Hiring a general contractor in LA starts with five verifiable facts — not a gut feeling. Every check on this list is publicly verifiable in under ten minutes before you sign anything.
CSLB License #1074505
Itamar Ben Asulin on every contract
Valley · Westside · South Bay
LA has more licensed contractors per square mile than almost any metro in the country — and the CSLB record doesn’t just show whether a license is active.
It shows whether the contractor’s bond and insurance are current. An active license number alone doesn’t confirm the rest — you need the full record (license status, bond, workers’ comp exemption status, and any disciplinary actions) all on one screen. Reviewing California’s official contractor hiring guidance alongside that lookup gives you the full picture of state-level consumer protections.
The 310 and 424 zip codes on the Westside and the 818 zip codes in the SFV both sit inside LA County jurisdiction. CSLB licensing applies county-wide. Permit requirements vary by city and unincorporated area, though, and that’s part of why LA permit timelines routinely exceed expectations. Understanding what the LADBS permit process actually involves is essential context before comparing contractors. You can also check open permits on any LA property through LADBS to research a contractor’s permit history before you sign.
Five verifiable facts. Each one publicly checkable in under ten minutes. None require a legal background — and every one matters financially and legally before you commit to a multi-figure project.
California Contractors State License Board credential authorizing construction over $500. Confirm the license is active and the qualifying individual is named — not just any license number on a quote.
Required for damage to your property or third parties during construction. Ask for the certificate of insurance directly — the COI lists policy limits, expiration date, and the insurer.
If a worker is injured on your property, this is the coverage that protects you. Watch for WC exemptions filed by sole-operator contractors who actually run crews — an exemption with a crew means no coverage.
The contractor must pull permits in their own name — not yours as an owner-builder. Owner-builder permits strip consumer protections that come with a licensed contractor of record.
Lien waivers from every subcontractor at each milestone (releases their right to file a mechanics lien against your property). Written contract with scope, timeline, and permit responsibility clause.
Two bids for the same LA project can look similar and represent different outcomes. Price is visible. Scope is not always. Four variables shape whether you’re comparing the same thing.
One bid may include permit fees as a line item. Another may assume you’ll pull your own. These aren’t the same project cost — or the same legal position. Owner-builder permits strip consumer protections you otherwise have.
A GC who uses licensed, insured subs builds that cost into the bid. Confirming subcontractor licensing status before signing protects you from coverage gaps on your property if a sub is uninsured.
LADBS issues correction notices on most LA ADU plan checks. A contractor who prepares complete initial submissions reduces rounds. The bid price doesn’t show how thoroughly a package was prepared.
Two kitchen or bathroom remodels quoted at different numbers may use different tile, cabinet, and fixture specs. Ask for the material spec sheet alongside the bid. If one doesn’t exist, the scope isn’t fixed.
Geography matters here too. A contractor who regularly files with LADBS in the 818 zone, knows which counter handles ADU submittals, and understands how LA Fire Department routing works in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones has timeline knowledge that doesn’t appear in any line-item bid. That local familiarity has real value on an LA County project — and it’s worth asking each contractor about directly.
I’m Itamar Ben Asulin, owner of IBA Builders — and I tell every homeowner to run this checklist on me before they sign anything.
A homeowner in Sherman Oaks reached out about an ADU garage conversion. She had two bids ahead of mine. Before our first meeting, she had already looked up all three contractors on cslb.ca.gov.
One bid came from a license that had been expired for eight months. The third contractor had an active license but no workers’ compensation on file — he had filed a workers’ comp exemption, claiming no employees. She asked me how that was possible if he had a three-person crew on another active project.
It’s a sharp question. Contractors with an active CSLB license can file a workers’ comp exemption if they’re sole operators. If they’re running a crew under that exemption, the coverage isn’t there. If a worker is injured on her property under those conditions, the liability question becomes complicated fast.
She asked to see IBA Builders’ certificate of insurance before the site visit. I sent it the same day. CSLB License #1074505 is active and verifiable. Our general liability and workers’ comp coverage are current. When she asked who would be listed as contractor of record on her permit, the answer was IBA Builders — not an owner-builder permit pulled in her name.
She signed with us. The project is done. She has a certificate of occupancy, a completed lien waiver from every subcontractor, and a permitted ADU that shows correctly in the county records.
That’s the outcome this checklist is designed to produce.
A construction contract that doesn’t name the contractor as responsible for permits is missing a critical protection. California law allows homeowners to pull their own permits as “owner-builders.” When that happens, you lose the consumer protections that apply when a licensed contractor of record pulls the permit in their own name.
A permit responsibility clause is a contract provision that explicitly assigns who will pull the permits and who is responsible for code compliance. If your contract doesn’t include this language, ask for it before you sign. A contract that also lacks a written scope of work, clear start and completion dates, and a dispute resolution process contains what are known as contract red flags — specific terms that indicate elevated risk for the homeowner. None of these items are difficult to include. A contractor who resists adding them is worth questioning before you proceed.
IBA Builders pulls all required permits as contractor of record. You don’t pull an owner-builder permit on our projects — your consumer protections remain intact. For deeper context on what permit responsibility covers operationally, see our ADU permit services in LA County. The CSLB-licensed contractor managing your permits under License #1074505 is also the one responding to LADBS correction notices — no handoff. You can also confirm a contractor’s insurance is active in California through the state’s insurance verification tool before committing.
Go to cslb.ca.gov, click “Check a License,” and enter the license number. You’ll see four things on one screen: license status (active/expired/suspended), bond status, workers’ comp status (covered or exemption filed), and any disciplinary history. All public record. Takes under a minute. If a contractor can’t provide the license number on request, that itself is useful information.
Yes — they cover different exposures. General liability covers damage to your property or third parties during construction (a worker drives a nail through a water line, water damages drywall on the other side). Workers’ comp covers injuries to the workers themselves (someone falls off scaffolding on your job). If a contractor has GL but no workers’ comp and a worker is injured on your property, the liability question lands in your direction. Both should be current on the certificate of insurance.
An owner-builder permit is a permit pulled by the homeowner instead of the licensed contractor. California law allows it, but it strips the consumer protections that come with a licensed contractor of record. If something goes wrong, you have fewer remedies. Some contractors suggest owner-builder permits because it lets them avoid being on record as the responsible party. The contract should explicitly name the contractor as the one pulling permits as contractor of record — that’s the “permit responsibility clause.”
A lien waiver is the document signed by a contractor or subcontractor that releases their right to file a mechanics lien against your property. A mechanics lien is a legal claim that can prevent you from selling or refinancing the property until disputed work is paid. Standard practice: lien waivers collected from every subcontractor before the next payment milestone releases. If your GC isn’t collecting and providing waivers at each milestone, you’re carrying unmanaged lien risk on your property.
Match scope before comparing numbers. Ask each contractor: Does this bid include all permit fees? Are you the contractor of record (not me as owner-builder)? Are your subs licensed and insured, and is that cost in your bid? Do you have a complete material specification sheet for this scope? If the answers differ, you’re not comparing the same project — you’re comparing two different commitments to a similar-looking outcome. The lower number often becomes the higher number once scope is matched.
Start with cslb.ca.gov — look up License #1074505 — then call 310-490-3414. That’s the order this checklist recommends. Verify the license, confirm the insurance, then have the conversation. The first step with IBA is a site visit and scope review — not a commitment and not a sales call. You can also review common questions homeowners ask before signing if you want to go deeper before reaching out. For the full project scope we cover, see ADU construction across LA County.