Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1455 on September 22, 2024. Buried in a Contractors State License Board sunset bill is the change shops asked about: the rule that every licensed contractor carry workers’ compensation, even with no employees, moves from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2028. The board has until January 1, 2027 to build a real process to verify a no-employee exemption.
That is not a holiday. Anyone with employees still needs a policy. C-39 roofing, C-8 concrete, C-20 HVAC, C-22 asbestos, and D-49 tree service still need a policy with zero employees. SB 1455 delayed the rest of the license book because CSLB said the 2026 rollout would cost more and fail more exemptions than the 2022 bill assumed.
If you are a B or C-10 with no W-2s today, you have time — and you should not wait until December 2027 to learn the exemption file is thin. If you have a helper, you needed coverage yesterday.
If this is on your renewal, call the office at (619) 420-8600 or start a quote. We will tell you what the market will actually write.
Sources: Business Insurance on SB 1455; California Legislative Information, SB 1455.