RMO Help
For Your California Contractors License
So you tried applying for a license and you either don't have enough work experience documentation or can't pass the test?
If you have a trusted family member or friend who is a licensed California contractor, there is a legitimate route open to you. They can act as your Responsible Managing Officer, and we can help you set up your corporation and license properly around that arrangement.
🠊We can help you properly and legally set up your new corporation and license.
What an RMO actually is
RMO stands for Responsible Managing Officer. It is the qualifying individual on a corporate contractors license, the person whose experience and examination record satisfies the CSLB on behalf of the company.
Every license issued by the CSLB needs a qualifier for every classification on it. If you cannot be that person yourself, someone else has to be, and they become an officer of your corporation.
Because your RMO has already met the experience and examination requirements, there is no exam involved for you. Your company gets its own license number, in your own registered corporation, with your RMO listed as the qualifier.
We do not find RMOs for you
This is the question we are asked most often, so it is worth answering directly. We do not match companies with RMOs, and we do not maintain a list of licensed contractors willing to act as one.
We tried it in the past. The liability is too high and the arrangement rarely works out well for either side.
An RMO is not a signature on a form. They carry real legal responsibility for how your company operates, and that only works when there is genuine trust and genuine involvement between the two of you. That is very hard to manufacture between strangers.
So the starting point has to be someone you already know. Once you have that person and they are willing, we can take it from there
Who can be your RMO
Your RMO needs to hold, or have held, an active California contractors license in good standing in the classification you are applying for.
In practice this is usually a family member, a long standing business partner, or a former employer or colleague who knows how you work and is comfortable putting their name to it.
There are limits worth knowing before you ask someone. A qualifier can generally act for no more than three licensed firms in any one year period.
Qualifying more than one firm at a time requires them to hold at least 20 percent of the voting stock or equity in each. If the person you have in mind already qualifies another company, check this first, because it is a common reason arrangements fall over at the application stage.
What your RMO is taking on
Be straight with the person you are asking, because the CSLB is.
The qualifier is responsible for exercising supervision and control of the company's construction operations to make sure they comply with license law. Since AB 830 came into force in 2022, the law sets out what that means: directly supervising or controlling construction operations, or monitoring those operations and being available to assist whoever the supervision has been delegated to.
The CSLB can require an employment duty statement setting out exactly what your qualifier does and how they exercise that control. Vague answers get applications sent back.
This is not a technicality. Failing to meet these requirements is grounds for disciplinary action against the license and is punishable as a misdemeanor, and that exposure sits with both the company and the qualifier. It is also why we recommend choosing someone who already knows you and is genuinely prepared to be involved.
Two more things to plan for. If your RMO owns less than 10 percent of the voting stock, a separate Bond of Qualifying Individual is required alongside your contractors bond. And if your RMO ever leaves, you have 90 days to get a replacement approved before an active license is automatically suspended.
RMO or RME?
An RMO is an officer of a corporation. An RME, or Responsible Managing Employee, is an employee rather than an officer, and can qualify a sole ownership, partnership or corporation.
The trade off is that an RME has to be permanently employed by the licensee and involved in the business for at least 32 hours a week or 80 percent of the total hours the business operates, whichever is less.
An RME also cannot hold an active sole ownership license of their own, and can qualify only one active license at a time. Which one fits depends on how your business is structured and how involved the person is going to be. We can talk that through with you.
Once you have a willing RMO, we can help
We have been setting up California contractors licenses for more than 19 years. If you have someone lined up, we will handle the corporation, the application, the personnel filings and the bonding, and make sure the arrangement is structured to stand up to CSLB scrutiny. If you are not sure whether the person you have in mind qualifies, ask us before you commit to anything.
Call us on (800) 580-8129 or get in touch and we will talk it through.