Handyman repairs: small fixes, punch lists and the $1,000 line

Can a handyman do this job without a license?

Only when the job is small and simple. Since January 1, 2025, an unlicensed handyperson in California may take work worth less than $1,000 in total, counting labor and materials together, as long as the work needs no permit of any kind and the handyperson hires no one to help. If any one of those three conditions fails, the work needs a licensed contractor, even when the bill is under $1,000.

That comes from the Contractors State License Board's bulletin on AB 2622, which raised the old $500 limit. The same bulletin says that a handyperson who advertises must state in the ad that they are not licensed, and that someone who claims to be licensed or qualified as a contractor cannot lean on the small-job exemption at all. For the wider picture on license types and how to look one up, see our page on checking a contractor's license in California.

What kind of work fits a handyman visit?

The jobs that suit a handyperson are the ones that replace or adjust something without changing how the house is built or wired. Typical examples people ask about:

• Doors that stick, rub or will not latch; new hinges, strike plates, door stops and weatherstripping.
• Hanging shelves, mirrors, curtain rods, blinds, pictures and a TV mount on a wall that can hold it.
• Small drywall dings and nail holes, caulking around a tub or sink, regrouting a few loose tiles.
• Putting together furniture, replacing a cabinet hinge or a drawer slide, swapping a cabinet pull.
• Replacing a toilet flapper or a faucet cartridge with the same part, clearing a slow sink trap.
• Fence boards, gate latches, a loose stair rail on a deck, touch-up paint on trim.

What usually does not fit: new circuits, moving outlets or switches, a new water heater, gas lines, moving a wall, a new window opening, anything structural, and roof work. Those almost always need a permit, and a permit means a licensed contractor.

How do you know whether your list counts as one job?

Add it up the way the bulletin does: the whole project, labor plus every part and material. If your punch list of ten small items comes to more than $1,000 when it is all done together, it is no longer a small job, and the honest path is a licensed contractor for the whole list rather than several separate bills.

A practical way to think about it is one visit, one scope. Write down everything you want done before anyone comes out, ask for one written price for all of it, and look at the total. When one item on the list turns out to need a permit, such as an outlet that has to move, pull that item out and give it to a licensed electrician; the rest of the list may still be fine for a handyperson.

When the total is close to the line, or you are not sure whether a piece of work needs a permit, call your city's building department and ask before work starts. It costs nothing and the answer is local.

What to have ready before you call

• The full list, one line per item, with the room it is in. "Bathroom: towel bar loose; caulk around tub cracked" is plenty.
• A photo of each item, and of any part that needs replacing, with the brand or model number if you can see it.
• Whether you already bought the parts, or want the handyperson to bring them.
• What the wall is made of where something will hang: drywall, plaster, tile or brick, if you know.
• Whether you rent or own. A renter usually needs the landlord's okay first.
• Any item where water is leaking right now, so it goes to the top of the list.

When the punch list is really a remodel

Some lists grow. A loose tile turns out to sit on a soft subfloor, a slow drain points to a cracked pipe inside the wall, a sagging cabinet means the wall behind it is wet. Once a repair opens a wall or floor, touches the wiring or plumbing behind it, or reaches the $1,000 mark, it has moved past handyman territory.

That is not bad news; it just changes who you call. A job with more than two unrelated trades fits a contractor with a B, General Building license, who may do the work or bring in specialty contractors. A single trade fits that trade's license, such as plumbing or electrical. Once a licensed contractor is involved, California has firm rules on the written contract and the down payment, which our page on home improvement contracts walks through.

Questions to ask a handyperson before they start

• Will you work alone on this, or bring a helper? A helper means a license is needed.
• Does any item on my list need a permit?
• What is the total for everything, parts included?
• If you open a wall or find a hidden problem, will you stop and tell me before going on?
• Do you carry liability coverage in case something gets damaged?
• Will you haul away the old parts and packaging?

Someone who calls themselves a licensed contractor should be able to give you a license number on the spot. Look it up with CSLB before you agree to anything. In Texas the small-job rule above is not the test; there, check any electrical or plumbing part with the state board for that trade, and ask whether the city needs the handyperson registered before a permit. Our Texas guide lists both.

What we do, and what we don't

Our part is the conversation. You send the list, free of charge, and we get back to you by phone or email to go through it item by item: what looks like a quick fix, what may need a permit, and which kind of licensed contractor fits the parts that go past a handyman visit. We are not a handyman service or a contractor. No one from Contractor Near Me comes to your home, does the repairs, sets a price, holds a license or speaks for the person you end up hiring. Please check anyone you hire yourself.

Sources: CSLB, License Requirement for Minor Work Increases from $500 to $1,000 (bulletin #24-07, 2024); CSLB, What Type of Contractor Do I Need?; CSLB, Check A License.