CSLB Address of Record: What CSLB Says About Each Contractor License Address

The address boxes on CSLB’s forms: our count

CSLB uses one form for address changes. The form is titled “Application to Change Business or Personnel Address (No Fee).” The PDF is posted as 13L-20 in its file name, and the form itself is marked 13L-30 (rev. 03/2022) at the bottom. We counted the numbered boxes on that PDF on October 14, 2026.

The change form has 12 numbered items. Items 1 to 8 are the business section, and items 9 to 12 are the personnel section. Three of the 12 items ask for an address. Two of those three rule out a P.O. Box and a private mailbox by name. A private mailbox, or PMB, is a box rented from a private company that receives mail for its customers.

The original license application uses the same split. Box 3a is labeled “BUSINESS MAILING ADDRESS Number/Street or P.O. Boxes.” Box 3B is labeled “BUSINESS STREET ADDRESS Number/Street Only” and adds “NO P.O. Boxes or PMBs.” Box 5b asks for a residence address for the qualifier named on the application. The instructions say that address “will not be published on CSLB's website unless it is also the business address.”

CSLB also offers an Easy-Fill web version of the change form. Its labels differ in places. Box 3 reads “Number/Street or P.O. Box,” and box 4 reads “Number/Street Only - NO P.O. Boxes.” Box 11 is labeled only “Personnel new address” on the web screen, and the limit appears on the PDF form. Boxes 3 and 4 each have a “Non-US Address?” checkbox. Its tooltip says: “For non-US addresses, check this box to enter the entire address in a single field.”

The Easy-Fill page does not send anything to CSLB. Its last screen says: “This document is not submitted to or saved by CSLB.” You print the finished PDF and mail it to Contractors State License Board, P. O. Box 26000, Sacramento, CA 95826.

What CSLB’s public license page shows: 40 records we checked

Anyone can look up a contractor on CSLB’s Check a License page without logging in. We wanted to see which address that page shows. On October 14, 2026, we looked up 40 license numbers. We picked them at a fixed step: every 1,237th number from 1,001,237 to 1,049,480. For each page, we noted how many addresses it showed, whether the address was a P.O. Box, which state it was in, and the license status. We did not record any business name or address.

Each page had a Business Information block with the business name, one address, and a business phone number. None of the 40 pages showed a second address. Three of the 40 addresses were outside California, in Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan. Of the 40 licenses, 25 were marked current and active.

The page does not label the address. CSLB’s application instructions give the rule. The address of record (mailing address) “will be published on CSLB's website,” and the business street address will not. Our sample fits that rule. A P.O. Box is not allowed as a business street address, so the two P.O. Boxes we saw point to the business mailing address.

CSLB’s data files point the same way. CSLB sells full files of its license database for $235 per file. The record layout for its License Master file, dated June 4, 2012, lists 57 field names. Six of them are address fields, and all six begin with “MAILING,” such as MAILING-ADDR1 and MAILING-ZIP. That layout has no street address field.

A business address also leaves CSLB through these data products. CSLB’s Forms and Applications page sells a custom contractor list for $245. The buyer receives the “Business Name and Address” and the business telephone number for each license. The same page says the buyer will not receive “Personal Information (DOB, SSN, residential address).” The record layout for that list, dated November 2020, has an ADDRESS field without saying which address it holds. CSLB’s Data Portal also offers a free master list in Excel or comma-separated values (CSV) format, and its page says the list includes the business name and address.

What CSLB says about publishing the street address

Of the CSLB documents we read, three describe the business street address. The original license application says it “will be used only for CSLB's internal administrative purposes” and that “it will not be published on CSLB's website.” The address change form says: “The business street address is used only for CSLB’s internal administrative purposes.”

CSLB’s page titled Change Your Business Name or Address says something different. Under Important Information Regarding Address Changes, it says: “If the new business address is a Post Office Box, a business street address is required for CSLB's records. Mailing addresses and business street addresses are considered public information.”

Here is one way to read them together. The reading is ours. We did not find CSLB stating it. Both forms speak about internal use, and the license application also speaks about publication on CSLB’s website. The change page speaks about public information, which could also cover records released on request. We did not find a CSLB explanation of how the statements fit.

The change form adds a general warning about records requests. Its privacy notice says the information on the form “may be disclosed in response to a Public Records Act request as allowed by the Information Practices Act.” So a street address that is not on the website may still be released in other ways. If that matters to you, ask CSLB before you file.

How to change your address with CSLB, and the 90-day rule

Business and Professions Code section 7083 sets the deadline. Subsection (a) says licensees “shall notify the registrar, on a form prescribed by the registrar, in writing within 90 days of any change to information recorded under this chapter.” The same subsection names “changes in business address” as one of those changes.

Missing the deadline has two results under the statute. Subsection (b) says the change becomes effective on “the date the written notification is received at the board’s headquarters office.” Subsection (c) says a failure to notify within 90 days “is grounds for disciplinary action.”

1. 1Use the Application to Change Business or Personnel Address (13L-30). For a business address change, the form says to complete sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. For a personnel address change, it says to complete sections 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
2. 2Put the address where you receive mail in box 3. If box 3 is a P.O. Box, also fill in box 4, because CSLB’s change page says a business street address is then “required for CSLB's records.”
3. 3Have the right person sign the business section. The signature line names an owner, qualifying or general partner, officer, member, or manager. The form says: “A responsible managing employee (RME) cannot sign this form.”
4. 4Mail the signed form to CSLB at P. O. Box 26000, Sacramento, CA 95826. The form title says “No Fee.”
5. 5Check that the change went through. CSLB’s change page says to check your license information online or call (800) 321-CSLB (2752), and it notes that processing times can vary significantly.

A business name change is a different form. CSLB’s name change application, 13L-4 (rev. 08/23), carries a $100 fee. The name change form says: “You cannot change an address using this form.” The same form says: “There is no fee to change an address.”

Where a mailing address service fits on a CSLB license

The address lines ask different questions, so the answer depends on the line. Box 3 asks where CSLB should send mail, and its answer becomes the address the public sees. CSLB’s original application says P.O. boxes and PMBs are acceptable for the address of record. So a mailing address from a mail service fits box 3, as long as you actually receive mail there. CSLB uses that address for renewal notices and orders, so you need to read the mail that arrives there.

Boxes 4 and 11 ask for street addresses, and their labels rule out a P.O. Box or a private mailbox. Box 4 asks for the street address of the business. Box 11 asks for the street address of a person on the license. We did not find a CSLB definition of business street address in the pages we read.

Do not put a mail-only address in box 4 or box 11. An address that only receives mail for you does not describe where your business or your people are. If you run the business from home, your home may be the correct answer for box 4. CSLB’s application says the business street address will not be published on its website. CSLB’s change page says street addresses are public information.

So a mailing address can keep a home address off the address of record, which is the address CSLB says it publishes. A mailing address does not remove your home from CSLB’s records if your home is your business street address or your personnel address. For a qualifier, the application says the residence address will not be published on the website unless it is also the business address. Our guide to keeping a home address private when you form an LLC covers the other filings where an owner address can appear.

A contractor business often has other address records too. The Secretary of State filing, the surety bond, and the workers’ compensation policy each have one. Our guide to general contractor LLC addresses covers those other records. If you hold a C-20 license, our guide to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) businesses covers the trade licenses.

save office runs its own location in Silicon Valley, and the Silicon Valley page describes that address. Our Los Angeles page describes business addresses in that area. Before an address goes in box 3, our free address checker shows how U.S. Postal Service (USPS) data classifies it.