How to check a pool builder

Look up the license

Use the Contractors State License Board license check. It is also the lookup for a home improvement salesperson registration. For swimming pool construction, the CSLB C-53 classification is Swimming Pool Contractor. That page says a swimming pool contractor constructs swimming pools, spas, or hot tubs. Confirm the license is active, and confirm the classification covers the work you are hiring, before you sign.

A directory listing, a social post, or a chamber page is not the license record. The CSLB page is.

This site does not name a builder yet. When one is named, you should still look up the number yourself. Steps for how the referral works are on how this service works.

The license number belongs on the ad

Business and Professions Code section 7030.5 requires a licensee to show the license number in advertising. CSLB rules (16 CCR 861) count electronic ads as advertising. The CSLB marketplace fast facts cite that rule. If a written price or a contract has no number, ask why before you sign.

The person who sells the contract

Section 7152 requires anyone who solicits, sells, negotiates, or executes a home improvement contract for a contractor to be a registered home improvement salesperson. Section 7152(a) names swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs. There is an exemption for a person who only schedules appointments for a registered salesperson.

Temecula Pool Guide routes your call so you can set a visit with a licensed pool builder. We do not sell, negotiate, or sign the contract. Ask who will sign the contract on the builder's side, and look that person up.

Your contract is with the builder

Section 7159 is the home improvement contract statute. It applies to the builder's contract with you, not to this referral. Prices on this site are contractor estimates for planning. They are not offers. You should pay the builder under your contract with them. Do not pay Temecula Pool Guide for the pool.

Why this site does not offer to build the pool

Section 7027.1 restricts advertising for construction by someone who is not licensed in that classification. Advertising includes electronic pages. The fine named in that section is $700 to $1,000. That is one reason this brand is a guide and a referral, not a builder.

The CSLB's fast facts on online home improvement marketplaces say contractor referral services are legal in California, within limits. A referral service may not solicit or negotiate the contract for a builder, and may not offer to do the construction itself or through others. It may point you to a licensed builder. You should contract with that builder and pay that builder directly.

A short checklist

1. License number, from the CSLB check, showing active.
2. Classification that covers swimming pool work. The CSLB C-53 page names that classification Swimming Pool Contractor.
3. The same number on the ad, the written price, and the contract.
4. Home improvement salesperson registration for the person who sells or signs the contract.
5. Permit pulled in the builder's name. Offices are listed in the permit guide.
6. A written price you can compare with the cost guide, knowing those ranges are estimates.