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In 2017, the CCB temporarily reduced its new application and renewal fee from $325 to $250. The original fee reduction was scheduled to expire in 2019, but was extended for another two years. The temporary fee reduction is now due to expire at the end of June 2021. As of July 1, 2021, the CCB fee for a new application or renewal will return to the pre-2017 rate of $325 for a two-year license. This rate will apply to:
- All new applications submitted on or after July 1 2021;
- All renewal dates that fall on or after July 1, 2021, regardless of whether the renewal is submitted prior to July 1.
CCB Live Webinars Scheduled for May, June and July! Next One Is Tomorrow - Get Signed Up!
CCB’s live 3-hour webinars are scheduled for May, June and July. You can find these classes on our website: https://www.oregon.gov/ccb/Pages/ccbclasses.aspx
All classes are free. Sign up today!
Classes fill up quickly. If the class you want is full, try another day. We will continue to add classes throughout the year.
Residential contractors are required to take 3 hours of CCB laws, regulations and business practices (LRB) classes every two years in order to renew their license. These new webinars fulfill that requirement. If you’re unable to take a live webinar, you can still fulfill your 3 hour LRB requirement by taking on-demand classes through your online services account: https://portal.ccb.state.or.us/
Unable to take classes through an online services account? CCB education section has solutions and can help. Call today at 503-934-2227 or email at ccbeducation@ccb.state.or.us.
Many businesses experience cyclical slowdowns and are forced to make tough staffing decisions that can include layoffs. When employees experience a reduction in hours, they are often encouraged to file for unemployment benefits. Unfortunately, it can take a substantial reduction in hours for someone to be eligible to receive benefits while still working. That’s where Work Share comes in.
For more than 35 years, Oregon Work Share has been helping businesses avoid wide scale layoffs while retaining talent during a temporary decline in business. The Work Share program allows employers to leverage unemployment insurance to temporarily supplement a portion of staff’s lost wages when their hours are reduced.
Any Oregon business with at least 3 employees, who have been employed for 6 months full-time or 12 months part-time, and whose hours are reduced 20-40% can supplement those lost earnings with an equal percentage of their weekly benefit amount.
If you are interested in learning more about how Work Share can help support your business and help you maintain your valued employees, please reach out to Work Share at www.oregonworkshare.org or by phone at 503-947-1800.
To have an active license, contractors must have a current insurance certificate on file at the CCB. Don’t assume your insurance document is current with the agency – check it to be sure!
The fastest, easiest way to check the expiration date of the insurance document on file at CCB is to look up your own license on the contractor search feature on our website at http://search.ccb.state.or.us/search/ , then click on the “license details” link to see your insurance certificate expiration date. If you have an online services account, you can also find this information there. Log in at https://portal.ccb.state.or.us/
If you’re sending a paper certificate to the agency, CCB needs at least 10 business days to process the document. For faster processing times, ask your insurance agent to sign up for access to our e-proof system, which allows insurance agents to send electronic certificates to the agency!
Learn more about e-proof here: https://www.oregon.gov/ccb/licensing/Pages/liabilityinsurersport.aspx
Renewal takes longer than you might think. Waiting until the last minute could lead to extra stress and even an expired license. Get started weeks in advance to avoid the rush and potential license expiration. Once your renewal is submitted to the agency, it will take time to process. If you submit your renewal at the last minute, it may expire before it is renewed.
1. Finish your continuing education. Get started weeks or months in advance to avoid a last-minute panic!
- Residential contractors licensed for less than 6 years must complete 13 hours of pre-approved other provider credit and 3 hours of CCB credit to renew their license.
- Residential contractors licensed for 6 years or more must complete 5 hours of pre-approved other provider credit and 3 hours of CCB credit to renew their license.
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Commercial Level 1 contractors must complete continuing education based on their number of key employees. Commercial Level 2 contractors must complete 32 hours of continuing education. Commercial contractor continuing education does not need to come from pre-approved providers.
- Some contractors are exempt from continuing education. The list of exempt contractors is located on our website.
- Call CCB Education section with questions. 503-934-2227.
2. Create your online services account at https://portal.ccb.state.or.us/ to make renewal faster and more efficient.
- Renew your license through the portal. You can also use your online services account to take 3 hours of CCB LRB credit and track your continuing education .
- Visit the “Am I ready to renew?” tab to start your online renewal.
- Update your business information.
- Pay the registration fee.
3. Update your registration with Secretary of State.
4. Watch for your CCB renewal reminder postcard in the mail.
- Contractors are able to renew their license as early as 8 weeks before their expiration date.
- We’ll send the postcard about two months before your license is due to expire.
- Once you receive the card, you’re eligible to renew your license.
- Did your business move? Update your address through the “business activities” tab in your online services account, to ensure the postcard is sent to the right address.
5. Sign up to watch your license in e-watch. Get instant notification if your CCB license expires!
- Click on the e-watch link, located in the left-hand navigation in your online services account.
- Follow the instructions on the “information” tab to sign up to monitor any contractor’s license – including your own.
- You’ll get an email if your license is suspended or expires.
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Tip: you can also use E-watch to monitor licenses of subcontractors on your jobsite to help you stay in compliance.
Call the agency at 503-378-4621 if you have questions.
As the summer home improvement season gets started, this is a good time to brush up on your communication and customer service skills. Many disputes between contractors and homeowners comes down to differing expectations and miscommunications.
Put It In Writing
The single-best way to avoid problems is to commit project details to writing. Written contracts are required when the bid is over $2,000, but we recommend a written contract regardless of price. By putting everything in writing, you set yourself (and your clients) up for success!
Use contracts to set expectations. Include:
- Change order information
- Disposal of old material
- Permit information
- Homeowner expectations (clear the area before project begins)
- Information about lead-based paint testing, asbestos testing
- 3 required notices
If you use a contract you purchased or downloaded, make sure it contains all required elements. You may want an attorney to review the form. If possible, use an attorney who specializes in construction.
More Communications Best Practices
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Reach a complete meeting of the minds before you start work. Don’t push off hard conversations about the scope of work until after the project begins – have those difficult conversations up front. Reach a complete meeting of minds. If the homeowner doesn’t like the reality of the job, those conversations won’t get any easier if you wait until after the contract is signed.
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Make yourself accessible. Talk to your customer throughout the project. Return phone calls. Although it may be tempting to ignore an upset customer, return the call anyway. The problem probably won’t go away, and it can get worse the longer you wait.
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If you make a mistake, admit it. Create a plan of correction, and don’t delay. Turn a potentially unhappy customer into someone who recommends you. Everyone gets complaints. Successful contractors resolve them.
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Keep a record of conversations. Make a paper trail; take notes as you are on the phone. Keep a job journal. Document conversations (date, topic). In mediation, arbitration or courtroom, documentation is crucial. It makes you appear more competent, professional and credible!
Want some more resources for resolving and preventing disputes? Check out the Residential Contractor’s Guide to Preventing and Resolving Disputes on our website.
You want homeowners to hire you over unlicensed contractors, right?
At CCB, we want that too – we want homeowners to hire licensed contractors. That’s why we’re always looking for new ways to educate homeowners about the value of hiring a licensed contractor.
You can help us with this goal. Encourage homeowners to look up your license on the CCB’s website: http://search.ccb.state.or.us/search/
Many homeowners are unaware that they can check their contractor’s license online, and furthermore, they don’t know why they should. You can let them know that licensed contractors:
- Have a history you can check
- Have insurance and a bond
- Take a test and complete continuing education for every renewal cycle
You know why homeowners should hire you over the unlicensed contractors, but they might not. Help them out – and help yourself out in the process!
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