California CSLB Scraper — Contractor Licenses

Scrape the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) public database for full contractor license records. Search by license number, business name, personnel name, or ZIP code — get status, all classifications, bonds, workers' comp, disciplinary actions, personnel, and full contact details in structured JSON.

Use cases

• Contractor verification — confirm a contractor is licensed and in good standing before hiring
• Compliance monitoring — detect newly expired, suspended, or revoked licenses for vendor lists on recurring schedules
• Lead generation — build targeted lists of licensed contractors by ZIP code, city, classification, or active status
• Subcontractor sourcing — find qualified subcontractors by specialty classification and region
• Insurance underwriting — score contractors using disciplinary actions, bond cancellation history, and workers' comp status
• Due diligence — check complaint and legal action history before signing contracts
• Market research — analyze contractor density by county/classification, track new-license issuance trends

Input

The actor supports four search modes. Use any one or combine multiple:

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
licenseNumbers	array	no	[]	Direct license-number lookup (fastest). Example: ["1000001", "812345"]
businessName	string	no	""	Full or partial business name. Example: "Smith Construction"
personnelLastName	string	no	""	Last name of license-holding individual
personnelFirstName	string	no	""	Optional first name to narrow personnel search
zipCodes	array	no	[]	California ZIP codes for region-based search. Example: ["92101", "90012"]
city	string	no	""	Client-side filter on business address city
classification	string	no	""	Filter by CSLB classification code (e.g. "C-10", "B")
status	select	no	"any"	Filter by license status: any, active, expired, suspended, revoked, canceled, inactive
maxResults	integer	no	100	Hard cap on records returned
customProxyUrl	string	no	""	Premium residential proxy URL for maximum reliability
proxyConfiguration	object	no	residential	Apify proxy settings

At least one search mode is required.

Example inputs

License number lookup:

{
    "licenseNumbers": ["842951", "1000001"],
    "maxResults": 2
}

Business name search:

{
    "businessName": "Pacific Construction",
    "status": "active",
    "maxResults": 50
}

ZIP code lead generation:

{
    "zipCodes": ["92101", "92102"],
    "classification": "C-20",
    "status": "active",
    "maxResults": 200
}

Personnel name search:

{
    "personnelLastName": "Smith",
    "personnelFirstName": "John",
    "maxResults": 25
}

Output

Each record contains the full public record for one contractor license:

Field	Type	Description
license_number	string	CSLB license number
business_name	string	Legal business name
license_status	string	Active, Expired, Suspended, Revoked, Canceled, or Inactive
entity_type	string|null	CORPORATION, LLC, SOLE OWNER, etc.
issue_date	string|null	Original license issue date (ISO 8601)
expiration_date	string|null	License expiration date (ISO 8601)
business_address	string|null	Full street address
city	string|null	Business address city
county	string|null	California county (derived from ZIP)
zip_code	string|null	Business address ZIP
business_phone	string|null	Business phone number
classifications	array	All license classifications [{code, description}]
bonds	array	All bonds: contractor's bond, qualifier bond [{type, company, amount_usd, bond_number, effective_date, cancellation_date}]
workers_comp	object|null	Workers' comp carrier, policy, dates, or exempt status
qualifiers	array	Qualifying individuals [{name, association}]
personnel	array	All listed personnel [{name, classification, license_number, status}]
disciplinary_actions	array	Disciplinary actions [{date, type, summary}]
administrative_actions	array	Administrative actions [{date, type, summary}]
detail_url	string	Direct CSLB detail page link
scraped_at	string	ISO 8601 timestamp
source_url	string	Source page URL

Pricing

Event	Price
Actor Start	$0.00005
License Record	$0.025 per record

You only pay for records successfully scraped. Start with a small maxResults to test before scaling.

Technical notes

• Residential proxy required: CSLB's F5 BIG-IP WAF blocklists datacenter IPs. The actor uses Apify residential proxy by default. For production bulk runs, provide a premium residential proxy via customProxyUrl (Decodo/Bright Data/IPRoyal) for maximum reliability.
• Scheduled downtime: The CSLB database is unavailable Sundays 8 PM through Monday 6 AM Pacific Time. Avoid scheduling runs during this window.
• Search limits: Business name searches return up to 50 names per page (pagination handled automatically). Personnel name searches return up to 100 names per page.
• Classification codes: See the CSLB classification list for all 40+ specialty codes.

Integration

Export scraped data, run the scraper via API, schedule and monitor runs, or integrate with other tools. The output dataset is compatible with:

• CSV/JSON/Excel export from Apify Console
• Zapier and Make webhooks
• Direct API access via Apify REST API
• CRM import (HubSpot, Salesforce) with field mapping
• AI agent tool calls via Apify MCP server

What is California CSLB Scraper?

California CSLB Scraper turns the target data into structured, reusable results on Apify. Use it when you need repeatable collection for sales teams, agencies, recruiters, market researchers, and data-enrichment workflows without maintaining a custom scraper or one-off integration. Run it manually, schedule recurring jobs, call it through the Apify API, or connect it to an AI agent through the Apify MCP server.

The Actor stores results in an Apify dataset, where they can be previewed and exported as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or RSS. Availability and completeness depend on the source, supplied inputs, public visibility, authentication requirements, and upstream rate limits.

Use cases for California CSLB Scraper

• Build structured datasets for research, reporting, enrichment, or monitoring.
• Automate repetitive collection with schedules, webhooks, and API calls.
• Feed clean records into spreadsheets, databases, CRMs, BI tools, AI agents, or RAG pipelines.
• Track changes over time by running the same validated input on a schedule.
• Replace fragile manual copy-and-paste work with a reproducible Apify workflow.

How to use California CSLB Scraper

1. Open the Actor input page and choose a focused, valid target.
2. Set a conservative result limit for the first run.
3. Start the Actor and inspect the dataset for coverage and field availability.
4. Export the results or connect the dataset to your downstream system.
5. Scale gradually and use scheduling, pagination, or proxies when supported.

Important input options

• licenseNumbers — Look up specific CSLB license numbers (e.g. '1000001', '812345'). Fastest search method — direct single-record lookup, no pagination. Use this field when the user provides exact license numb
• businessName — Full or partial contractor business name. CSLB matches case-insensitively against the legal business name AND associated personnel/owner names — so 'Smith' returns both 'Smith Construction C
• personnelLastName — Last name of an individual on a contractor license (owner, officer, or qualifier). Use this field together with personnelFirstName to search by person. Returns up to 100 names per search; pa
• personnelFirstName — Optional first name to narrow a personnel-name search. Only applies when personnelLastName is set. Leave blank to search by last name only (returns more results).
• zipCodes — List of 5-digit California ZIP codes (e.g. '92101', '90012') to find licensed contractors in each area. Use this when the user wants contractors by region or for building territory-based lea
• city — Filter results to a specific California city (e.g. 'San Diego', 'Los Angeles'). Applied as a client-side filter on the business address city. Use this to narrow ZIP-code or business-name sea
• classification — Filter results to a specific CSLB classification code. Common codes: 'A' (General Engineering), 'B' (General Building), 'C-10' (Electrical), 'C-36' (Plumbing), 'C-20' (HVAC), 'C-33' (Paintin
• status — Filter results by current license status. 'Active' is the common choice for lead-generation and insurance use cases. 'Any' returns all records regardless of status.

API and automation example

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('muhammadafzal/cslb-california-scraper').call({
  // Add the same input fields you use in the Apify Console.
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

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Frequently asked questions

How many results can I scrape with California CSLB Scraper?

The practical total depends on the source, input limits, pagination, available records, run timeout, and upstream restrictions. Start with a small run, verify the output, and increase the limit gradually.

Can I integrate California CSLB Scraper with other apps?

Yes. Use Apify integrations, webhooks, schedules, dataset exports, Make, Zapier, Google Sheets, cloud storage, or your own application.

Can I use California CSLB Scraper with the Apify API?

Yes. Start runs with the Apify REST API or an official Apify client, then retrieve records from the run's default dataset. Keep your API token in a secret or environment variable.

Can I use California CSLB Scraper through an MCP Server?

Yes. The Apify MCP server can expose the Actor to compatible AI clients and agents. Review the input and expected cost before allowing an autonomous workflow to run it at scale.

Do I need proxies?

It depends on the source and volume. Use the default configuration first. For larger or geographically sensitive jobs, select an appropriate proxy configuration only when the Actor supports it.

Is it legal to scrape this data?

Scraping rules vary by source, jurisdiction, data type, and intended use. Collect only data you are authorized to access, respect applicable terms and privacy laws, and avoid restricted or personal data misuse. This documentation is not legal advice.

Your feedback

If a field is missing, a source layout has changed, or you need a supported use case documented, open an issue on the Actor page with a reproducible input and run ID.