Delinquent renewal fee
California CSLB license renewal fee and cycle
Select the holder, active or inactive status, C-10 or another classification, and the expiration month on the license. The timely fee and the PDF preview update on this page. Nothing is sent until you press the button.
The checklist now, then three reminder emails before the expiration month ends: 30 days, 7 days, and 1 day.
What the fee table lists for these answers
Choose the holder, the status, the classification, and the expiration month, and the published timely row appears here.
What the PDF prints
The PDF preview fills in with these answers before you pay. A blank short name prints as Primary.
Delinquent is a word about a date, not about the contractor. On the CSLB fee table it means one thing: the renewal was postmarked or received after the expiration date. That single fact moves an active sole owner from the $450 row to the $675 row, and an active non-sole owner from $700 to $1,050. Every amount on this page is copied from that table rather than worked out here. Source, read 2026-11-14: https://www.cslb.ca.gov/about_us/library/fees.aspx
| Renewal | When it applies | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Active timely, sole ownerOn or before the expiration date | On or before the expiration date | $450 |
| Active timely, sole owner, C-10On or before the expiration date | On or before the expiration date | $470 |
| Active timely, non-sole ownerOn or before the expiration date | On or before the expiration date | $700 |
| Active timely, non-sole owner, C-10On or before the expiration date | On or before the expiration date | $720 |
| Active delinquent, sole ownerAfter the expiration date | After the expiration date | $675 |
| Active delinquent, sole owner, C-10After the expiration date | After the expiration date | $695 |
| Active delinquent, non-sole ownerAfter the expiration date | After the expiration date | $1,050 |
| Active delinquent, non-sole owner, C-10After the expiration date | After the expiration date | $1,070 |
What delinquent means
Two words decide which row you read. Timely means postmarked or received on or before the expiration date; delinquent means after it. The expiration date is the last day of the month printed on the license, so the question is whether the envelope or the electronic submission crossed that date, not whether CSLB had finished processing it. A renewal mailed on the last day of the month is timely if the postmark says so. A renewal mailed the following morning is delinquent on arrival. If the date has not passed yet, the numbers you want are on the sole-owner page or the company page instead.
The four active delinquent rows
The table lists four delinquent amounts for an active license, and the same two facts split them as split every other row: who holds the license, and whether the classification is C-10. An active delinquent renewal for a sole owner is $675. Add C-10 and it is $695. An active delinquent renewal for a non-sole owner, which the table means as a partnership, corporation, LLC, or joint venture, is $1,050. Add C-10 and it is $1,070. The C-10 difference is $20 in both pairs, exactly as it is on the timely rows. Choose by ownership, then classification; the license carries both answers.
The two inactive delinquent cells
An inactive license has its own delinquent rows, and they do not read like the active ones. Inactive timely renewal is $300 for a sole owner and $500 for a non-sole owner. Inactive delinquent renewal is $450 for a sole owner and $750 for a non-sole owner. Those last two cells follow the amount with the words renewal fee plus penalty. That wording says what the figure is made of: a renewal component plus a penalty on top, stated as one number rather than split into two lines. It also warns you not to carry a number across from the active side of the table. An inactive renewal is a different cycle at a different price, and the reactivation page covers the step back to active status.
Reading the eight rows below
The table on this page is the active half of the CSLB renewal table, copied row for row. Four timely rows sit first, one for each combination of ownership and classification, and the four delinquent rows follow in the same order. The caption names the source and the date the rows were copied. Read down the left column until the label matches your license, then across to the amount. Do not borrow a word your license does not have: C-10 is a classification, and sole owner is a form of ownership, and neither is a safe guess.
Why this page copies rows and does not calculate
The CSLB table carries at least one parenthetical that does not match its own row label. That is why this site quotes rows instead of computing a late fee. Any arithmetic would have to decide which parenthetical is the description and which is the amount, and the table does not settle that. So the rows appear here as they read, and the only number worth acting on is the one on your own row. If you want that number confirmed, the telephone number printed on the table is 800-321-2752.
How long a delinquent renewal stays open
CSLB accepts a delinquent renewal for up to five years after expiration while ownership is unchanged. Unchanged means the same owner, the same partners, the same corporation, the same tribal business, or the same limited liability company the license had before it lapsed. A change of ownership starts a different process. Inside the five years, the rows above are the rows that apply. The window is measured from the expiration date, which is the last day of the month printed on the license, so the expiration page is worth reading if the date itself is in question.
Before you pay anything
Three things are worth doing before money moves. First, read the row that matches the license and resist the row that looks close. Second, call 800-321-2752, the number printed on the table, and ask which amount applies to your license number. Third, pay CSLB if you pay anyone. This site does not renew a license, does not file with the board, and cannot accept a renewal fee. What it sells is a PDF checklist at $39 a year or $19 once, emailed from support@contractorlicensedue.com within five minutes of the payment being marked paid. The file repeats the fee table link and that telephone number, prints the sole-owner rows and the company rows, notes the C-10 difference, and says on its own pages that it does not calculate a delinquent renewal.
Delinquent renewal or reactivation
These two situations sound alike and are handled differently. A delinquent renewal is a renewal that arrived late for a license that stayed active or was being renewed as active, so the ownership and the license number are both intact. Reactivation is the step for a license sitting on inactive status that needs to return to active status. It has its own application and its own fee row, $450 for a sole owner and $700 for a non-sole owner, and it is not a way to repair a renewal that was missed. If the license is inactive right now, read the reactivation page instead of this one. If the license is active and the date has passed, you are in the right place.
Questions
Is $675 the late fee or the total?
The table lists $675 in the Active Delinquent Renewal, Sole Owner row and $1,050 in the non-sole-owner row. It does not split the renewal from the penalty on those lines. Ask CSLB if the breakdown matters to you.
Does the C-10 difference still apply after the date passes?
Yes, as the table reads: $695 for a C-10 sole owner and $1,070 for a C-10 non-sole owner, against $675 and $1,050 without C-10.
How late can a delinquent renewal be filed?
CSLB accepts a delinquent renewal for up to five years after expiration while ownership is unchanged. Past that point CSLB handles the file as an original application with a request that the license number be reassigned.
Can I pay the delinquent fee through this site?
No. This site sells a checklist and never files with CSLB, never collects a renewal fee, and never issues a government receipt. Any renewal payment, late or on time, goes to the board.
What if the renewal application never arrived?
CSLB mails the renewal application about 60 days before the expiration date. If it has not arrived four weeks before that date, request a duplicate renewal and confirm the mailing address CSLB holds for the license.