DIR public works contractor registration: fees, renewal, and lapse penalties

What happens if you work without being registered

Under Labor Code section 1771.1(a), a contractor or subcontractor cannot be qualified to bid on, be listed in a bid proposal for, or perform a public works contract unless it is currently registered under section 1725.5. Break that rule and up to three parties can be penalized, each with its own cap. That is why you see both $8,000 and $10,000 quoted.

You: $100 a day, up to $8,000

Section 1771.1(g) applies when the Labor Commissioner or a designee determines that you performed public work without being registered. You forfeit $100 as a civil penalty to the state for each day of work performed in violation, up to an aggregate $8,000, in addition to any penalty registration fee. You reach the cap after 80 days of work. Subdivision (g) has no waiver language.

The penalty registration fee is separate. When you register after working unregistered, the disqualification is waived for a first violation in 12 months if you pay a $2,000 penalty registration fee under section 1725.5(a)(2)(E), on top of the $400 registration fee (DIR's FAQ). If the Labor Commissioner assessed the full per day amount, 30 days of unregistered work is $3,000, plus $2,000, plus $400, or $5,400 in all.

The Labor Commissioner issues the penalty as a civil wage and penalty assessment (subdivision (i)). You have 60 days after service to ask for review in writing, or it becomes final under section 1742(a). See appealing a penalty.

The contractor that hired you: $100 a day, up to $10,000

Section 1771.1(h)(1) penalizes a higher tiered contractor or subcontractor that subcontracts with an unregistered lower tier subcontractor: $100 for each day that sub performs work in violation, up to $10,000. The Labor Commissioner sets the amount using the standards in section 1775(a)(2)(A), which look at good faith mistakes that were promptly corrected and at any prior record. The Labor Commissioner may waive the penalty for a first violation that was unintentional and did not hinder enforcement (subdivision (h)(2)).

As the sub, you are not liable for that penalty, and the higher tier contractor cannot require you to indemnify it (subdivision (h)(4)). See the guides on the flow down clause and GC liability for a sub's violations.

The awarding body

The agency that owns the job faces $100 for each day it fails to give DIR notice of the contract or lets an unregistered contractor or subcontractor work, up to $10,000 for each project (section 1773.3(c)(1)). Section 1773.3(d) adds $100 per full calendar day, for up to 100 days, for each unregistered contractor or subcontractor found to have worked on the project, tied to final payment to the prime. None of it falls on you (section 1773.3(h)). The notice the agency files is covered in PWC-100 explained.

The stop order

Under section 1771.1(j), when a contractor performs public work without being registered, the Labor Commissioner must issue and serve a stop order. It bars the use of the unregistered contractor on all public works, not only the one job, until it is registered. It does not apply to work by registered contractors on the project.

• When it starts: on service. It can be handed to you, or signed copies can be left with the person apparently in charge at the site and mailed to your address on file with the Secretary of State or the Contractors State License Board, or to the site if you have none.
• Who can appeal: the party contracting with you, you, or both, under section 238.1(a).
• Your crew's pay: you pay each affected employee the regular hourly prevailing wage rate for the hours the employee would have worked, up to 10 days.
• Ignoring it: failing to observe a served stop order is a misdemeanor for the contractor, owner, director, officer, or managing agent, punishable by up to 60 days in county jail, a fine of up to $10,000, or both (subdivision (k)).

DIR's FAQ adds that unregistered contractors can be removed from any public works project they are working on.

Bids, listings, and contracts

• Bidding and listing. You cannot bid or be listed in a bid proposal unless you are currently registered (subdivision (a)). A bid authorized by Business and Professions Code section 7029.1 or Public Contract Code section 10164 or 20103.5 is not a violation if you are registered when the contract is awarded. DIR's FAQ gives federally funded projects and joint venture bids as examples.
• Proof. Bid invitations and public works contracts must carry notice of the requirement, and no bid may be accepted, and no contract or subcontract entered into, without proof of your current registration (subdivision (b)).
• A listing mistake. An inadvertent error in listing an unregistered sub is not grounds for a bid protest or for calling the bid nonresponsive if the sub registers before bid opening, registers and pays the penalty registration fee within 24 hours after opening, or is replaced under Public Contract Code section 4107 (subdivision (c)).
• Substitution and the contract. A sub's failure to register is grounds for the contractor, with the awarding authority's consent, to substitute a registered sub (subdivision (d)). A contract with an unregistered contractor is subject to cancellation, but it is not unlawful, void, or voidable solely because of the registration failure (subdivision (f)).

Which jobs it covers

Section 1771.1(n) exempts work on a public works project of $25,000 or less for construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair, or $15,000 or less for maintenance. Section 1725.5(f) exempts the same projects from registration. DIR's FAQ says the amount is for the entire contract between the awarding body and the prime contractor, so a small subcontract on a larger job is not exempt. Those contractors still keep their section 1776 records for at least three years after the work (Labor Code 1771.4(a)(4)) and give them to the Labor Commissioner on request (DIR's FAQ). More in which small jobs are exempt.

What it costs

Public works contractors register or renew for one, two, or three fiscal years, July 1 to June 30, for a fee of $400, $800, or $1,200. Registering for three years costs the same per year and removes two renewal deadlines.

The statute does not write the annual fee in. Under section 1725.5(a)(1)(A) as it reads from July 1, 2026, the director can set fees of up to $800 by publishing them on DIR's website. From January 1, 2027, SB 909 raises that cap to $1,000, but DIR still sets the actual fee by publishing it (see what SB 909 changes). DIR's renewal guide shows $400 per fiscal year, with any penalty added. The $2,000 penalty registration fee, by contrast, is written into the statute.

Who qualifies

DIR's page lists the conditions, including that the contractor must not have any delinquent unpaid wage or penalty assessments owed to any employee or enforcement agency, and must not be in prior violation of the registration requirement, with an allowance for a first violation in a 12 month period on payment of an additional penalty. Read the current list on DIR's page before applying; it is the primary source.

The statute behind that list is section 1725.5(a)(2). You must show workers' compensation coverage (a current certificate of insurance or a certification of self-insurance); a contractor's license if one applies to your trade; no delinquent liability for back wages, damages, interest, fines, or penalties under a final judgment, order, or determination (one under appeal does not disqualify you if payment is secured by a bond or other appropriate means); no current debarment under Labor Code section 1777.1 or other law; and no unregistered bidding, listing, or work in the preceding 12 months, except for a first violation on payment of the $2,000 penalty registration fee.

What a lapse costs

• First time registration: a $2,000 penalty applies when a contractor registering for the first time bid on, was awarded, or worked on a public works project in the past 12 months while unregistered.
• Late renewal, July 1 to September 30: if the contractor bid on, was awarded, or worked on a public works project after registration expired, the penalty is $400 when the lapse was accidental and $2,000 when it was not.
• Renewal after September 30, or reactivation: a $2,000 penalty applies when the contractor did any of those things in the past 12 months while unregistered.
• A second violation within 12 months: the $2,000 route is for a first violation. DIR says contractors found in violation of the registration requirement twice in 12 months can be disqualified from public works for up to 12 months at a time.

The late renewal rule is in section 1725.5(c). If you do not pay the renewal fee by the expiration, you may not bid on or perform public work until you are registered again. If the lapse was inadvertent, you can renew retroactively by paying a penalty renewal fee equal to the renewal fee within 90 days of the due date, which DIR's FAQ calls a 90-day grace period. These are registration charges. The civil penalties in section 1771.1(g) are separate and apply in addition to any penalty registration fee.

How to register or renew

You do it yourself on DIR's Public Works Website Services portal at services.dir.ca.gov/pw. DIR says that if you have not created a new account since May 24, 2024, you must create a new account for your contractor there.

1. Create the account and the contractor. Sign up, choose "I am a contractor," and create a new business. DIR's new contractor guide lists the required fields, including DBA information, legal entity type and name, SOS number, and TIN. After you verify your email, your PWCR number is generated and shows on your dashboard.
2. Open the Contractor Registration form. DIR's renewal guide shows its sections: General Information, Certification, Workers Compensation, Agent of Service, Period and Payment, and Penalty of Perjury.
3. Answer the certification questions yourself. They cover delinquent liabilities, debarment status, prior penalties, and unpermitted public works activity. DIR's FAQ says some fees are added automatically when you answer yes about penalized activity, such as working on public works without a registration.
4. Pick one, two, or three fiscal years. The dates fill in from your choice, and the guide shows $400 per fiscal year with any penalty added.
5. Certify and pay. DIR says credit card payments can be processed within 24 hours, and other forms of payment can delay registration up to eight weeks. Your dashboard then shows Registration Status as Approved with your period dates.

Check a sub's registration before it starts

If you hire subs, the up to $10,000 penalty under 1771.1(h)(1) falls on you, not on them. DIR's Contractors page links a Public Works Contractor Registration Search that lists public works contractors with an active registration, and section 1771.1(e) requires DIR to keep a list of contractors currently registered. Look up each sub before its first day, keep a dated copy, and look again each July, because registration runs July 1 to June 30. DIR's eligibility list for registering also includes only using registered subcontractors.

Why certified payroll depends on it

The eCPR record has a PWCR field for your public works contractor registration. DIR's eCPR XML guideline (version 1.10, January 2016) tells a contractor that has not registered to enter NA in the PWCR field. The statute treats registration and payroll records together: an unregistered contractor working on a project where registration is not required must still keep the section 1776 records for at least three years after completion (Labor Code 1771.4(a)(4)). And a registered contractor on a covered project furnishes those records electronically to the Labor Commissioner at least every 30 days (section 1771.4(a)(3)).

Set the reminder

Registration expires June 30 no matter when in the year you registered, per DIR's FAQ. Put the renewal on the calendar in May. If you renew between July 1 and September 30 after bidding on, being awarded, or working on public works while lapsed, DIR lists a $400 penalty when the lapse was accidental and $2,000 when it was not. Under section 1725.5(c), you cannot bid on or perform public work until you are registered again. We check your registration status at setup.

Questions