Data Methodology

Where Our Data Comes From

Every contractor record on Prelien is sourced from the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB), a division of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. The CSLB is the state agency responsible for licensing and regulating California's construction industry. It maintains public records on approximately 225,000 active licensees across 74 trade classifications and all 58 California counties.

We access this data through the CSLB Public Data Portal (cslb.ca.gov), which provides downloadable contractor records in accordance with California's public records disclosure requirements. No private, proprietary, or non-public data is used.

What Each Contractor Profile Contains

Every profile on Prelien displays the following fields, all sourced from CSLB:

• License number: The unique identifier assigned by CSLB
• Business name and type: Corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership, or LLC as registered with CSLB
• Business address: The address of record filed with CSLB (email addresses are excluded per California Business & Professions Code Section 27)
• Phone number: Business phone on file with CSLB
• License status: Current standing (e.g., Clear, Suspended, Revoked, Expired)
• Issue and expiration dates: When the license was first issued and when it is set to expire
• Trade classification(s): The specific CSLB classification codes the contractor is licensed to perform (e.g., C-10 Electrical, B General Building, C-36 Plumbing)
• Contractor bond: Surety company, bond number, and effective dates
• Workers' compensation insurance: Coverage status, carrier name, policy number, and effective dates

How We Maintain the Data

Prelien refreshes its contractor dataset on a regular sync schedule from the CSLB Public Data Portal. Each refresh captures changes to license status, bond information, workers' compensation coverage, and classification updates.

When CSLB records change between refreshes (for example, a license that expires or a workers' compensation policy that is cancelled), the updated information will appear on Prelien at the next scheduled refresh. For the most current information on any specific contractor, we recommend verifying directly with the CSLB Instant License Check at cslb.ca.gov.

Compliance Health Status

Prelien displays a compliance health status on each contractor profile. This status is not a credit score, quality rating, or endorsement. It is a summary indicator based entirely on the CSLB data fields listed above.

The status is determined as follows:

Verified: License status is Clear, contractor bond is active, and workers' compensation insurance is either active or the contractor is registered as exempt with CSLB. No adverse conditions detected in the current CSLB record.

Review: One or more conditions that may warrant further inquiry before contracting. This includes: license expiring within 90 days, workers' compensation listed as exempt (which may indicate a sole proprietor with no employees, or may indicate a coverage gap), or license issued less than two years ago.

Alert: One or more conditions that indicate a compliance issue in the public record. This includes: license status is not Clear (suspended, revoked, cancelled, or expired), workers' compensation coverage is suspended or cancelled, or contractor bond has been cancelled.

Prelien applies this methodology consistently and automatically to every contractor record we publish. No contractor can pay to alter their compliance health status. The status reflects only the data published by CSLB.

What Prelien Does Not Verify

Prelien does not independently verify or represent:

• Quality of a contractor's work or project outcomes
• Payment behavior, speed of payment, or financial condition beyond what CSLB bond and insurance records indicate
• Ongoing project activity or current workload
• Accuracy of the address, phone number, or business name on file with CSLB (contractors self-report this data to CSLB)
• Disciplinary actions, complaints, or legal proceedings beyond what is reflected in the CSLB license status field

For detailed complaint history and disciplinary records, consult the CSLB directly at cslb.ca.gov.

Questions About Our Data

If you believe a contractor profile on Prelien contains an error, please contact us at hello@prelien.co. We will verify the record against the current CSLB data and correct any discrepancy.