Before you sign a pool contract in California
A checklist from Randy Beard, licensed pool contractor (CSLB #871188, C-53 Swimming Pool and C-27 Landscaping) and pool construction expert witness. These are the things he finds missing in the contracts that end up in litigation.
Updated November 9, 2026
Check the builder
- The license is active today, and it includes C-53 Swimming Pool (or B General Building where the pool is part of a larger job). Check it on the day you sign.
- The name and license number on the contract match CSLB exactly. A different business name is a warning sign.
- The salesperson is on the license or is registered with CSLB as a home improvement salesperson.
- Workers' comp: if the license says "exempt" (no employees) but a crew shows up, ask whose employees they are.
Check the contract
- Down payment is no more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the price, whichever is less.
- Progress payments are listed in dollars and tied to stages of work. No payment should run ahead of the work actually done.
- A plan and scale drawing of the pool is part of the contract, with the description of the project.
- Change orders must be in writing and signed before the extra work is done.
- Start and completion dates are stated.
- Both of you sign and date it before any work starts, and you get a completely filled-in copy.
- The notice of cancellation is attached: three business days to cancel (five if you are 65 or older).
- The mechanics lien warning is included. Ask for lien releases from the builder's suppliers and subs as you pay.
California's home improvement contract rules for pools are in Business and Professions Code sections 7159,
7159.5 and 7165 to 7168. A pool contract that leaves out the required parts can be unenforceable by the contractor.
This page is a practical checklist, not legal advice.
Also read: what's not in your pool contract.