CALIFORNIA HOME IMPROVEMENT SALESPERSON
California Home Improvement Salesperson Contract Requirements
California separates the contractor license from the Home Improvement Salesperson registration. When a registered HIS solicits or negotiates a covered home improvement contract, the contract workflow needs the right salesperson information — and the contractor also has separate CSLB association duties.
Last reviewed: September 26, 2026
What is a Home Improvement Salesperson?
Under B&P §7152, a Home Improvement Salesperson (HIS) is a person registered under California's contractor law who solicits, sells, negotiates or executes home improvement contracts, or sells or furnishes covered home improvement goods or services, on behalf of a licensed home improvement contractor.
An HIS registration is not a contractor license. The salesperson acts on behalf of the licensed contractor represented in the transaction.
Read B&P §7152 for the current definition.
When HIS registration is required
General rule
A person acting in the capacity of a Home Improvement Salesperson must hold a current and valid HIS registration at the time of the sales transaction, unless a statutory exemption applies.
Contractor represented
Before engaging in HIS activity, the salesperson identifies to the owner or tenant the business name and license number of the contractor represented for that transaction.
See B&P §§7152 and 7153 for the registration rule and timing.
What the home improvement contract includes
B&P §7159(d)(2) requires the home improvement contract, if applicable, to include the name and registration number of the Home Improvement Salesperson who solicited or negotiated the contract.
Salesperson name
The registered salesperson who actually solicited or negotiated this contract, by the name on their HIS record.
Registration number
The state HIS registration number, not your license number and not the ID your payroll system assigns.
Applicability
The field applies when a Home Improvement Salesperson subject to the requirement solicited or negotiated the contract. Do not fabricate a salesperson registration number when the field is not applicable.
The contractor's license information and the salesperson's HIS registration information are separate contract data.
See B&P §7159, the §7159 statute guide and the contract requirements guide.
Contractor and salesperson are different records
Do not substitute one identifier for the other.
The contractor-HIS association happens before the salesperson starts
B&P §7154 requires the contractor to notify CSLB about the employment of a registered Home Improvement Salesperson before that salesperson begins working for the contractor.
At a minimum, that written notice identifies the salesperson by HIS name and registration number.
When the registered HIS stops working for the contractor, §7154 requires the contractor to notify CSLB within 90 days.
Notifying CSLB is an office task with its own deadlines. Putting the applicable salesperson name and registration number in the customer's contract is a separate step.
Read B&P §7154 for the current notification rule.
Registration has statutory exceptions
Not every person involved in a sale is required to hold an HIS registration. B&P §7152(d) lists specific exemptions.
License personnel of record
Certain officers, LLC managers/members/officers, general partners and qualifying persons can fall within statutory exemptions when the personnel-of-record conditions are met.
Retail-establishment sales
A specified exemption applies to sales made after negotiations initiated by the prospective buyer at or with a qualifying fixed-location general merchandise retail establishment.
Appointment setting only
A person whose exclusive role is contacting a prospective buyer to schedule appointments for a registered HIS is listed as an exemption.
Service repairperson
A bona fide service repairperson employed by a licensed contractor can fall within the statutory exemption when the call is limited to the service, repair or emergency repair initially requested by the buyer.
Personnel-of-record condition
For the officer, partner and qualifying-person exemptions, §7152(e) requires the individual to be listed as personnel of record for the licensee at the time of the sales transaction.
Check the actual facts
Use the current statute and CSLB guidance before deciding that an exemption applies to a particular person or transaction.
Review the exemption list in B&P §7152.
What if no registered HIS is involved?
Do not create a fictional salesperson entry just to fill the field. If no registered Home Improvement Salesperson subject to §7159(d)(2) solicited or negotiated the contract, do not invent a name or registration number.
What belongs in the field comes down to who actually handled the sale and whether a statutory exemption applies. Pin those facts down before the agreement goes out for signature.
Contract-preparation workflow — not legal advice.
- Identify who solicited or negotiated the transaction.
- Determine whether that person is a registered HIS or falls within an applicable statutory exemption.
- Populate the contract with the salesperson information §7159 requires when the field applies.
Verify the registration before the contract goes out
You can look up a Home Improvement Salesperson by registration number on CSLB's public lookup, which makes it easy to check the record before the agreement goes out.
Check a contractor license or HIS registration on CSLB ↗
Check the registration record on CSLB's public lookup. An internal spreadsheet or an old contract can be out of date.
Verification is a workflow check, not a guarantee that every legal requirement for the transaction has been satisfied.
Common HIS data mistakes to catch
Contractor license used as HIS number
Someone types the company's license number into the salesperson-registration field.
Internal employee ID used
An ID from the CRM or payroll system ends up where the state HIS registration number belongs.
Stale registration data
Last year's job gets copied forward and nobody rechecks the registration record.
Wrong contractor association
Nobody confirms the salesperson is associated with the contractor named in this deal.
Name mismatch
“Mike” on the contract, “Michael J.” on the record. The names should match.
Field populated when not applicable
A name or number gets filled in just to complete the field, even though no registered HIS was involved.
Pre-signature HIS checklist
- Identify who solicited or negotiated the contract.
- Confirm whether an HIS registration is required for that person.
- If relying on an exemption, confirm the statutory basis and current facts.
- Confirm the salesperson represents the contractor shown on the contract.
- Verify the HIS registration through CSLB when applicable.
- Enter the salesperson name accurately when §7159(d)(2) applies.
- Enter the HIS registration number accurately when §7159(d)(2) applies.
- Do not substitute the contractor license number or an internal employee ID.
- Review the final agreement and current law before signature.
Related California contract guides
B&P §7159 statute guide
The wider set of contract-information requirements the salesperson field belongs to.
Contractor license information
Your business name, address and license number, kept apart from the salesperson's registration details.
Contract requirements
The bigger picture of a California home improvement contract.
15-point contract checklist
A pre-signature pass over identity, scope, dates, payments and notices.
Contract template guide
Where contractor and salesperson details sit in the overall contract.
Annotated contract example
Contractor and project details in a fictional walkthrough.
Start & completion dates
Substantial commencement and approximate project dates.
California contract software
How the guided workflow keeps project and contract information together.
How ContractBuilderAI fits
In ContractBuilderAI, contractor and project information sit in the same guided workflow as scope, materials, dates, payment stages, review checkpoints, e-signature, change orders and the contract record.
ContractBuilderAI helps organize the workflow. The contractor remains responsible for confirming who handled the transaction, whether an HIS registration or exemption applies, and what information belongs in the final agreement.
Primary sources
- California Legislature — Business and Professions Code §7152
- California Legislature — Business and Professions Code §7153
- California Legislature — Business and Professions Code §7154
- California Legislature — Business and Professions Code §7159
- CSLB — Before You Apply for HIS Registration
- CSLB — Check a Contractor License or HIS Registration
Building California contracts should not start from a blank page.
ContractBuilderAI is opening a California private beta on November 1, 2026 for licensed home improvement contractors.
Apply for the California beta →