ParseForge
California CSLB Contractor Scraper
parseforge/cslb-california-scraper
Developer toolsLead generationAutomation
Scrape licensed contractor information from the California CSLB website, filtered by city, ZIP, or license classification. Returns license status, classification, and contact details.
- Total users
- 96
- Monthly active
- 8
- Total runs
- 1.4K
- Bookmarked
- 4
- Rating
- 5.0 (2)
- Last modified
- 12 days ago
Overview
California CSLB Contractor Scraper
Scrape California licensed contractors from the CSLB public database, filtered by city, ZIP, or license classification. Each contractor record includes license status, classification, and contact details. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
The California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) keeps a public registry of every licensed contractor in the state, but browsing it manually is slow and the official search has no bulk export. This Actor reads the CSLB search results directly, filtered by city, ZIP code, or license classification, and returns each contractor as a clean, structured row.
| Who uses it | What they scrape CSLB for |
|---|---|
| Home service lead generators | Build lists of licensed contractors in a city to sell leads or run outreach. |
| Market researchers | Analyze the density of contractor types across California regions. |
| Compliance teams | Verify contractor license status and classifications for vendor onboarding. |
| Insurance underwriters | Assess the pool of licensed contractors in a geographic area for policy pricing. |
What it does
This Actor collects licensed contractor information from the California CSLB website, filtered by city, ZIP code, or license classification, and returns each contractor as a flat row.
- 📍 City filter: Enter a city name to get all licensed contractors in that city.
- 📮 ZIP code filter: Narrow results to a specific ZIP code for hyper-local lists.
- 🏷️ License classification filter: Choose from over 70 classifications, from general building to specialty trades.
Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.
What you can do with CSLB data
📈 Build lead lists for home services.
A marketing agency runs the scraper with a city filter to collect every licensed plumber or electrician in that area, then uses the list for targeted ad campaigns.
🔍 Verify contractor licenses.
A property manager checks the license status and classification of a contractor before hiring, using the CSLB data to confirm they are active and qualified.
📊 Analyze market saturation.
A business consultant pulls all contractors in a ZIP code to see how many competitors exist in a specific trade, informing market entry decisions.
🛡️ Screen vendors for compliance.
A construction firm's compliance officer uses the scraper to audit subcontractors, ensuring each holds the correct license classification and is in good standing.
Why choose this scraper
| What you get | |
|---|---|
| License status | Know if a contractor is active, suspended, or revoked before you engage them. |
| Classification | See exactly which trade the license covers, from A (General Engineering) to C-61 specialties. |
| Contact details | Get the contractor's business name, address, and phone number for outreach. |
| CSLB number | The unique license number for verification and record-keeping. |
How it compares
This Actor focuses on bulk scraping by city, ZIP, or classification, while the competitors offer different search methods.
| Feature | ParseForge | CSLB (Contractors State License Board) Scraper | CSLB Contractor License Scraper, Lookup & Verification API |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filter by city | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Filter by ZIP code | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Filter by license classification | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Search by license number | Not listed | Not listed | Yes |
| Search by business or personnel name | Not listed | Not listed | Yes |
| Includes bonds and workers' comp info | Not listed | Not listed | Yes |
Configure the run
Drive the Actor with a city, ZIP code, or license classification, alone or combined, and the scraper pulls matching contractors from the CSLB public database. The Input tab lists every parameter.
A first run with the defaults:
{
"maxItems": 10,
"city": "Los Angeles"
}
A larger pull:
{
"maxItems": 200,
"city": "Los Angeles"
}
Pricing
Pay-per-result: $0.025 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.
| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $2.50 |
| 1,000 results | $25.00 |
| 10,000 results | $250.00 |
New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.
Free users
Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect more results per run.
Run it
- Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
- Open the California CSLB Contractor Scraper.
- Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
- Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.
Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.
Use with AI agents (MCP)
Give an AI agent live access to CSLB through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/cslb-california-scraper"
Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.
Troubleshooting
Why am I getting no results?
Check that the city name is spelled correctly and that you haven't combined filters that exclude each other. Try a broader city or remove the ZIP code filter.
The run fails with a timeout error.
Large result sets can take longer. Reduce the maximum number of contractors or narrow your filters to speed up the run.
The data seems incomplete.
Some contractors may not have all fields populated in the CSLB database. The scraper returns what is available.
Can I scrape by license number?
This Actor does not support license number search. Use the CSLB Contractor License Scraper, Lookup & Verification API for that.
FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need an API key or login to use this scraper? | No, the CSLB public database is freely accessible, and this Actor reads it directly without any authentication. |
| Can I filter by both city and license classification at the same time? | Yes, you can combine the city, ZIP code, and license classification filters in one run to narrow down results. |
| What data fields are returned for each contractor? | The output includes the contractor's license number, business name, license status, classification, and contact information such as address and phone number. |
| How many contractors can I scrape in one run? | You can set the maximum number of contractors per run, up to 1,000,000, depending on your plan. |
| Is the data up to date? | The scraper pulls live data from the CSLB website at the time of the run, so it reflects the current public records. |
| Can I export the data to Excel? | Yes, the Actor supports export to CSV, JSON, Excel, and XML formats. |
| What if a city has no licensed contractors? | The run will return an empty dataset, and you can adjust your filters or try a different city. |
| Does this scraper work for all California cities? | Yes, as long as the city is in the CSLB database, the scraper can find contractors there. |
| Are there any legal restrictions on using this data? | The data is public information from a government website. You should still comply with CSLB's terms of use and applicable laws. |
| Can I schedule regular runs to keep my data fresh? | Yes, you can schedule the Actor to run periodically using Apify's scheduler feature. |
Related actors
Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.
🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.
⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Contractors State License Board. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.
Input
| Field | Type | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| maxItems | integer | Maximum number of contractors to collect per run. | 10 |
| city required | string | Filter results by city name. | Los Angeles |
| licenseClassification | string (78 options) | Select the type of contractor license classification to search for. | not set |
| zipCode | string | Filter results by ZIP code. | not set |
Pricing
from $21.00 per 1,000 results
| Charged for | What it is | Price each |
|---|---|---|
| Record | Charged once per row obtained | $0.021 to $0.025 |
| Actor Start | Charged when the Actor starts running. Number of events charged depends on Actor memory (one event per GB, minimum one event). | $0.005 to $0.0055 |
Tiered: the lower figure is the price on a higher Apify plan. Billing and the free credit live on Apify.
API
One POST returns the dataset directly. Same shape for every scraper in the library, so swapping the slug is the only change.
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/parseforge~cslb-california-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"helloWorld": 123
}' Examples
Input that runs as-is.
{
"helloWorld": 123
} Reviews
Rated 5.0 out of 5 across 2 reviews. Read them on Apify.
Issues
We build and maintain this scraper, so a problem with it comes to us. Report it on the Apify listing and the thread stays attached to the scraper where the next person can find it: open an issue.
Broken and urgent, or you would rather not post in public? Write to parseforge@protonmail.com and it reaches the people who wrote it.
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