to under $1,000 and needs no building permit. That exemption disappears once you advertise as a contractor or put anyone else on the job, so a roofing company with a website or a truck sign can’t use it.
A B general building contractor can’t take a roofing-only prime contract either. California bars a B from a prime contract involving trades other than framing or carpentry unless it covers at least two unrelated trades, so a reroof on its own needs a C-39 holder or a licensed roofing sub.
Working unlicensed puts the pay for the whole job at risk. An unlicensed contractor can’t sue to collect, and the homeowner can sue to get back everything they paid (B&P 7031). Once you’re licensed, the number has to appear on every contract, bid and ad (B&P 7030.5), so put it on the truck doors, yard signs, business cards and the website footer.
The exam needs four years of roofing work from the last ten
California asks for at least four years “as a journeyman, foreman, supervising employee or contractor” in roofing, inside the ten years before you apply.
Training, an apprenticeship or schooling can count for up to three of those years, and at least one has to be hands-on roofing. Someone who saw your work firsthand has to verify it, and CSLB expects you to be able to document it. Before you file, pick that person and pull together whatever shows your dates and the roofing you did.
Steep-slope work is the largest part of the C-39 trade exam
CSLB’s C-39 study guide, revised in March 2026, splits the trade exam into five sections. CSLB calls the weights approximate:
- Steep-slope roof projects, 26%
- Planning and estimating, 22%
- Safety, including fall protection, 22%
- Low-slope roof projects, 17%
- Job site preparation, including tear-off, 13%
Every question has four choices and one best answer. CSLB says “There is no penalty for guessing,” so leave nothing blank. A calculator is provided for the math, and anything you bring to the test site stays in an unmonitored area at your own risk.
The sample questions in the guide show the level. One asks how many squares of covering a small flat rectangular roof needs, which comes down to the area divided by 100 square feet a square. Another asks what comes off a gravel-surfaced built-up roof before spray foam goes on, and the answer is only the gravel.
The guide’s reading list includes the 2022 California Building, Residential and Energy codes, the NRCA roofing manuals, the Tile Roofing Industry Alliance’s concrete and clay tile manual, and Cal/OSHA’s construction and general industry safety orders. The code books are free to read at dgs.ca.gov/bsc and the safety orders at dir.ca.gov/dosh.
A roofer in Northern California asked r/Roofing for help passing the C-39 and wrote, “I’m not against spending the money on a school but if I can find free resources.” CSLB’s own guides are free, in English and Spanish, on its Examination Study Guides page. CSLB listed new C-39 exam questions as in development in July 2026, so study from the current guide and skip older practice sets.
An aspiring owner on r/Contractor posted, “I just took my C-39 Roofing trade exam yesterday I failed it.” He had studied with a prep school whose law practice questions, he wrote, came very close to the real law exam. Give the trade exam its own study time, whatever course you take.
Since May 1, 2026, CSLB has given the C-39 at approved PSI test centers nationwide, so a roofer moving to California can sit the exam before the move.
Contracts and employment rules make up about 41% of the law exam
The Law and Business exam is closed book too, with seven sections. Contract requirements and execution (21%) and employment requirements (20%) carry the most weight, and public works carries the least at 5%. The rest covers business finances, safety, business organization and licensing, and insurance and liens.
Its reading list starts with CSLB’s California Contractors License Law & Reference Book, posted free online, and the EDD’s California Employer’s Guide (DE 44). Start with those two, and spend the most time on the contract and employment chapters.
CSLB fees start at $650 for a sole owner, as of October 2026
CSLB charges $450 to apply, which covers the exam for one classification. The initial license adds $200 for a sole owner or $350 for any other business type.
Fingerprints through Live Scan add $32 for the state and $17 for the FBI, plus whatever the Live Scan site charges on top.
Renewing on time costs $450 for a sole owner and $700 for anyone else. A late renewal costs half again as much, and CSLB goes by the postmark date, so mail it well before the license expires.
Every C-39 holder carries workers’ comp and a $25,000 bond
California requires every active C-39 license to carry workers’ comp or a self-insurance certificate “whether or not they have employees” (B&P 7125).
At the end of July 2026, CSLB had 5,405 comp policies on file for active roofing licenses against three exemptions, so budget for a policy even if you work alone. Roofing Workers’ Comp and General Liability: What It Costs and How Audits Work covers what a policy costs.
Every license also needs a $25,000 contractor’s bond. If your qualifier isn’t the owner or a general partner, they file a second qualifying individual’s bond for the same amount, unless they own at least 10% of the corporation’s voting stock or of the LLC. Roofing Contractor Bonds: Which States Require One and What It Costs covers what a bond costs each year.
A qualifier can hold the license for your company, within California’s limits
If you don’t have the experience yourself, the company can qualify through a responsible managing officer (RMO), a member or manager, or a responsible managing employee (RME). Roofing License Requirements by State, and How Qualifiers Work explains qualifiers in general, and California adds its own limits.
An RME has to be a permanent employee working at least 32 hours a week, or 80% of the hours your business is open if that’s less.
A qualifier can serve a second company only if the two share at least 20% ownership, the second is a subsidiary or joint venture, or most of the officers are the same. Even then, a qualifier can cover no more than three firms “in any one-year period.” Breaking the rule is a misdemeanor with up to six months in county jail and a fine of $3,000 to $5,000.
If your qualifier leaves, you have 90 days to tell CSLB in writing and 90 days to replace them, or the license is suspended automatically. Replacing a qualifier costs $230, so line up a backup before you need one.
Owners do post publicly for qualifiers. One on r/Construction, looking for a C-39 RMO in September 2026, wrote, “Established roofing company looking to get license. Residential only.”
Lending your license out is a different thing. “Allowing one’s license to be used by an unlicensed person” is cause for discipline, and the registrar can order the licensee to pay the people harmed (B&P 7114). If a B contractor asks to roof under your C-39, take the job as his sub, or become his company’s RMO or RME within the limits above.
Have these ready before you file
- Your experience dates and the person who will verify them
- CSLB’s C-39 and Law and Business study guides, downloaded and worked through
- The application fee and the license fee for your business type
- Live Scan fingerprints
- The contractor’s bond, plus the qualifier’s bond if yours needs one
- A workers’ comp policy, even if you work alone
- Your license number, ready for every contract, bid and ad
Google’s Local Services Ads check roofing companies for a state business license and owner license where local law requires one, so in California the C-39 is also part of how homeowners find you there.
To see where you show up on Google Maps today, run the free Google Maps heatmap: pick your Google profile and a search, and in a few minutes you’ll see your rank at 49 points around your office.