How do you check an electrical license in California?

In California, the Labor Commissioner's Office runs an online status search for electricians who work for a C-10 contractor, using a card, tracking or trainee number or a name-and-ID string. CSLB's Check A License page searches the contractor itself by license number or business name.

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician program page, read 1 November 2026.
Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician status search, read 1 November 2026.
Source: Contractors State License Board, Check A License, read 1 November 2026.

The license lookup is yours to run on the state's site.

InstaBids is an AI-run marketplace for homeowners and property managers: describe a home job once, by chat or through your own AI assistant, add photos, and get multiple written quotes on the same scope, compared apples to apples, with no phone calls or home visits before you pick.

By InstaBids editorial team with AI research agents. Sources last read: 1 November 2026

Describe it onceBy chat, or through your own AI assistant, and add photos.
Post it and send itContractors bid in writing on that scope.
Compare line by lineEvery quote is written against the same scope.
You chooseContact details stay hidden until you pick and they confirm.

For your AI assistant

MCP connector · REST API · plain HTML

Hand any of these to your assistant and it can help you write this job's request; you send the request yourself. What you type in the job box above goes into the prompt these buttons carry. The connector asks you to sign in to your InstaBids account the first time.

MCP connector URLhttps://instabids.ai/api/agent/mcp
Agent API (OpenAPI)https://instabids.ai/openapi.json
Start-request linkhttps://instabids.ai/intake?from=licence-california--electrical&utm_campaign=licence&page_type=licence&job=electrical&place=california&utm_source=us&utm_medium=page
Prompt for any AI, with your job

Open it in your assistant

Add InstaBids as a connector

Every page is plain HTML. Steps for every assistant: add to your assistant.

Key facts

The Labor Commissioner's Office electrician search takes a card number, a tracking number or a trainee number.
Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician status search, read 1 November 2026.
Its name search uses the first four letters of the last name and the last four numbers of a driver license or ID card.
Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician status search, read 1 November 2026.
CSLB's Check A License page searches a contractor by license number.
Source: Contractors State License Board, Check A License, read 1 November 2026.

How do you look up a California electrician by name?

The electrician search page of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), read 1 November 2026, explains its name search: "Enter the first four letters of the person’s last name and the last four numbers from either a valid driver license or identification card listed on the application form."

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician status search, read 1 November 2026.

The same page also takes numbers: "You may enter a search by using the electrician certification card number, the electrician certification application tracking number or the electrician trainee number."

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician status search, read 1 November 2026.

These steps are practical suggestions, not DLSE rules.

Ask the electrician for the number printed on their state card.
Open the DLSE electrician search and type that number, or the name-and-ID string the page describes.
Ask which contractor the electrician works for, and look that business up on CSLB's Check A License page.

Do electricians need a license in California?

The electrician program page of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), read 1 November 2026, opens with: "Existing law requires that persons performing work as electrician under a C-10 licensed contractor be certified pursuant to certification standards established by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement."

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician program page, read 1 November 2026.

The Legislature's page for Labor Code section 108, read 1 November 2026, has this line in subsection (c): "This section does not apply to electrical connections under 100 volt-amperes."

Source: California Legislature, Labor Code section 108, read 1 November 2026.

The contractor who holds the license is treated differently. The DLSE question page, read 1 November 2026, says: "If you are a licensed C-10 contractor licensed by the Contractors' State License Board, then you do not need to be certified."

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician questions, read 1 November 2026.

How do you check an electrical contractor's license in California?

On the contractor side, CSLB's C-10 classification page, read 1 November 2026, has: "An electrical contractor places, installs, erects or connects any electrical wires, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, raceways, conduits, solar photovoltaic cells or any part thereof, which generate, transmit, transform or utilize electrical energy in any form or for any purpose."

Source: Contractors State License Board, C-10 classification, read 1 November 2026.

CSLB's Check A License page, read 1 November 2026, starts with: "Enter the contractor license number to check the status of their license."

Source: Contractors State License Board, Check A License, read 1 November 2026.

Without a number, the same page offers: "Enter the Contractor Business Name to check the status of their license."

Source: Contractors State License Board, Check A License, read 1 November 2026.

For a complaint about an electrician without a valid card, the DLSE enforcement page, read 1 November 2026, says: "Once completed, print out and send the signed form along with any corroborating documentation in support of your complaint to the DLSE."

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician enforcement page, read 1 November 2026.

The Legislature's page for Labor Code section 108.2, read 1 November 2026, lists this ground for discipline of the contractor in subsection (h)(1): "The contractor willfully employs one or more uncertified persons to perform work as electricians in violation of this section."

Source: California Legislature, Labor Code section 108.2, read 1 November 2026.

For a complaint about the contractor's work, CSLB's page on filing a construction complaint, read 1 November 2026, says: "Use this form if you are a homeowner, other contractor, subcontractor, or employee who wants to file a complaint against a contractor."

Source: Contractors State License Board, Filing a Construction Complaint, read 1 November 2026.

Before you sign with a C-10 contractor, CSLB's page on home improvement contracts, read 1 November 2026, has: "In California, a written contract is required for all home improvement projects over $500."

Source: Contractors State License Board, What is a Contract?, read 1 November 2026.

On payment, the same CSLB page has: "The down payment cannot be more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, for a home improvement job or swimming pool, excluding finance charges."

Source: Contractors State License Board, What is a Contract?, read 1 November 2026.

CSLB's page on contract warnings and exceptions, read 1 November 2026, has: "Unless the contract is negotiated at the contractor's place of business, and/or the contract price is under $25, the buyer qualifies for a three-day right to cancel."

Source: Contractors State License Board, Warnings and Exceptions, read 1 November 2026.

What do the status words in California's electrician search mean?

A DLSE page headed "Explanation of electrician application status field", read 1 November 2026, sets out each status word.

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, explanation of the status field, read 1 November 2026.

Its first entry is: "Certified (electrician) Has passed the exam and issued a certification."

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, explanation of the status field, read 1 November 2026.

The next entry is: "Pending (electrician) Has submitted an application that met the requirements to take the exam, but has not taken the exam."

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, explanation of the status field, read 1 November 2026.

Then: "Not Certified (electrician) Certification has expired and was not renewed, or certification was suspended or revoked."

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, explanation of the status field, read 1 November 2026.

When a search finds nobody, the DLSE search page, read 1 November 2026, has: "If a search string that was entered does not match with any electricians in the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) electrician certification database, this could be due to any of the following:"

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician status search, read 1 November 2026.

One reason on that list is: "The individual’s 1 year exam eligibility period has expired and they have not re-applied."

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician status search, read 1 November 2026.

The Department of Industrial Relations copy of Title 8 regulation section 294.0, read 1 November 2026, has: "Any person who displays a certificate, or otherwise claims to be certified, who is not certified shall be prohibited from taking the test for certification or from registering as an Electrician Trainee Registrant for a period of seven (7) years."

Source: Department of Industrial Relations, Title 8 regulation section 294.0, read 1 November 2026.

Is there a journeyman electrician license lookup in California?

The Legislature's page for Labor Code section 108.2, read 1 November 2026, names the categories in subsection (c): "The division shall maintain separate certifications for general electrician, fire/life safety technician, residential electrician, voice data video technician, and nonresidential lighting technician."

Source: California Legislature, Labor Code section 108.2, read 1 November 2026.

The Department of Industrial Relations copy of Title 8 regulation section 291.0, subsection (b), read 1 November 2026, has: "Certification as a General Electrician allows one to lawfully perform work for which certification is required in all categories."

Source: Department of Industrial Relations, Title 8 regulation section 291.0, read 1 November 2026.

The DLSE statistics page, read 1 November 2026, is headed: "Electrician certification program current counts as of April 12, 2023"

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician statistics, read 1 November 2026.

Under that heading it gives: "The number of California certified electricians in each class is General 29,724 Residential 739 Fire/Life Safety 1,804 Voice Data Video 742 Non-Residential Lighting 225"

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician statistics, read 1 November 2026.

The DLSE question page, read 1 November 2026, has: "Certification expires three years from the effective date."

Source: Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, electrician questions, read 1 November 2026.

Related lookup pages:

Where does InstaBids fit in?

There is no cost to see a request or bid.

Describe the job once on InstaBids, and contractors can bid in writing on one written scope. Homeowners pay InstaBids nothing.

Homeowners anywhere in the US can post a job; once you send it, InstaBids finds contractors to bid on it.

Start my request

How do you check an electrical license in California?

Key facts

How do you look up a California electrician by name?

Do electricians need a license in California?

How do you check an electrical contractor's license in California?

What do the status words in California's electrician search mean?

Is there a journeyman electrician license lookup in California?

Where does InstaBids fit in?

Sources for the facts on this page