Anyone bought a business that requires construction license in CA

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by a searcher from University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School
in Miami, FL, USA

5yrs ago

Anyone bought a business that requires construction license in CA

Hi All
Looking at a business in California that requires a construction license and I am not "qualified".
Has anyone in similar position bought a business in California where you require a construction license?
Would love to pick you brain on how you handled, any attorneys engaged to help with the process.
Any attorney or consultant recommendations who can help with the process.

Many thanks!!

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reply by a searcher 5yrs ago
from Brigham Young University in Kahului, HI, USA

I have not purchased this type of business, but have owned a few.

This is typical in many states that require licensure for this or similar industries. You have three options:
1. Get qualified and come back in the future. (This can require between 2 and 8 years depending on the state and trade involved.)
2. Hire a qualifier. This is not difficult to do, but can vary in practicality based on the size of the business. In some cases am employee may be freely willing, in many cases an employee or even outside party with charge a fee for this relationship that can be fixed or a percentage of profit.
3. Negotiate to have the seller remain as the qualifier for long enough for you to become the qualifier. (For timeline required, see #1.)

While some states and trades will only require experience/time in the business, some will specifically differentiate between management and in the field trade experience.

reply by a searcher 5yrs ago
from University of Southern California in 1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA

I have looked at a number of businesses in the "construction adjacent" space (piping companies, wiring companies, and others). As said above, you need to have a RMO (responsible managing officer) for these types of businesses. In general, the minimum amount of experience for California is 1-2 years with direct construction experience to get a license (school counts for the other 1-2 yrs that are required). I have found this need to make deals a little more complicated but not totally un-doable. Keep in mind the construction license process can also take 4-6 months. There are also differing types of licenses A. B, & C (specialty) so all of this will depend on the type of construction business you are looking at. Feel free to reach out with questions - I am pursuing the contractors license as a nice to have for a separate business.