Do window cleaners, holiday light installers and handymen need a license in California?

The $1,000 rule in plain words

The rule comes from Business and Professions Code section 7048. A law passed in 2024 raised the number from $500 to $1,000. Starting January 1, 2025, Assembly Bill 2622 raised the limit.

The CSLB licensing page lists the same conditions for the exception. All of them have to be true at once.

• The combined price of labor, materials and all other costs is under $1,000. CSLB wrote that the $1,000 "includes all costs associated with the project."
• The work does not need a building permit.
• The person does not use employee labor. CSLB's bulletin says that if the person hires one or more workers, a license is required even when the job is under $1,000.
• The person does not advertise as a licensed contractor or put out a sign, card or other item that suggests they are one.

The page we read for the statute text was a FindLaw copy. The state's own site (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov) blocked our automated check, so the wording above is the version on FindLaw plus the CSLB documents.

The rule against splitting a job

CSLB's licensing page says that work on a larger project "may not be broken down to smaller amounts of less than $1,000" to fit the exception. The statute says the exception does not apply when the work of construction is only a part of a larger or major operation.

The statute also counts one or more contracts for one project together when it applies the limit. So three $400 invoices for one big job are still one big job.

• If a quote for a single project is over $1,000, ask who is licensed to do it.
• If someone offers to "invoice it in pieces," treat that as a warning sign.
• Separate jobs at different times, such as a window visit in spring and another in fall, are different projects. The rule is about breaking up one project.

Does window cleaning or light hanging count as contracting?

We looked for a clear answer and did not find one from CSLB. We searched for CSLB statements on window cleaning and found only trade forums and business blogs. They disagree with each other, so we are not citing them.

The same is true for hanging holiday lights. We found no CSLB page that names it either way.

• What we can say: the small-job exception in the statute is written for contracting and construction work.
• What we cannot say: whether a specific cleaning or lighting job is covered. CSLB can answer that. Ask them before you rely on a guess from a contractor, from us or from a blog.

Electrical work is different

CSLB's C-10 electrical contractor classification covers anyone who "places, installs, erects or connects any electrical wires, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, raceways, conduits, solar photovoltaic cells or any part thereof."

One condition of the small-job exception is that the work does not need a building permit. We could not find a CSLB page that states a flat rule for all electrical work, and we did not find a list of which electrical jobs need a city permit. Permits vary by city. Ask your city's building department, and ask a licensed electrician before you move an outlet, run wiring in a wall or add a circuit.

This is one reason our services stay on the safe side of that line. We do not do electrical work. For TV mounting, see our TV mounting guide on cables.

What happens to people who break the rule

CSLB says an unlicensed person who bids over $1,000, does work that needs a permit, or hires workers is subject to legal action. It lists administrative fines of up to $15,000, jail of up to six months and fines up to $5,000. Repeat offenders can face a mandatory 90-day jail term and a fine of $5,000 or 20 percent of the contract price, whichever is greater.

The same release says unlicensed people may advertise work under $1,000 only if the ad states they are not licensed.

What to ask before you hire anyone

These steps come from CSLB materials and a city hiring guide that repeats CSLB advice. They work for a cleaner, an installer or a handyman.

The City of Lakewood page says sole operators have special workers' compensation rules and tells you to contact CSLB for details. We did not find those details, so ask CSLB if the person works alone.

Payment limits

For home improvement contracts, CSLB says the down payment may not be more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. Later payments should match the value of the work completed or materials delivered.

City of Lakewood cites section 7159 for the same limit and says to pay only for work that has been completed. We did not find a CSLB page on whether this rule covers a $400 cleaning visit, so use it as a guide. A small deposit or none is the safest approach for small jobs.

What we could not confirm

• Whether window cleaning, holiday light hanging or general handyman work is "contracting" under the CSLB rules. Ask CSLB.
• Whether your city requires a business license or tax certificate. We found no source, so ask your city's finance or business license office.
• The rules for home improvement salesperson registration. We did not open a CSLB page on it.
• Which electrical jobs need a permit in your city.

About our jobs

We keep every online quote under $1,000. Window visits and plan visits are quoted online only up to $900, and holiday light jobs, lights included, only up to $950. Anything larger goes to a person for a custom quote, and we do not split one job into several invoices.

Foothill Home Services is not a licensed contractor. We do not claim to be licensed or insured. Our holiday light and TV mounting jobs are kept under $1,000, labor and materials included, with no permit, and the owner works alone with no employees. Our ads and pages for those two services say we are not licensed, because the CSLB press release in the sources says an unlicensed person may advertise work under $1,000 only if the ad says so (Business and Professions Code sections 7027.2 and 7048).

We do not claim the exception covers any job beyond what the statute says. If a job would be over $1,000, needs a permit or needs a helper, we do not take it as an online booking. Read the CSLB pages in the sources below and decide what is right for your home.

If you want to see how our prices work, see window cleaning cost and holiday light installation cost, or go to the quote page.

Common questions

Where this applies

We work in every place within 15 miles of Ontario: Ontario, Upland, Montclair, Chino, Rancho Cucamonga, Claremont, Alta Loma, Eastvale, Pomona, Etiwanda, Chino Hills, Jurupa Valley, La Verne, Norco, Fontana, San Dimas, Diamond Bar, Corona, Walnut, Rialto, Covina, Glendora.

Related services: Window cleaning, Holiday lights, Instant quote.

More guides

• Window Cleaning Cost in the Inland Empire
• Holiday Light Installation Cost in the Inland Empire
• TV Mounting Cost in the Inland Empire
• Tipping Window Cleaners and Christmas Light Installers

Sources

1. CSLB Industry Bulletin 24-07, "License Requirement for Minor Work Increases from $500 to $1,000." December 31, 2024. “increases the minor work license exemption from $500 to $1,000”
2. University of San Diego CPIL blog, "Governor Signs Bill Increasing Minor Work Exemption for Unlicensed Contracting from $500 to $1,000," October 9, 2024. “amended sections 7027.2 and 7048 of the Business and Professions Code to raise the threshold of the Minor Work Exemption”
3. CSLB Industry Bulletin 24-07, "License Requirement for Minor Work Increases from $500 to $1,000." December 31, 2024. “starting january 1, 2025, assembly bill 2622”
4. CSLB press release 24-21, "Handyperson Exemption to Increase to $1,000 in 2025." December 30, 2024. “the $1,000 includes all costs associated with the project”
5. CSLB Industry Bulletin 24-07, "License Requirement for Minor Work Increases from $500 to $1,000." December 31, 2024. “if the unlicensed person hires one or more workers to assist or perform the work, a license is required - even if the project is less than $1,000”
6. CSLB, "Before Applying for the Examination" (list of projects that may be exempt from licensing, anti-splitting language). “may not be broken down to smaller amounts of less than $1,000”
7. FindLaw copy of Business and Professions Code section 7048 (check the state site for the current wording). “only a part of a larger or major operation”
8. FindLaw copy of Business and Professions Code section 7048 (check the state site for the current wording). “one undertaking or project by one or more contracts if the aggregate contract price”
9. CSLB, C-10 Electrical Contractor classification. “an electrical contractor places, installs, erects or connects any electrical wires, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, raceways, conduits, solar photovoltaic cells or any part thereof”
10. CSLB press release 24-21, "Handyperson Exemption to Increase to $1,000 in 2025." December 30, 2024. “permit, or employs any workers, that person is subject to legal action”
11. CSLB press release 24-21, "Handyperson Exemption to Increase to $1,000 in 2025." December 30, 2024. “administrative fines of up to $15,000, jail sentences of up to six months, and fines up to $5,000”
12. CSLB press release 24-21, "Handyperson Exemption to Increase to $1,000 in 2025." December 30, 2024. “repeat offenders may face a mandatory 90-day jail sentence and a fine of $5,000 or 20 percent of the contract price, whichever is greater”
13. CSLB press release 24-21, "Handyperson Exemption to Increase to $1,000 in 2025." December 30, 2024. “advertisement must state the person is not licensed”
14. City of Lakewood, "Contractor hiring tips" (license check, insurance, down payment, bids). “special rules apply to sole operators-contact the cslb for details”
15. CSLB, "Rebuilding After the 2025 LA Wildfires: Important Contract and Payment Rules" (down payment limit; rules apply to all home improvement projects). “Contractors cannot ask for or accept a down payment of more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the total contract price, whichever is less”
16. CSLB, "Rebuilding After the 2025 LA Wildfires: Important Contract and Payment Rules" (down payment limit; rules apply to all home improvement projects). “They must also not exceed the actual value of work already completed or on materials that have been delivered to your home”
17. City of Lakewood, "Contractor hiring tips" (license check, insurance, down payment, bids). “the down payment must not exceed $1,000 or 10% of the contract, whichever is less (california business and professions code section 7159)”
18. City of Lakewood, "Contractor hiring tips" (license check, insurance, down payment, bids). “only pay for work that has been completed”

Written by Foothill Home Services. Local prices on this page are our own draft rates from the price list the quote tool uses. Where we quote an outside page, the quote is linked in the sources above, and we last checked this page on October 13, 2026. Other outside figures are described as the source reports them.