California Water Well Drilling Licensing Law

California Code · 5 sections

The following is the full text of California’s water well drilling licensing law statutes as published in the California Code. For the official version, see the California Legislature.

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7026.1

(a) The term “contractor” includes all of the following: (1) Any person not exempt under Section 7053 who maintains or services air-conditioning, heating, or refrigeration equipment that is a fixed part of the structure to which it is attached. (2) (A) Any person, consultant to an owner-builder, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, or company, who or which undertakes, offers to undertake, purports to have the capacity to undertake, or submits a bid to construct any building or home improvement project, or part thereof. (B) For purposes of this paragraph, a consultant is a person, other than a public agency or an owner of privately owned real property to be improved, who meets either of the following criteria as it relates to work performed pursuant to a home improvement contract as defined in Section 7151.2: (i) Provides or oversees a bid for a construction project. (ii) Arranges for and sets up work schedules for contractors and subcontractors and maintains oversight of a construction project. (3) A temporary labor service agency that, as the employer, provides employees for the performance of work covered by this chapter. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply if there is a properly licensed contractor who exercises supervision in accordance with Section 7068.1 and who is directly responsible for the final results of the work. Nothing in this paragraph shall require a qualifying individual, as provided in Section 7068, to be present during the supervision of work covered by this chapter. A contractor requesting the services of a temporary labor service agency shall provide his or her license number to that temporary labor service agency. (4) Any person not otherwise exempt by this chapter, who performs tree removal, tree pruning, stump removal, or engages in tree or limb cabling or guying. The term contractor does not include a person performing the activities of a nurseryperson who in the normal course of routine work performs incidental pruning of trees, or guying of planted trees and their limbs. The term contractor does not include a gardener who in the normal course of routine work performs incidental pruning of trees measuring less than 15 feet in height after planting. (5) Any person engaged in the business of drilling, digging, boring, or otherwise constructing, deepening, repairing, reperforating, or abandoning any water well, cathodic protection well, or monitoring well. (b) The term “contractor” or “consultant” does not include a common interest development manager, as defined in Section 11501, and a common interest development manager is not required to have a contractor’s license when performing management services, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 11500. (Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 319, Sec. 6. (SB 822) Effective January 1, 2014.)

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7029.5

Every C-36 plumbing contractor, C-45 sign contractor, and C-57 well-drilling contractor licensed under this chapter shall have displayed on each side of each motor vehicle used in his or her business, for which a commercial vehicle registration fee has been paid pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 9400) of Chapter 6 of Division 3 of the Vehicle Code, his or her name, permanent business address, and contractor’s license number, all in letters and numerals not less than 1 1 / 2 inches high. The identification requirements of this section shall also apply to any drill rig used for the drilling of water wells. Failure to comply with this section constitutes a cause for disciplinary action. (Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 432, Sec. 9. (SB 944) Effective January 1, 2012.)

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7049

This chapter does not apply to any construction or operation incidental to the construction and repair of irrigation and drainage ditches of regularly constituted irrigation districts, reclamation districts, or to farming, dairying, agriculture, viticulture, horticulture, or stock or poultry raising, or clearing or other work upon the land in rural districts for fire prevention purposes, except when performed by a licensee under this chapter. The provisions of this chapter do apply to the business of drilling digging, boring, or otherwise constructing, deepening, repairing, reperforating, or abandoning water wells. (Amended by Stats. 1959, Ch. 1691.)

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7057.5

(a) A residential remodeling contractor is a contractor whose principal contracting business is in connection with any project to make improvements to, on, or in an existing residential wood frame structure, and the project requires the use of at least three unrelated building trades or crafts for a single contract. (b) (1) A residential remodeling contractor may take a prime contract for trades or crafts which may include, but is not limited to, the following: (A) Drywall. (B) Finish carpentry. (C) Flooring. (D) Insulation. (E) Painting. (F) Plastering. (G) Roof repair. (H) Siding. (I) Tiling. (J) Installing, repairing, or replacing electrical fixtures, such as dimmers, fans, lights, outlets, and switches. (K) Installing, repairing, or replacing plumbing fixtures, such as faucets, sinks, toilets, and tubs. (L) Installing, repairing, or replacing mechanical fixtures, such as air filters, air delivery and return grills, and preassembled exhaust fans. (2) A residential remodeling contractor shall not take a contract unless the contract includes three or more unrelated trades or crafts. (3) Subject to the limit described in paragraph (2), a residential remodeling contractor may self-perform its contract or may subcontract any of the trades or crafts to appropriately licensed subcontractor or subcontractors. (c) A residential remodeling contractor shall conduct its contracting activity in accordance with the following restrictions: (1) A residential remodeling contractor shall not contract for a project that includes the following trades or crafts unless the contractor holds the appropriate license classification or subcontracts with an appropriately licensed contractor: (A) C-16 Fire Protection. (B) C-22 Asbestos Abatement. (C) C-57 Well Drilling. (2) A residential remodeling contractor shall not contract to make structural changes to load bearing portions of an existing structure, including, but not limited to, footings, foundations, load bearing walls, partitions, and roof structures. (3) (A) The residential remodeling contractor shall not contract to install, replace, substantially alter, or extend electrical, mechanical, or plumbing systems or their component parts, or the mechanisms or devices that are part of those systems, unless the residential remodeling contractor holds the appropriate license classification or subcontracts with an appropriately licensed contractor. (B) The residential remodeling contractor may contract to make minor alterations to existing electrical, mechanical, or plumbing systems to effectuate the purpose of installing, repairing, or replacing electrical, mechanical and plumbing fixtures, provided that the contract requires the use of at least three unrelated building trades or crafts. (C) The board may adopt regulations to further define what activity constitutes the minor alterations described in subparagraph (B), and to further define the electrical, mechanical, or plumbing systems, or their component parts, or the

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7110

Willful or deliberate disregard and violation of the building laws of the state, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any of the following references to or provisions of law, constitutes a cause for disciplinary action against a licensee: (a) Section 8550 or 8556. (b) Sections 1689.5 to 1689.15, inclusive, of the Civil Code. (c) The safety laws or labor laws or compensation insurance laws or Unemployment Insurance Code of the state. (d) The Subletting and Subcontracting Fair Practices Act (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 4100) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code). (e) Any provision of the Health and Safety Code or Water Code, relating to the digging, boring, or drilling of water wells. (f) Any provision of Article 2 (commencing with Section 4216) of Chapter 3.1 of Division 5 of Title 1 of the Government Code. (g) Section 374.3 of the Penal Code or any substantially similar law or ordinance that is promulgated by a local government agency as defined in Section 82041 of the Government Code. (h) Any state or local law relating to the issuance of building permits. (Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 757, Sec. 2. (AB 1747) Effective January 1, 2023.)

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)