California Subcontractor Insurance Requirements: What GCs Must Require and Verify
What coverage general contractors should require from subcontractors on California job sites — including the CSLB bond, the workers' comp rules that are changing for every licensee, and why completed operations matters more here than almost anywhere.
The most common mistake: requiring additional insured status for ongoing operations only. California allows latent construction defect claims up to ten years after completion, and a sub's additional insured coverage that ends when it leaves the site leaves the GC holding those years alone.
California GCs typically require subs to carry $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate general liability, $1M commercial auto, workers' compensation with employer's liability, and an umbrella on larger jobs, with additional insured status for both ongoing and completed operations. State law adds its own layer: every CSLB license needs a $25,000 bond, workers' comp is required for any sub with employees — and for roofing, concrete, HVAC, asbestos and tree-service licensees even without — and it extends to every licensee from January 1, 2028.
In this guide
What GCs should require from California subcontractors
Beyond workers' comp and the bond, California sets no general liability minimum for most private subcontracts — GCs set them. The one statutory figure is for LLCs: a CSLB-licensed LLC must carry liability insurance with an aggregate of at least $1M, rising with the number of people on the license up to $5M.
| Coverage | Typical minimum | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial General Liability | $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate | Bodily injury and property damage from the sub's operations and completed work |
| Workers' Compensation | California statutory (see below) | Medical costs and lost wages for the sub's injured employees |
| Employer's Liability | $1M each accident / disease | Employee injury suits outside WC; part of the WC policy |
| Commercial Auto | $1M combined single limit | Vehicles used in the sub's operations |
| Umbrella / Excess | $2M–$5M, by project | Limits above GL, auto and employer's liability |
Public works and large commercial contracts usually set higher limits. Whatever the owner requires of you flows down to your subs.
Workers' compensation — California's rules
California requires workers' compensation for every employer with one or more employees, and CSLB ties it to the license:
Any licensee with employees must have workers' comp on file with CSLB. Licensees with no employees can file an exemption.
C-8 concrete, C-20 HVAC, C-22 asbestos abatement, C-39 roofing and D-49 tree service must carry workers' comp whether or not they have employees.
Every licensee must carry workers' comp, with a narrow exemption. SB 216 set this for 2026; SB 1455 moved it to 2028.
An exemption is only as good as the sub's payroll
A sub with a no-employees exemption on file who brings helpers to your site is not covered. California's worker-classification rules make "they're all 1099" a weak answer, and if the sub turns out to be unlicensed for the work, Labor Code §2750.5 can make the GC the employer of the sub's workers. Ask how many people the sub will put on site and check that against the exemption.
Check both documents. The COI shows the workers' comp policy and its dates; the CSLB record shows whether that policy — or an exemption — is on file for the license.
The CSLB contractor's bond
Every California license must maintain a $25,000 contractor's bond — raised from $15,000 on January 1, 2023. LLC licensees carry an additional $100,000 bond for employee and worker claims. The contractor's bond protects consumers and others harmed by a contractor's violations of license law; it is not a substitute for general liability, and a GC should not treat it as protection for itself.
What the bond does tell a GC is whether the license is in good standing: a license without a bond on file is suspended. Bond status appears on the CSLB license record.
Additional insured, completed operations and waivers
- Additional insured status for your company (and the owner, where required) on the sub's GL and auto, on a primary and non-contributory basis.
- Completed operations in that additional insured coverage, not only ongoing operations — see CG 20 10 vs CG 20 37.
- Waiver of subrogation in your favor on GL, auto and workers' comp.
Why completed operations matters here. California allows claims for latent construction defects up to ten years after substantial completion. Require completed-operations additional insured coverage, check the products-completed operations aggregate on the certificate, and keep the certificate long after closeout. California also restricts how far a sub can be made to indemnify a GC for the GC's own negligence, particularly on residential work — have your broker or counsel review the indemnity and insurance exhibit together.
Adjusting minimums by project type
| Project type | Suggested GL | Suggested umbrella |
|---|---|---|
| Residential remodel / small commercial | $1M / $2M | $1M |
| Mid-size commercial ($1M–$10M) | $2M / $4M | $2M–$5M |
| Large commercial / mixed-use ($10M+) | $2M / $4M | $5M–$10M |
| Public works | Per contract, often $5M+ in total | Per contract |
| High-hazard trades (demolition, structural, hazmat) | $2M / $4M | $5M+ |
Collecting and tracking certificates of insurance
A California sub is really two checks: the certificate for the policies, and the CSLB record for the license, bond and workers' comp on file.
- Collect the certificate before work begins, and read the CSLB record the same day.
- Track each policy's own expiration date — GL, auto and workers' comp rarely renew together.
- On long projects, ask for refreshed certificates at renewal rather than waiting for a lapse.
- Keep certificates retrievable for years after closeout — the defect window is ten.
How TrackMyVendor automates this
- Every certificate is read on upload — carrier, policy numbers, each coverage row’s limits and its own dates, including the products-completed operations aggregate — and measured against the minimums you set.
- CSLB licences are re-checked against CSLB’s records and shown beside the certificate on the same sub.
- Per-deadline reminders at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days go to your team and to the sub, with the upload link in the sub’s copy. Starter and above
- The endorsement pages are read too, so a CG 20 10 without a CG 20 37 shows as ongoing operations only. Pro
Bond status and the workers' comp filing are read on the CSLB record itself; we keep the certificate and the licence status side by side.
See what AI parsing reads from a certificateCollecting COIs from California subs?
Everything above is a check you can run by hand. This is what it looks like when it runs itself.
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- Your first 25 subs, no credit card
- Subs upload certificates, licences and W-9s through a one-time link — no account, no app
- Every certificate read automatically: coverage rows, limits and each policy’s own dates
- Contractor licences checked against the state board’s own records
- A Monday summary of everything expired or expiring
Per-deadline alerts at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days, sent to your team and to the sub, start on Starter. Compare plans
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