Independent site · Not affiliated with CSLB or any state agency
Contractor LookoutCalifornia

Home Improvement Salesperson (HIS) registration explained

By Contractor Lookout · Updated November 3, 2026

In California, anyone who sells, negotiates or signs home improvement contracts on behalf of a licensed contractor must be registered with CSLB as a Home Improvement Salesperson (HIS). You can look up an HIS registration by name or registration number on CSLB’s Instant License Check, the same tool used for contractor licenses.

The rule comes from Business and Professions Code section 7152, most recently amended by SB 861, effective January 1, 2026.

Who needs to register

An HIS is a person who, on behalf of a licensed contractor, does any of these for home improvement work:

That includes contracts for swimming pools, spas and hot tubs. If the person in your kitchen giving you a price and a contract to sign isn’t the licensed contractor, they likely fall in this group.

An HIS registration is not a contractor license. The salesperson works for a licensed contractor, and the contractor’s license is what covers the work. You need to check both.

The basics at a glance

Item Rule Law
Who must register People who sell, negotiate or sign home improvement contracts for a licensed contractor BPC 7152
How to apply Written application plus fingerprints BPC 7153.1
How long it lasts Two years from the last day of the month it was issued BPC 7153.2
Application fee $200 CSLB fee schedule
Renewal fee $200, or $300 if late CSLB fee schedule
Working without it A misdemeanor, and citations are possible BPC 7153

Why it matters to you

The law puts teeth behind registration in two ways.

First, under BPC 7153, acting as a home improvement salesperson without a current registration is a misdemeanor, and CSLB can issue citations under BPC 7028.7. Since July 1, 2026, those citations carry civil penalties of $1,500 to $15,000. See unlicensed contractor penalties.

Second, 7153 says a contractor’s security interest is unenforceable if the contract was solicited by an unregistered salesperson. In plain terms, a contractor can lose the ability to enforce certain rights tied to the contract when an unregistered salesperson sold it. If that affects you, ask a lawyer.

How to check an HIS registration

  1. Ask the salesperson for their HIS registration number. Write it down along with their full name.
  2. Look it up. Go to CSLB’s Instant License Check and search by “Salesperson’s Registration #” or by HIS name. The tool is offline Sunday 8 p.m. to Monday 6 a.m.
  3. Confirm it’s current. A registration lasts two years and must be renewed.
  4. Check the contractor too. Get the contractor’s license number from the contract and look it up. Confirm the status is Clear and the classification fits your job. Our license check guide explains what to read.
  5. Match names. The contractor named on the contract should be the business the salesperson says they represent.

Questions to ask a salesperson

The answer to the last one has a legal limit. The down payment on a home improvement contract can’t exceed $1,000 or 10% of the price, whichever is less, unless the contractor has a qualifying blanket bond. Later payments can’t run ahead of the work performed. See our down payment guide.

Pressure to sign

If a salesperson presses you to sign today, remember that home improvement contracts come with a right to cancel. You generally have 3 business days, 5 if you’re 65 or older, and 7 for disaster repairs (Civil Code 1689.6). Read the cancellation notice in the contract before you sign, and keep your copy.

For the full set of checks before you sign, use our hiring checklist. If something goes wrong with a salesperson or contractor, see how to file a complaint with CSLB.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

More guides