The home improvement contract: every element B&P 7159 requires, in the order it requires them
In one paragraph
Any residential job over $500 is a home improvement contract, and B&P 7159 dictates the form: specific headings in specific type sizes, seven notices with statutory wording, a signed copy in the customer's hands before work starts, and a Notice of Cancellation form in duplicate. Miss any of it and the contract is cause for discipline against your license. This lesson walks the statute top to bottom so the template in this phase makes sense line by line.
The rule
B&P 7159 governs every home improvement contract over $500 (7159(b)). Before any work starts the contractor must give the buyer a copy signed and dated by both parties (7159(c)(3)); the contract must carry the required headings and statements in at least 10-point type with the specified statements in 12-point boldface (7159(c)(2), (d)); and it must include the notices on general liability insurance, workers compensation, change orders, the Mechanics Lien Warning, CSLB information and the buyer's right to cancel (7159(e)). Failure to provide the specified information, notices and disclosures is cause for discipline (7159(a)(5)).
Why it matters
The home improvement contract is the document CSLB reads first in any complaint, and a missing 12-point notice or an unsigned copy converts a customer dispute into a license violation you cannot argue about. The same statute is also your protection: a compliant contract with a stated price, schedule and change-order form is what lets you collect.