# California Contractor License Lookup (CSLB)

> California Contractor License Lookup (CSLB) is a paid API for AI agents from api.scrapebench.dev, paid per call via x402, $0.04/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-21).

Verifies a California contractor license by CSLB license number or business name, returning license status, classifications, issue/expiry dates, bond, and workers' comp information.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://api.scrapebench.dev/v1/ca-contractor-lookup?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.04/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-21
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/california-contractor-license-lookup-cslb-1c1f003f
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_FH5L0SFoKOeJytsxLf7VZ

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability california-contractor-license-lookup-cslb-1c1f003f -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Can you check if the contractor 'Pacific Builders Group' is currently licensed with the CSLB in California — I want to see their license status, what trades they're licensed for, and whether their bond and workers' comp are current?

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need to verify or retrieve details about a California contractor license from the live CSLB registry. Prefer this over generic web scraping when you need structured, normalized output including status, classifications, bond, and workers' comp. It is especially useful for automated contractor vetting, compliance workflows, or due diligence pipelines targeting California-licensed contractors. Use the sibling endpoint for bulk listing by trade and county if you need multiple contractors rather than a specific one.

## Known failure modes

- License number not found — returned free of charge with an unknown status indicator
- Multiple name matches returned when searching by business name without city filter
- No matches found for the provided business name
- Invalid license number format (non-numeric or too long) rejected by schema validation
- CSLB registry temporarily unavailable causing lookup failure

## How this service works

Verify a California contractor licence by CSLB licence number or business name, returning licence status (normalised and as CSLB words it), classifications, issue and expiry dates, bond and workers' comp. Read live from the CSLB 'Check A License' registry; an unknown licence number is answered free.

## Output

Returns normalized and raw CSLB license status, trade classifications, license issue and expiration dates, bond details, and workers' compensation coverage information for the matched contractor. If a license number is unknown, that is returned at no charge.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "city": {
   "anyOf": [
    {
     "type": "string",
     "maxLength": 60,
     "minLength": 2
    },
    {
     "type": "null"
    }
   ],
   "title": "City",
   "default": null,
   "description": "Optional: keep only name matches whose city of record is this (case ignored)."
  },
  "name": {
   "anyOf": [
    {
     "type": "string",
     "maxLength": 100,
     "minLength": 2
    },
    {
     "type": "null"
    }
   ],
   "title": "Name",
   "default": null,
   "description": "Business name or its start, e.g. 'RANSOME' (case ignored). Matches names beginning with it. Send this or license_number."
  },
  "purpose": {
   "anyOf": [
    {
     "type": "string",
     "maxLength": 200
    },
    {
     "type": "null"
    }
   ],
   "title": "Purpose",
   "default": null,
   "description": "Optional: what you need this data for, in one sentence (e.g. 'vetting a roofer before hiring'). It never changes the price or the rows; it tells us what to improve."
  },
  "license_number": {
   "anyOf": [
    {
     "type": "string",
     "pattern": "^\\d{1,8}$"
    },
    {
     "type": "null"
    }
   ],
   "title": "License Number",
   "default": null,
   "description": "CSLB licence number, digits only, e.g. '22726'. Send this or name."
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/california-contractor-license-lookup-cslb-1c1f003f/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from api.scrapebench.dev](https://www.zero.xyz/host/api.scrapebench.dev/llms.txt)