The short version
- One person, the RMI, takes 16 hours of training and passes an 80 question open book exam that costs $60.
- The endorsement sets the bond and insurance, from a $15,000 bond and $100,000 policy for a limited contractor to an $80,000 bond and $2,000,000 aggregate for commercial level 1.
- The application costs $400 for a two year license, and the CCB says to allow six to eight weeks.
Oregon law generally requires anyone paid for construction work on real property to hold a CCB license (opens in a new tab). The CCB's own list of work that needs one includes roofing, siding, painting, carpentry, floor covering, concrete, heating and air conditioning, electrical, plumbing, tree service, and handyman work. Gutter cleaning, pressure washing for cleaning, and debris cleanup do not.
I build sites for contractors in Oregon and Washington. For a new Oregon contractor, the two questions that matter first are how long the license takes and what it costs. The CCB answers both, and the answers are below.
The nine steps at a glance
The CCB lists nine steps to licensure.
- Complete the 16 hour training and pass the Oregon exam. The person who does this becomes your Responsible Managing Individual, the RMI.
- Pick your endorsement.
- File your LLC, corporation, or assumed business name with the Oregon Secretary of State, if your business needs a filing.
- Get a CCB surety bond in the amount your endorsement requires.
- Get general liability insurance in the required amount, with the Construction Contractors Board as certificate holder.
- Get workers' comp insurance if you will hire employees.
- Get state and federal employer account numbers if you need them.
- Complete the application.
- Submit it with the $400 fee.
Steps 4 and 5 depend on step 2, so pick the endorsement before you call a bonding company or an insurance agent.
Step 1. Training, the exam, and the RMI
The person who takes the training and passes the test is the RMI for the license. The RMI has to be an owner, officer, partner, or employee with authority over the construction work, can only be the RMI employee on one license at a time, and goes through a background check after you apply. You also have to be at least 18 to get a license.
The training is at least 16 hours from a CCB approved provider. The provider sets the fee, and some include the manual in it, so ask two or three before you sign up. When you finish, the provider tells the testing company, PSI, and PSI sends instructions to register and pay for the exam.
The exam itself.
- It is based on the Oregon version of the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, 2nd edition.
- It is open book. You can highlight, underline, tab, and write notes in the manual beforehand, but not during the exam, and you cannot bring loose paper.
- It has 80 multiple choice questions, and you have three hours.
- You need 70 percent, which is 56 correct answers.
- It costs $60, paid to the exam provider. You get your score right away, and if you fail, you reschedule, pay again, and retest.
If you already passed the NASCLA accredited exam for commercial general building contractors, you skip the 16 hours but still take the Oregon exam. Either way, you have 24 months from passing to apply for the license.
The RMI matters after the license, too. Under Oregon law, if a contractor leaves construction debts unpaid, the RMI and the owners cannot get a new CCB license until the debt is satisfied. And if the RMI leaves, the business has to find a qualified replacement, so the CCB suggests considering more than one RMI.
Step 2. Pick the endorsement
The endorsement is the kind of structure the license covers, and it sets your bond and insurance. The CCB's endorsement chart (opens in a new tab) puts it simply. A residential endorsement covers residential and small commercial structures. A commercial endorsement covers small and large commercial projects. A contractor who works on homes and large commercial buildings needs both endorsements, which means two bonds and one liability policy at the higher of the two amounts.
| Endorsement | What it covers | Bond | Liability insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential general | Any number of unrelated trades on residential and small commercial work | $25,000 | $500,000 per occurrence |
| Residential specialty | One or two unrelated trades per job | $20,000 | $300,000 per occurrence |
| Residential limited | Small, part time work within the limits below | $15,000 | $100,000 per occurrence |
| Commercial general, level 1 | Any number of trades on commercial work, with 8 years of experience | $80,000 | $2,000,000 aggregate |
| Commercial general, level 2 | The same work, with 4 years of experience | $25,000 | $1,000,000 aggregate |
| Commercial specialty, level 1 | One or two unrelated trades on commercial work, with 8 years of experience | $55,000 | $1,000,000 aggregate |
| Commercial specialty, level 2 | The same work, with 4 years of experience | $25,000 | $500,000 per occurrence |
A few details from the chart decide most choices.
- Specialty means one or two unrelated trades on a job, and the trades can change from job to job. The chart's own example is masonry and roofing on one project and concrete on the next. A specialty contractor can take on three or more trades at one property only when the contract for labor and materials is $2,500 or less.
- Limited is for part time work. It fits hobby builders, retirees, and handyman services, and it comes with conditions. Expected gross sales under $40,000 a year, no contract over $5,000, and no more than $5,000 of work at one job site in a year. If sales pass $40,000, you tell the CCB right away and change the endorsement.
- Small commercial has a definition. It includes a nonresidential building of 10,000 square feet or less and no more than 20 feet high, and any structure where all the construction work on it totals $250,000 or less.
If your work grows past the endorsement you picked, you can change it later. The CCB charges $20 for an endorsement change.
Step 3. The Secretary of State filing, if it applies
Whether this step applies depends on how the business is set up. The Oregon Secretary of State's rule is that no one does business under a name other than their real and true name (opens in a new tab) unless that name is registered.
- LLCs and corporations file with the Secretary of State's Corporation Division. The registered name is the business's real and true name, so an assumed business name is only needed if you work under a different name.
- Sole proprietors do not file unless they use an assumed business name. A name that includes your last name with your first name or initials, like Dana Reyes Painting, does not need one. Northside Painting does.
- Businesses formed in another state, such as a Washington LLC that takes jobs in Portland, cannot transact business in Oregon until the Secretary of State authorizes it.
The CCB ties this to your bond and insurance. Both have to be issued in the full legal name, and an LLC or corporation has to match the name on file with the Corporation Division.
Steps 4 and 5. The bond and the insurance
The bond
The bond has to be on the CCB's own bond form. No other form is accepted. It has to carry your full legal name and the original signature of the bond company's attorney in fact, with the power of attorney left attached. It must reach the CCB within 60 days of the date the bond company signed it, it is not in effect until the CCB puts it into effect, and it stays in force until it is canceled.
Here is what it does. If the CCB orders you to pay a homeowner after a complaint and you do not pay, the bonding company pays, up to the bond amount. Bonds are sold by many bond and insurance companies at different prices. Send the bond with your application, not on its own, or the license takes longer.
Liability insurance
The CCB wants one certificate of insurance, even if you hold two endorsements, and it has to do the following.
- Be issued in your full legal name.
- List the Construction Contractors Board, PO Box 14140, Salem, OR 97309, as certificate holder.
- Meet or beat the amount for your endorsement.
- State that products and completed operations coverage is included.
- Come from an insurer listed with the Oregon Insurance Division.
Copies of the policy, bills, or receipts do not count. You carry the insurance for the whole licensing period, and the CCB can suspend the license or fine you without it. It pays for damage and injury you cause to others. The CCB is clear that it does not pay for poor work or construction defects.
Step 6. Workers' comp and employer numbers
Workers' comp is required if the business has employees, and commercial contractors must carry it. A business with no employees is exempt, and so are partnerships, corporations, and LLCs where every partner, officer, or member is family, as the CCB defines it. That means parents, spouses, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters and their spouses, and grandchildren.
A nonexempt contractor supplies three things on the application. The workers' comp carrier and policy number, the combined Business Identification Number from the Oregon Employment Department and Department of Revenue, and the federal employer number from the IRS. Oregon's Workers' Compensation Division answers questions at (503) 947-7810.
Steps 7 to 9. The application and what it all costs
The CCB takes applications online, and the form works on a phone, lets you save and finish later, and asks you to upload the bond with its power of attorney, the insurance certificate, your exam results, and the signed certification page. You pay by card or electronic check and get a confirmation by email. A paper application is available on request, and it takes longer. The CCB says applications take six to eight weeks.
| Item | Cost | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| 16 hour training | Set by the provider | Training provider |
| Oregon contractor exam | $60 | Exam provider |
| License application, two year license | $400 | CCB |
| Surety bond | Premium set by the bond company | Bond company |
| Liability insurance | Premium set by the insurer | Insurance company |
| Endorsement change, later | $20 | CCB |
| Renewal, every two years | $400 | CCB |
Once the license is active, the website
The day the number is active, look it up the way a homeowner will. I walk through the record in how to check an Oregon CCB license. Then put the number on the site in three places. The footer of every page, the about page, and next to the quote form. Write it as CCB followed by the number, next to the business name exactly as the license shows it. I wrote a separate guide on where the license number goes on a contractor website.
Match the services to the endorsement. A residential specialty contractor in roofing and gutters should not have a page selling whole house remodels. And give every town you work its own page, Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, and the rest, with the number in the footer of each. That is what an Oregon contractor website from me includes. A Site is $1,500, with a page for each service, 20 town pages, and the CCB number on every one.
