Experience Verification Information

Your application has been selected for experience verification. Please ensure that you call or submit documentation to the Enforcement Representative assigned to your application within the time specified in the enclosed notification letter. The notification letter also contains a case number for your application investigation. Please refer to the case number when leaving messages for the Enforcement Representative assigned to your case or when sending documents. The case number will be used to locate your file. The Enforcement Representative may have as many as eighty (80) open investigations, so if you reach voice-mail for the Enforcement Representative, leave a message and it will be noted as initial contact on your part. Leave your name, case number, and daytime phone number in a clear, slow tone. Do not leave multiple messages within one day. The Enforcement Representative will return your call. Documents are reviewed in the order they are received, and may not be reviewed the same day you submit them. Please ensure that all documents are legible, and are identified with your name, your case number, and the Enforcement Representative's name.

The investigation will focus on two primary areas; (1) verifying that the information in your application is true and correct and (2) that you can provide acceptable documentation to support the experience you claim in the application.

You will be required to produce acceptable documentation to prove that you have 48 full months of trade experience, at journeyman level or better in the trade/classification for which you applied. 'Journeyman' means an experienced worker in the trade who is fully qualified and is able to perform the trade without supervision. This experience must have been obtained within ten years from the date the application was received. Please refer to the ACCEPTABLE FORMS OF EXPERIENCE DOCUMENTATION sheet enclosed with your notification letter. The following information is in response to questions about the investigation process most commonly asked by applicants:

a)      Wage or tax documentation / information is used to verify the amount of time that you have been working in the trade/classification for which you have applied. Any official document reporting your wages may be acceptable. The document must clearly show that you have been working in the trade you have applied for, such as a W2 from a licensed contractor in the same classification, and must show that you earned sufficient wages to represent the experience detailed in your application at a reasonable pay rate for your area and trade. If the wage document does not clearly indicate the trade involved, a certificate in support of experience must accompany it from the employer. The Enforcement Representative will verify your journey level status with employers. If you are self employed your work experience will be verified with the persons who signed your certificates in support of experience and/or with persons for whom you have done work.

NOTE: An applicant may not receive more months of experience than the dates of employment reflect, nor may they receive more than 12 months in any calendar year, regardless of wages earned.

b)      Contracts submitted as evidence of experience must be complete, signed and accepted, and include a description of the work to be performed. Each contract must be accompanied by a statement indicating the start and end dates of the project and a reasonable estimate of the actual time you spent to complete the project, excluding delays for material delivery, weather, set-up or time spent on other concurrent projects.

c)      Material Receipts, Building Permits, and Canceled Checks (from the owner of the project) must be grouped by project, must be in chronological order and must be accompanied by a letter from the owner of the project The letter must state your duties in relationship to the project, the scope of the project, the start and stop dates of the project and whether or not you were working full-time on the project (full-time equals a minimum of seven hours per day, five days per week) Only material receipts for essential/major building material purchases related to the project should be submitted.

d)      Letters and Certificates of Experience are considered testimony; documentation to support such testimony is required.

e)      Pictures are NOT acceptable as documentation.

f)       Documents may be submitted by fax, mail, or private courier (i.e. FedEx). With the exception of notarized letters or certificates, please do not send original documents. Documentation submitted may not be returned. You may drop off documents at the Contractors State License Board, but do not expect to speak to the Representative assigned to your case without an appointment.

g)      This investigation does not affect your examination schedule. While the investigation is open, you may take or reschedule the examinations. Any examination issues should be addressed through the testing center contact number contained in your examination notification letter.

YOU, not the Contractors State License Board or your employer, are required to produce the documentation to support your claimed experience. If you do not have or cannot produce acceptable documentation within the allotted time, the Enforcement Representative must recommend the application be denied.

Application Investigation Unit, Contractors State License Board