General Contracting License in the BayArea

[Alok Jain]

Hi all,

I have been working with many contractors in the bay area and have not had very good experiences with most of them.  The one's i have had good experience with have tripled their pricing or arenot available for many months.  So i thought I would get my GC license.  Can folks share how difficult it is to get a GC license in the bay area (I am in SF).  I currently have 2 units that I want to remodel and have workers I can use.  

I am an engineer by background FYI

[Alice K.]

Hello Alok,

Although I'm not a GC myself, I believe you need to have industry experience first--
Perhaps there is a way to make all your past experience count, but it sounds like that was hired out.

I suppose the question is -- Is it worth your time in the long run? Unless it's your passion, then perhaps you should think if you want to do it as a second job for some time.

"A qualifying individual must have four or more years of journey-level experience during the preceding 10 years prior to application for the license. Credit is given for experience as a journeyman, supervising employee, foreman, owner-builder, or contractor, and all experience must be verified by a qualified person with firsthand knowledge of the individual's experience."

http://blog.suretysolutionsllc.com/suretynews/steps-to-obtaining-a-california-contractor-license