Sub Compliance Starter Kit

When a sub’s insurance lapses or a license isn’t what it claimed to be, the problem lands on the GC — usually at the worst possible moment. This starter kit is the paperwork routine that keeps that from being a surprise: what to collect before a sub mobilizes, a tracker for certificate expiration dates, and the exact words for asking, chasing, and pausing when the paperwork doesn’t come.

Read this first: the kit certifies nothing and verifies nothing. It’s a checklist and a tracker that you run. Verification always happens at the source — your state licensing board for licenses, the agent or insurer named on the certificate for coverage.

Your company profile

Enter this once. It stays in this browser — we never see it — and it pre-fills the job tools on this site so you are not typing the same facts on every job.

Company nameStateTradeEntity typeLicense typeLicense numberYear started

CSLB license renewal

The company-level deadline. A California license that lapses means work performed while it is expired counts as unlicensed — and CSLB is clear that renewing on time is your responsibility even if their renewal form never reaches you. Put your expiration date in once; take the calendar reminders with you.

License number

License expiration date (printed on the license)

License status

Reminders land 90, 60, and 30 days before expiration, plus one on the day. CSLB says it mails a renewal application about 60 days out — if it has not arrived within 45 days of expiration, that is on you to chase, not a defense.

What renewal costs right now

	Sole owner	Non-sole owner
Active, on time	$450	$700
Active, late (delinquent)	$675	$1,050
Inactive, on time	$300	$500
Inactive, late	$450	$750

C-10 (electrical) licenses add $20 to the active fees. An expired license can still be renewed within five years of expiration; a completed renewal received within 90 days of expiration can be reinstated retroactively (SB 1474) — after that, the gap counts as unlicensed time. Online renewal is for single-qualifier licenses and adds a 2.99% card fee.

Fees and rules read on cslb.ca.gov — List of All CSLB Fees and CSLB General Renewal Information — checked November 1, 2026.

Deadline math, not legal advice — confirm your exact date with CSLB. Fees change; the CSLB fee page above is the source of truth, not this page.

Templates and general business information only — not legal, insurance, or compliance advice. Requirements vary by state, project, and contract. Have your attorney and insurance broker review your compliance process.

Before a sub steps on site

Collect these before mobilization, not after the first invoice. This kit organizes the chase — it does not verify anyone's license or coverage, and it cannot make a sub compliant. Verification happens at the source: the state license board for licenses, and the agent or insurer named on the certificate for coverage.

State contractor license — verified at the source
Look the license up on your state licensing board's own lookup (in California, the Contractors State License Board at cslb.ca.gov) and save a screenshot with the date. A copy of a license card from the sub is not verification — the board's record is.
Required on licensed work in most states; your contract sets the rest.Certificate of insurance (COI)
A current certificate naming the sub's general liability and workers' comp policies, with expiration dates you enter in the tracker below. The certificate itself says it plainly: it is information only — it does not change the policy.
Typical on commercial work; your contract and the GC above you set the limits.Additional insured endorsement
A separate endorsement page — not just words typed on the certificate — adding your company as an additional insured on the sub's liability policy. If it is not an endorsement, it is usually not coverage.
Typical requirement in subcontracts; confirm with your broker what your jobs need.Waiver of subrogation endorsement
An endorsement where the sub's insurer gives up the right to come after your company for a loss the insurer paid. Most often asked for on workers' comp.
Typical on larger commercial jobs; contract-driven.W-9 on file
A signed W-9 from every sub before the first payment, so year-end 1099 filing is a print job instead of a chase.
Federal tax paperwork — needed for any sub you will report.Signed subcontract, before mobilization
The signed agreement — scope, price, insurance requirements, and flow-down terms — executed before the sub starts, not after the first invoice.
Your own protection; an unsigned job runs on handshakes.Workers' comp coverage confirmed
The comp policy on the certificate is current, and the sub's classification matches the work they will actually do. Sole operators claiming an exemption: get the exemption in writing and check your state's rule — misclassification lands on the GC.
State rules vary; your broker is the authority here, not this kit.Safety documentation
The sub's safety program or IIPP, plus acknowledgment of the site rules for this project, on file before they mobilize.
Typical on commercial sites; owners and GCs above you may require more.

COI expiration tracker

One row per sub. Enter the expiration dates from each certificate — the tracker flags anything inside 30, 14, and 7 days, and anything already expired. It tracks the dates you entered; it does not check them against any insurer. Download it as a spreadsheet and it is yours — same flags, same disclaimer inside the file.

Sub / company	General liability expires	Workers' comp expires	Auto expires	Status

Scripts for the chase

Asking is easy; asking three times is the job. Copy, fill the brackets, send.

First request — before they mobilize

Hi [Name] — before your crew starts on [project], I need your current paperwork on file:

• Certificate of insurance (general liability + workers' comp)
• Additional insured endorsement naming [Your Company]
• Waiver of subrogation endorsement
• Signed W-9

Send them to [email] by [date] so there's no hold-up on your first payment. Thanks — [Your name]

The chase — cert expiring or expired

Hi [Name] — your [general liability / workers' comp] policy on file with us expires [date / expired on date]. Please send the renewed certificate and endorsements to [email] this week. Our contracts require current certs to keep crews on site and to release payment, and I don't want either of those held up on your end.

Expired cert — work pause notice

Hi [Name] — your [policy] expired on [date] and we haven't received the renewal. Until a current certificate and endorsements are on file, we have to pause your crew's work on [project] and hold further payments — that's a contract requirement, not a choice on our end. Send the renewal to [email] and we'll get you rolling again the same day.

The other half of job compliance

This kit covers the paperwork you collect. The deadlines that protect your own right to get paid — preliminary notice, lien filing, and the suit clock in your state — live in the Lien Deadline Calculator. Run it per job: it returns your deadlines, this same checklist aimed at that job, a calendar file, and a printable job sheet.

Questions from the field

What does the kit include? What to collect before a sub mobilizes, a tracker for certificate expiration dates, and the exact words for asking, chasing, and pausing when the paperwork doesn’t come.

Does the kit verify a sub’s license or insurance? No — the kit certifies nothing and verifies nothing. It’s a checklist and a tracker that you run.

Where does verification happen? Verification always happens at the source — your state licensing board for licenses, the agent or insurer named on the certificate for coverage.

Why does this land on the GC? When a sub’s insurance lapses or a license isn’t what it claimed to be, the problem lands on the GC — usually at the worst possible moment.

Want us to look at your shop?

The free tools cover the leaks most shops share. The free Snapshot is the one-on-one version: 15 free minutes with our team to pressure-test what you found and map your next step. No pressure either way — you leave with a short list you can act on yourself.

Book Your Free Snapshot — book your free 15-minute call first, then answer a few quick questions, so the call itself is spent on your shop, not on background.