CCB Renewal: Fees, Bond, Continuing Ed, and Lapses

Oregon CCB renewal requirements come due every two years and center on four things: a $400 fee, an active surety bond, current general liability insurance, and the continuing education that applies to your license type. The Construction Contractors Board opens its online portal up to eight weeks before your expiration date, and filing early does not shorten your next cycle, so there is no reason to wait.¹ Miss the window and the costs stack up fast, from civil penalties to the loss of your right to file a construction lien.

Fee and Renewal Window

The renewal fee is $400 for a two-year term and applies to every license type, residential or commercial. It rose from $325 on July 1, 2024.² Your license runs two years from its issue date unless revoked or suspended, and the expiration date does not move based on when you file. If you need to pause work, you can convert to inactive status, which keeps the license on record but drops the bond and insurance requirements. An inactive license cannot be used to bid, pull permits, or do any construction work, and you can only place a license on inactive status once per two-year term.³

Bond and Insurance You Must Have on File

Every active contractor must carry a surety bond and general liability insurance, and the board verifies both with the carriers at renewal.⁴ Required amounts depend on your endorsement.

For residential endorsements:⁵

Residential general contractor: $25,000 bond, $500,000 liability minimum.
Residential specialty contractor: $20,000 bond, $300,000 liability minimum.
Residential limited contractor: $15,000 bond, $100,000 liability minimum.
Residential developer: $25,000 bond, $500,000 liability minimum.

For commercial endorsements:⁶

Commercial general Level 1: $80,000 bond, $2,000,000 liability minimum.
Commercial specialty Level 1: $55,000 bond, $1,000,000 liability minimum.
Commercial general Level 2: $25,000 bond, $1,000,000 liability minimum.
Commercial specialty Level 2: $25,000 bond, $500,000 liability minimum.

If you hold both residential and commercial endorsements, you need a separate surety bond for each.⁴ The renewal form asks for bond number, surety company, insurance policy number, and policy expiration date.

Continuing Education: Residential

Residential contractors complete continuing education before each renewal, and total hours depend on how long you have been licensed. Contractors licensed six or more years need 8 hours: 3 on CCB laws, regulations, and business practices, plus 5 on other board-approved subjects.⁷ Contractors licensed less than six years need 16 hours: the same 3 on CCB laws, plus 13 on approved electives.⁸

Courses listed in the board’s online Course Catalog are pre-approved. The board also accepts classes from accredited colleges, universities, and government agencies that run at least one hour and relate to your trade or business practices, even if they are not in the catalog.⁸ Providers usually report credits directly, but hold on to your certificates in case a report goes missing.

Continuing Education: Commercial

Commercial education is counted across key employees, meaning anyone who supervises construction: officers, managers, superintendents, forepersons, and lead workers. Required hours depend on endorsement level.⁸

Level 2 commercial general or specialty: 32 hours total across key employees every two years.
Level 1 commercial: hours scale with workforce. One key employee needs 16 hours; two need 32; three need 48; four need 64; five or more need 80.

The board does not pre-approve commercial courses. Community college classes, trade association seminars, and documented in-house safety meetings all qualify as long as they advance your trade or business. Keep sign-in sheets with dates, topics, and times; the board can ask to see them.

Some commercial contractors are exempt from CE entirely. Electrical, plumbing, boiler, and elevator contractors regulated under other Oregon programs do not need to complete CCB education. Neither do commercial developers, landscape contractors licensed under ORS 671, or contractors with a licensed architect or professional engineer as an owner or employee. Active-duty military service during the renewal period also waives the requirement for sole proprietors and single-owner entities.⁹

Workers’ Compensation and Business Registration

If you have employees, you must carry workers’ compensation and supply the carrier name, policy number, your combined business identification number, and your federal employer identification number at renewal. Sole proprietors with no employees are exempt. Partnerships, corporations, and LLCs where every worker is a family member (parents, spouses, siblings, children, in-laws, or grandchildren) are also exempt.¹⁰

Your Oregon Secretary of State business registration must be active and in good standing before you submit. The board cross-references its records against the Corporate Division, and a name mismatch triggers an immediate rejection. If your business structure has changed since the last renewal, update the Secretary of State filing first, then renew with the CCB.

How to Submit

The fastest route is the MyCCB online portal at portal.ccb.state.or.us. You can upload documents, confirm bond and insurance details, and pay the $400 fee by credit or debit card. Once payment clears, the system produces a confirmation page that functions as temporary proof of filing.¹

Paper filings go to P.O. Box 14140, Salem, OR 97309-5052, with the completed renewal form, any insurance certificates not already on file, and a check or money order for $400 payable to the Oregon CCB. Certified mail gives you a dated receipt, which matters if you are close to expiration. Paper takes longer to process, so leave more runway.

If Your License Lapses

Working on an expired license is treated the same as working unlicensed, and the fallout is layered.

Civil Penalties

A first offense with no consumer harm carries a $1,000 fine. If a homeowner files a damages complaint, the fine jumps to $5,000 per offense. The $5,000 figure also applies when you have prior violations or when you use an inactive, lapsed, or misleading license number.¹¹ The board may reduce the penalty if you become licensed within a time frame it sets, but that is discretionary.

Loss of Lien Rights

Under ORS 701.131, you cannot file a construction lien or sue to collect payment for work performed while your license was invalid. The statute requires that you held a valid license when you signed the contract and continuously while performing the work. One narrow exception: if the total time your license was lapsed, suspended, or revoked during the project was 90 days or less, a court may still allow the lien. Beyond 90 days, the lien right is gone, and so is any attorney-fee recovery in a breach-of-contract suit.¹²

The 24-Month Cutoff

You can still renew a license expired less than two years by meeting every current requirement: catching up on continuing education, updating bond and insurance, and paying the fee. Once the license has been expired more than 24 months, renewal is off the table. You must retake the pre-license training, pass the exam, and apply as a new contractor.¹⁰

Confirming the Renewal Processed

Online renewals usually update within a few business days. Paper submissions can take two to three weeks during busy periods. After the expected window, check the public license search tool on the CCB website; the new expiration date will show once the renewal is approved. If the status still reads expired past that point, call the board at 503-378-4621 rather than wait. A quick call can catch a missing document before it becomes a lapse.

1
Oregon Construction Contractors Board. Construction Contractors Board Online Services
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Oregon Construction Contractors Board. Fee Increase
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Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 701.063 – Term of License, Fee, Renewal, Inactive Status, License Identification Card
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Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 701.068 – Bonding Requirements, Action Against Surety, Rules
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Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 701.081 – Residential Contractors, Bond, Insurance, Responsible Managing Individual
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Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 701.084 – Commercial Contractors, Bond
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Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 701.082 – Residential Contractor Continuing Education Requirements, Exemptions
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Oregon Construction Contractors Board. Continuing Education
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Oregon Secretary of State. Construction Contractors Board Division 20 Rules
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Oregon Construction Contractors Board. CCB License
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Cornell Law Institute. Oregon Administrative Code 812-005-0800 – Schedule of Penalties
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Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 701 – Construction Contractors and Contracts