Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from California's official board.
California regulates sheet metal work as a contractor business licence, not as an individual trade licence: the Contractors State License Board issues the C-43 Sheet Metal classification to contracting businesses, and its complete list of licensing classifications contains no individual journeyman or worker credential for sheet metal. Ductwork for heating and cooling systems can also fall within the separate C-20 Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning classification.
| Requirements | The C-43 classification is defined by CSLB as a contractor who selects, cuts, shapes, fabricates and installs sheet metal such as cornices, flashings, gutters, leaders, pans, kitchen equipment, duct work (including insulation, patented chimneys, metal flues, metal roofing systems and any other installations requiring sheet metal). The C-20 classification separately covers warm air heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems complete with the ducts, registers, flues, humidity and thermostatic controls and air filters connected with them. To qualify for the examination an applicant must have at least four years of experience in the class applied for, credited only at journey level or as a foreman, supervising employee, contractor or owner-builder, and all experience claims must be verified by a qualified and responsible person with firsthand knowledge. Applicants must pass both a Law and Business examination and a Trade examination, and after passing must complete the Asbestos Open Book Exam before CSLB can process the licence. Since January 1, 2025, under Assembly Bill 2622, the minor work exemption is $1,000: work under that amount needs no licence only if it requires no permit of any kind and the unlicensed person employs no workers on the project. |
| Reciprocity | CSLB publishes a reciprocal classifications list covering four states: Arizona, Louisiana, Nevada and North Carolina. C-43 Sheet Metal is included, and CSLB's list pairs Nevada's C-1e Sheet Metal classification with California's C-43. Reciprocity may waive the trade portion of the examination, but the applicant must still complete California's law and business examination. |
| Renewal | CSLB states that active licences expire every two years and inactive licences expire every four years. CSLB mails a renewal application approximately 60 days before expiration, and an acceptable renewal application must be received at CSLB headquarters before the expiration date to avoid unlicensed time; renewing after expiration is delinquent and a delinquent fee is assessed. |
| Notes | California regulates sheet metal work as a contractor business licence, not as an individual trade licence: the Contractors State License Board issues the C-43 Sheet Metal classification to contracting businesses, and its complete list of licensing classifications contains no individual journeyman or worker credential for sheet metal. Ductwork for heating and cooling systems can also fall within the separate C-20 Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning classification. |
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Sources: www.cslb.ca.gov, www.cslb.ca.gov, www.cslb.ca.gov, www.cslb.ca.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
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