In the City of Los Angeles, 34.7% of ADU final inspections fail on the first attempt, based on 79,761 inspections over the trailing 12 months.
Source 04 below — building-department inspection records — is exactly this signal, applied per contractor. See the full first-time pass/fail breakdown by inspection type in the LA ADU Inspection Index.
The 6 Data Sources — What We Check
CSLB License Status (Statewide)
The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) is California's licensing authority for construction. Every ADU contractor must hold an active B-General Building license, or a specialty license appropriate to scope.
- License is active (not suspended, revoked, expired, or "license bond canceled")
- License has been continuously active for at least 5 years
- License classification matches the project scope (B-General Building for ADU new construction)
- RMO/RME is consistent over time — frequent changes are a red flag
- License bond is active at the $25K California baseline (pays at $25,000 maximum total for all claims combined, not per claim)
Note: A CSLB-licensed contractor is the legal floor, not the ceiling. Anchored Tiny Homes was CSLB-licensed when it collapsed.
CSLB Disciplinary History
The CSLB maintains a public disciplinary action database going back years.
- Zero CSLB disciplinary actions in the last 36 months
- Any historical accusations, citations, suspensions, or revocations
- Pattern of complaints (single isolated complaint vs. recurring pattern)
- Resolution status (open complaint, dismissed, settled, action taken)
California Superior Court Filings
California Superior Court records are public. We pull civil filings against the contractor and against the RMO/RME individually.
- Mechanic's lien filings against past clients (signal: contractor failed to pay subs, subs sued client)
- Breach-of-contract suits against the contractor
- Stop-notice filings on past projects
- Bankruptcy filings (Chapter 7, Chapter 11, Chapter 13) for the entity or its principals
A contractor with 5+ mechanic's lien filings in the past 3 years has a pattern of leaving subcontractors unpaid. The next homeowner is the next victim.
Local Building Department Inspection Records
Every California city's building department maintains inspection-pass-rate data on permitted projects. LADBS, San Diego DSD, San Francisco DBI, San Jose Planning, Sacramento County Planning.
- First-pass inspection success rate vs. county or city median
- Number of corrections requested per inspection cycle
- Permit expiration patterns (signal: contractor abandoned project)
- Final inspection sign-off rate vs. projects that never closed out
InspectPilot 11M-Record Inspection Database
ADUscale's sister brand InspectPilot maintains an inspection-records database of 11 million records since 2013, covering most California metro areas. We use it directly for contractor verification.
- Contractor's project history across multiple cities (catches contractors who burn one city's reputation and move to the next)
- Specialty-specific inspection-pass-rate (foundation, framing, MEP, finishes)
- Project completion velocity
- Project size distribution (signal: contractor over-extending)
This is also how we identify the top builders worth working with — first-time pass-rate and schedule reliability no one else can see.
Independent Insurance + Bond Verification
We confirm directly with the carrier, not from a contractor-supplied certificate.
- Active general liability insurance with $1M+ per occurrence and $2M+ aggregate
- Active workers' compensation policy, or a valid sole-proprietor exemption
- Active license bond at the $25K California baseline
- Recent policy lapses or non-renewals (signal: insurer dropped them)
Insurance lapses correlate with financial distress, which correlates with mid-project failure.
The 8 Disqualifying Screens
A contractor that fails any one of these screens does not enter the bid pool we present to a homeowner:
Start with the $199 Feasibility & Risk Assessment
It reads your specific lot, models the realistic cost band, and flags whether full six-source verification is worth running on contractors you've already met. About 1 in 7 reports recommends not to build on this lot — we say so in writing.
What the Verification Does Not Do
It doesn't guarantee a contractor won't fail
Verification reduces the probability of failure. It doesn't eliminate it. That's why we pair verification with Verified Milestone Payouts. Funds release only when inspections pass — on either the automated rail (default, included) or the optional licensed-escrow rail (DFPI-licensed). A failure mid-project doesn't take your money with it.
It doesn't measure soft factors
Communication style, design taste, neighborhood fit. These still require homeowner judgment after the verified pool is presented.
It isn't a marketplace
We don't sell access to your inquiry. We may surface 2–3 verified contractors for your project, get one of them the capacity to take you on, and stay on the build — we don't sell an introduction and walk away.
How Verification Fits Into the Method
Verification is the second of four stages in the ADUscale Method:
- Decide — Reality Check (free) + Feasibility & Risk Assessment ($199)
- Verify — 6-source contractor verification + 8 disqualifying screens (this page)
- Protect — Verified Milestone Payouts (automated rail or licensed-escrow rail)
- Build — Project coordination from contract through final sign-off, in a customer portal with photo and video reports for every trade
You can hire ADUscale just for Verify. Some homeowners do — they want a vetted shortlist and then run the project themselves. Or you can build with us end-to-end, at the same price as going direct.