Case: three applicants, three delays
In one paragraph
Three people pass the C-10 exams in the same week. One is a sole owner with a business name CSLB will not accept. One is the RMO of a corporation who did not know about the second bond. One files a workers' compensation exemption on a Friday and puts a helper on a job the next Monday. Each of them costs themselves weeks or worse, and each delay traces back to one rule from this phase. The names and details are illustrative; the rules are real.
The rule
The three rules that decide these cases: the application is void 90 days after the bond and fee notice if the fee, bond or documents are not on file (B&P 7074(a)); an RMO who owns under 10% of the voting stock owes a second $25,000 bond of qualifying individual (7071.9); and employing anyone after filing a workers' compensation exemption, before a certificate is on file, carries a minimum civil penalty of $10,000 for a sole owner or $20,000 for an entity and is a misdemeanor for the qualifier (7125.4).
Why it matters
None of the three delays is exotic. They are the three most common ways a pass letter fails to become a license on the first try, and two of them are fixable in an afternoon if you know the rule before the letter arrives.