Contractor licence reciprocity checker
Reciprocity is an agreement between two boards about examinations. It is not a transfer, it does not skip the application, and it never covers the bond or the fees. This tool states only the relationships a board itself publishes.
Reciprocity never transfers a licence. At most it addresses an examination — usually the trade half, almost never the law half.
Nevada to California
California's board names Nevada in its reciprocity programme. That addresses the examination — you still file a full California application, still post the California bond, and still pay California's fees.
Ask the target board this
“I hold an active general contractor licence in Nevada. Do you have a reciprocity or endorsement arrangement with Nevada? If so, which examination components does it waive, and what do I still have to file, bond and pay?”
Source for the one relationship stated above: CSLB — Reciprocity, read 2026-09-04.
§ 1What this checks
Whether either board in the pair you pick publishes a reciprocity relationship that we have read. California’s board publishes a list of 5 partner states — Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina — and that is the one relationship on this site read from source.
Where we have not read an agreement, we say so.
A reciprocity table that asserts fifty states’ arrangements from memory is a table that will send somebody to an exam centre they did not need to visit, or worse, to a job they were not licensed for. The tool hands you the question to ask instead.
§ 2What reciprocity covers
| Step | Reciprocity helps? |
|---|---|
| Trade examination | Usually — this is the point |
| Law and business examination | Rarely — state law does not travel |
| Application and documents | No |
| Experience verification | Sometimes |
| Surety bond in the new state | No |
| Fingerprints and background check | No |
| Fees | No |
§ 3Budget it as a second licence
Even a successful reciprocity route leaves you with two licences, two bonds and two renewal cycles. California’s original application alone is $450, and the $25,000 bond has to be posted whatever agreement got you past the exam. Our licence cost calculator prices the second state properly, and the renewal tracker is what stops it lapsing while you are busy in the first.
Checked against
- CSLB — Reciprocityread 2026-09-04
- CSLB — List of All CSLB Feesread 2026-09-04
Not legal advice. Fees, bond amounts and deadlines are set by statute and change without notice — confirm with the board that issues your licence before you file.