Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry Contractor Insurance in California (C-6)

What the C-6 license covers

The CSLB’s definition

“A cabinet, millwork and finish carpentry contractor makes cabinets, cases, sashes, doors, trims, nonbearing partitions and other items of "finish carpentry" by cutting, surfacing, joining, gluing and fabricating wood or other products to provide a functional surface.”

Saw and router injuries and lifting cabinets drive comp claims. On the liability side, damage to the customer’s finished space during install and completed-operations claims from failed installations are the common losses. Cabinets and millwork waiting to be installed need their own coverage.

The C-6 coverage stack

General Liability — including damage to finished interiors during install
Workers’ Compensation — 5146 for installation, with shop payroll rated separately
Commercial Auto — vans and box trucks delivering finished work
Inland Marine — tools plus an installation floater for cabinets before they’re set
CSLB license bond — the $25,000 bond every C-6 license needs
Excess & Umbrella — commercial tenant-improvement contracts

C-6 requirements

What California requires of a C-6 licensee

Requirement	What applies to C-6 cabinet installers and finish carpenters
Contractor’s license bond	A $25,000 bond is required to activate and keep the license. LLC licensees also need a $100,000 LLC employee/worker bond. How the bond works
Workers’ compensation	Required now if you have even one employee. With no employees you can file a CSLB exemption, but that option ends for every classification on January 1, 2028. Check your requirement
General liability	Required by the CSLB only for LLC licensees (at least $1 million). General contractors and owners require it anyway, usually with additional insured status.

Workers’ comp class code and 2026 rate

Class code	Description	Advisory rate per $100 payroll
5146	Cabinet, fixture or trim installation, not otherwise classified	$5.71

Source: WCIRB California, approved September 1, 2026 advisory pure premium rates and classification descriptions. These are benchmark loss costs, not quotes: each carrier files its own rates, and your experience mod and credits adjust the final premium.

Field installation of cabinets, fixtures and trim is usually 5146. Shop fabrication has its own manufacturing code, and on a job where you also do general carpentry, the carpentry codes 5403/5432 apply instead of 5146. Splitting payroll correctly is where most C-6 audit savings come from.

Code 5146

$5.71 per $100 of payroll for installation in 2026

Shop vs field

rated separately; split payroll to save

WC by 2028

every C-6 needs a policy, employees or not

Common questions

C-6 coverage, answered

What is the workers’ comp class code for cabinet installers in California?

Cabinet, fixture or trim installation is generally code 5146, with a WCIRB 2026 advisory rate of $5.71 per $100 of payroll. Shop fabrication is rated under a separate manufacturing code, and general carpentry on the same job uses 5403/5432.

Are cabinets covered before they are installed?

Not by general liability. Cabinets and millwork in transit or stored on site are covered by an inland marine installation floater.

Is general liability required for a C-6 license?

Only for LLC licensees, at least $1 million. General contractors and commercial owners will require it.

Do finish carpenters need workers’ comp with no employees?

A C-6 with no employees can file the CSLB exemption until January 1, 2028. After that every licensee needs a policy.

Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry Contractor Insurance in California

The CSLB’s definition

The C-6 coverage stack

What California requires of a C-6 licensee

Workers’ comp class code and 2026 rate

C-6 coverage, answered

Get a C-6 quote that fits the work