Bob Smith is an RME and works full-time for XYZ Construction Co. He holds an individual license and wants to bid and build wood decks on weekends. Is this legal?

Bob Smith is an RME and works full-time for XYZ Construction Co. He holds an individual license and wants to bid and build wood decks on weekends. Is this legal?

• A. Yes, if allowed by XYZ
• B. Yes, if he also registers under his own license
• C. No: Bob may qualify only XYZ's license in this case
• D. No: He cannot bid at all under these circumstances

Answer: (C)

In California, a contractor’s license is tied to a business and must be qualified by a responsible managing employee (RME) who oversees the licensed work for that business. The RME is the person responsible for the license and is usually employed by the licensee. Here, Bob is the RME and holds an individual license, but he works full-time for XYZ Construction Co. Work performed under a licensed contract must be supervised and carried out under the license that qualifies that company. Since Bob is the RME for XYZ’s license, the weekend deck work would fall under XYZ’s license. He cannot bid or perform work under his own personal license for that same job while acting as XYZ’s RME. To bid under his own license, he would need to operate his own licensed business and be the qualifier for that separate license, not as the RME for XYZ. Therefore, the correct understanding is that he may qualify only XYZ’s license in this case.

In California, a contractor’s license is tied to a business and must be qualified by a responsible managing employee (RME) who oversees the licensed work for that business. The RME is the person responsible for the license and is usually employed by the licensee.

Here, Bob is the RME and holds an individual license, but he works full-time for XYZ Construction Co. Work performed under a licensed contract must be supervised and carried out under the license that qualifies that company. Since Bob is the RME for XYZ’s license, the weekend deck work would fall under XYZ’s license. He cannot bid or perform work under his own personal license for that same job while acting as XYZ’s RME. To bid under his own license, he would need to operate his own licensed business and be the qualifier for that separate license, not as the RME for XYZ. Therefore, the correct understanding is that he may qualify only XYZ’s license in this case.