RMO or RME: Who Can Qualify a California License

RMO and RME are roles, not license types. Which one can qualify your application depends on the kind of entity applying, and Business and Professions Code § 7068(b) sets four routes — one each for an individual, a partnership, a corporation and a limited liability company. One condition runs through all four.

The four routes

Section 7068(b) opens by saying an applicant “shall qualify in regard to their experience and knowledge in one of the following ways”, and then names them. The entity you apply as decides which row you are on.

the applicant is	who may qualify it, per § 7068(b)
an individual	the individual in person, or their responsible managing employee
a partnership or limited partnership	a general partner, or a responsible managing employee
a corporation, or any other combination or organization	a responsible managing officer or a responsible managing employee
a limited liability company	a responsible managing officer, a responsible managing manager, a responsible managing member, or a responsible managing employee

So RMO is the officer route and RME is the employee route, and the employee route is open to every entity on the list. The officer route is not: a partnership qualifies through a general partner rather than an officer, and only an LLC can qualify through a managing manager or managing member. All four routes are set out in § 7068(b).

The condition that runs through all four

Every route in § 7068(b) ends the same way. The person qualifying must be, in the statute’s words, “qualified for the same license classification as the classification being applied for”. That clause appears in each of the four subdivisions, and it is the one most easily missed.

It means experience alone does not make somebody your qualifier. Which classification is in play comes from how the classifications divide. The person has to be qualified for that one, not a neighboring classification and not contracting generally.

What the Board requires of that person

The statute sets the subject matter and hands the standard to the Board. Section 7068(a) requires the Board to make an applicant “show the degree of knowledge and experience in the classification applied for, and the general knowledge of the building, safety, health, and lien laws of the state and of the administrative principles of the contracting business that the board deems necessary for the safety and protection of the public”.

Read the end of that sentence carefully. The years are not in the statute. Section 7068(a) says “that the board deems necessary”, so the number comes from the Board rather than from the code, and it is set out with the rest of the entry requirements at what an applicant must satisfy.

Your claims about experience get checked

Section 7068(g) provides that “Statements made by or on behalf of an applicant as to the applicant’s experience in the classification applied for shall be verified by a qualified and responsible person”. The verification is part of the application rather than something that happens afterwards, and how it is filed is covered at applying for a license.

The word California actually uses

The Board and the code call this person the qualifying individual. RMO, RME, responsible managing manager and responsible managing member are the roles that individual can occupy, and § 7068(b) is where the four are named. What the qualifying individual does once the license is issued is at the qualifying individual, and the structure that role sits inside is licensing a contractor in California.