California C-8 Concrete Contractor License: Scope, Verification, and Workers' Comp

The C-8 classification covers forming, placing, and finishing concrete — flatwork such as driveways, patios, walkways, and slabs, as well as mass concrete like footings and foundations.

It excludes work that belongs to neighboring trades: a concrete contractor doesn't perform sole plastering or set the reinforcing steel as a separate trade, an asphalt driveway is C-12 (earthwork and paving), and pavers fall under C-29 (masonry) or C-27 (landscaping). Match the classification to the surface you're installing.

Any project where combined labor and materials total $1,000 or more must be performed by a CSLB-licensed contractor — the threshold rose from $500 to $1,000 on January 1, 2025 under Assembly Bill 2622 (Business & Professions Code §7048). Below $1,000, a narrow minor-work exemption can apply only if the job isn't part of a larger project and the worker discloses, in advertising and bids, that they aren't licensed.

A small concrete repair under $1,000 in combined labor and materials can be unlicensed, with disclosure. A driveway replacement or patio pour is well over the threshold and should go to an Active C-8.

Homeowners often ask whether they need a permit to pour concrete. The license and the permit are separate: the C-8 is the contractor's credential; a permit is the city's approval for the specific work. Many cities require a permit to replace a driveway in the public right-of-way or to pour structural concrete, even though a simple backyard slab sometimes doesn't.

Confirm both: an Active C-8 contractor, and whatever permit your city requires for the specific pour. A licensed contractor pulls the permit in their own name.

C-8 concrete contractors must carry workers' compensation insurance regardless of whether they have employees. It is one of only five classifications — C-8 (concrete), C-20 (HVAC), C-22 (asbestos abatement), C-39 (roofing), and D-49 (tree service) — whose contractors cannot claim the no-employee workers'-compensation exemption. Senate Bill 216 phased in this regardless-of-employees requirement for these high-risk trades.

Senate Bill 1455 will extend that requirement to every CSLB licensee — regardless of employees — on January 1, 2028, with CSLB's exemption-verification process live by January 1, 2027. For concrete there is no no-employee exemption today — confirm a C-8 contractor's workers'-compensation coverage before hiring. Concrete work is physically hazardous, and an uninsured injury on your property can expose you to the cost.

Confirm the license is Active and the C-8 classification is listed — on the CSLB "Check a License" tool or on the contractor's profile in this directory. Match the license to the business you're hiring. Check that the $25,000 contractor bond is on file (Business & Professions Code §7071.6) and that workers' compensation coverage — or a valid exemption — is shown.

Because C-8 carries no workers'-comp exemption, treat a missing coverage record as a reason to pause. Browse Active C-8 concrete contractors by city in the California concrete directory and see each one's dated CSLB status before you hire.