California · Business and Professions Code - BPC

BPC §7028.16: A person who engages in the business or acts in the capacity of a contractor, without having a license therefor, in connection with the offer or performance of repairs or improvements to a residential

Felony

What this law says, in plain English

A person who works as an unlicensed contractor performing repairs or improvements to residential or nonresidential property after a declared disaster may be fined up to $10,000 and/or imprisoned for 16 months to three years, or fined up to $1,000 and/or imprisoned up to one year.

Read the full statutory text
A person who engages in the business or acts in the capacity of a contractor, without having a license therefor, in connection with the offer or performance of repairs or improvements to a residential or nonresidential structure or property, or by adding to, or subtracting from, grounds in connection therewith, for damage or destruction caused by a natural disaster for which a state of emergency is proclaimed by the Governor pursuant to Section 8625 of the Government Code, or for which an emergency or major disaster is declared by the President of the United States, shall be punished by a fine up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months, or for two or three years, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by a fine up to one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. In addition, a person who utilized the services of the unlicensed contractor is a victim of crime regardless of whether that person had knowledge that the contractor was unlicensed.

Verify at the official source: California legislative text

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.