Tougher Penalties for Unlicensed Contractors

AB 370 Signed
CSA-supported legislation targeted at curbing illegal activity by unlicensed contractors has been signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The measure, AB 370 (Eng), ensures that a victim who hires an unlicensed contractor will not have to prove in a criminal court that he/she held a mistaken belief that the contractor was duly licensed in order for that victim to be eligible to obtain restitution for economic loss caused by that contractor. Further, the new law increases the maximum potential fine for a first offense from $1,000 to $5,000. For a second and subsequent offenses, the new law increases the mandatory fine from $4,500 up to $5,000. Third offenders will also be required to serve a mandatory jail sentence (as is currently required of second offenders). Finally, this measure would apply the mandatory minimum fine to repeat offenders who enter into a contract with the victim, or take money from the victim, but do not perform any of the contracting work.

The legislation was sponsored by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office and co-sponsored by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB). Supporters included the California District Attorneys Association, the California Chapter of the American Fence Contractors Association, the California Landscape Contractors Association, the California Spa & Pool Industry Education Council, the Congress of California Seniors, the Construction Industry Legislative Council among others.

Be a Bandit Buster!
Licensed sign companies in California are competing against unlicensed sign manufacturers and installers. The California Sign Association works with the California Contractors State License Board to eliminate the unlicensed companies. If you are aware of illegal and unlicensed installations of signs, you can help solve the problem by notifying the Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) of the CSLB.

For unlicensed activity performed in the counties of Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura send your form to:

Norwalk SWIFT Unit
12501 East Imperial Highway, Suite 620
Norwalk, CA 90650
(562) 345-7600 • (562) 466-6065 Fax

For unlicensed activity performed in all other counties in California, send your form to:

Sacramento SWIFT Unit
P.O. Box 269117
Sacramento, CA 95826-9117
(916) 255-2924 • (916) 369-7265 Fax

Download Swift Form (pdf)

Please provide complete and detailed information about the unlicensed activity and indicate if there are employees on the project. The more information and evidence the better.

Complaints are processed according to the date of receipt, priority and staff availability if the job site is located in a remote area. The complaint will be assigned to an Enforcement Representative who will follow up on the information provided.

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