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If you’re an Oregon contractor, then there is some good news for you. You don’t have to renew your Construction Contractors Board (CCB) license every year. You can renew every two years from the date when it was originally issued. The expiration date is shown on the license itself.
A license is required for carrying out contracting activities and also for submitting bids for a contracting activity. There are strict laws regarding contractors in Oregon and penalties for contractors who don’t follow the rules.
- A fine of $600 for submitting a bid or advertising as a contractor without a license
- A fine of $700 for submitting a bid or working with an inactive license
- A fine of $5,000 for causing damage while working without a license
- A fine of $5,000 for working as a contractor with a lapsed license and if you’re a repeat offender
Generally, a renewal notice is sent to license holders about six weeks before the license expiration date, but there may be instances when an individual may not receive a notice. Whatever the case may be, renewal and some specific hours of continuing education (CE) are mandatory. The CE course has to be completed before the renewal application is submitted.
Requirements for Receiving Renewal Notice
- Provide your updated contact information to the CCB. According to Oregon state law, CCB should be informed in case of any change of address, phone number, or mail id within 10 days.
- The change can be sent by filling out and submitting the Change Request Form.
- You can also make the changes on your own through the online service portal of CCB.
- If all the updates have been made, but you didn’t receive a renewal notice, you have to call the office of the CCB.
Oregon Contractor Continuing Education Course
For all students, it’s be compulsory to complete 3 hours of CE course on Business Laws and Regulations. This is provided exclusively by the CCB.
You can choose from the several CCB approved online CE courses offered by providers or instructors. They cover all the topics of CE education as required by CCB. The topics include:
- Trade course
- Business course
- Safety course
There are 5-hour packages of CE approved by CCB. The packages consist of two courses, and each is broken up into 2.5 hours duration.
- The first course is on digital marketing. You’ll learn about the processes of increasing your online presence, getting more revenue, the importance of digital marketing for a business, and steps to get started.
- The second course is about project management where you’ll learn about important techniques related to managing projects from industry experts, the basic concepts and systems related to project management, and sample plans to help you understand them.
Before going for a CE course, you should understand which particular course you have to complete depending on whether you’re a residential or a commercial contractor.
Residential Contractors
You have to complete the course every two years if you’re a license holder. You may be exempted from the course under special consideration.
- If you’re licensed for 6 years or more, then you have to complete a total of 8 hours of CE course.
- If you’re licensed for less than 6 years, then the CE requirements are a total of 16 hours.
Out of the total hours, 3 hours of CE must be taught by CCB to both categories of residential contractors, and the balance hours of CE may be completed by enrolling for a CCB approved course.
Commercial Contractors
Contractors who have a license for working on both residential and commercial projects can go for only the commercial CE (CCE) course. This course has to be taken by key employees of a business. The key employee may be the owner of a business or an employee. The key employees who are eligible for CCE are:
- Managers
- Superintendents
- A lead person
- A foreperson
- A corporate officer
- An individual who supervises the construction activities
The CCE may be taken up by any one key employee or multiple key employees of a business. For more than one key employee, the hours of education would be as follows:
- Commercial Contractor Level 1 License: In the case of one key employee, the CCE hours would be 16 hours. For more than one employee, the number of CCE hours required would increase proportionately. The number of key employees greater than or equal to five has to complete 80 hours of CCE.
- Commercial Contractor Level 2 License: For any of the key employees, the CCE hours required would be 32 hours.
Apart from providing the requirements for Oregon contractor continuing education, the courses would also prepare you to be successful in your business and increase your earnings.
