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Monthly report · baseline editionLos Angeles County plumbing and HVAC contractor licenses: October 2026
A snapshot of California's Contractors State License Board (CSLB) public license file, as of October 22, 2026. This is our baseline. Starting next month we will add month-over-month changes.
The numbers
| Plumbing (C-36) | HVAC (C-20) | |
|---|---|---|
| Licenses in the file with a Los Angeles County address | 4,867 | 3,019 |
| Active, in good standing, no flags | 4,504 | 2,748 |
| Licenses with a suspension or other non-clear status | 220 | 146 |
| Active but carrying a status flag (e.g. pending items) | 143 | 125 |
| Active licenses first issued in the last 30 days | 34 | 17 |
| Active licenses first issued in the last 12 months | 323 | 212 |
| Active licenses expiring in the next 60 days | 167 | 88 |
| Median time licensed (active) | 13.2 years | 11.3 years |
| Active licenses held 10+ years | 2,568 (57%) | 1,461 (53%) |
| Active: corporations | 2,348 | 1,644 |
| Active: sole owners | 1,973 | 964 |
| Active: LLCs | 150 | 122 |
Where they are
Plumbing: Los Angeles (636), Glendale (157), Long Beach (138), Van Nuys (131), Burbank (125).
HVAC: Los Angeles (249), Glendale (118), Van Nuys (68), Long Beach (67), Lancaster (65).
City counts use the mailing city on the license, which may differ from where the contractor works.
Why licenses show as suspended
Most non-clear plumbing licenses show a contractor bond suspension (130) or a workers' compensation suspension (48). For HVAC the largest group is workers' compensation (101). These are mostly administrative lapses in required insurance or bonding, and a lapse can be fixed. We do not publish business names in this report. Check any contractor on the CSLB license check before you hire.
What stands out
- Both trades are made up of long-established businesses: the median active plumbing license is 13.2 years old and HVAC 11.3 years.
- New entrants are steady: 323 new plumbing and 212 new HVAC licenses were issued in the past 12 months.
- Roughly 44% of active plumbing licenses and 35% of HVAC licenses are held by sole owners, so many jobs are done by very small businesses.
Method and limits
Source: the CSLB Public Data Portal "Master List of California Licensed Contractors," downloaded October 22, 2026. We counted licenses with a Los Angeles County address that hold the C-36 (plumbing) or C-20 (HVAC) classification. "Active" means a primary status of Clear with no secondary status flag. A contractor holding both classifications appears in both columns. License data changes daily, so treat these as a snapshot. Corrections: info@cmmad.com.
Browse the full lists: LA County plumbers · LA County HVAC contractors.