"Just put your number on it": why renting your license is a crime, and how the offer arrives
In one paragraph
Within a year of getting your number, someone will offer you money to be the RMO of a company you do not run, or ask you to pull a permit on a job you have never seen. The law calls the qualifier's duty supervision and control, and skipping it is a misdemeanor for you, discipline for the license, and a personal liability for every job done under your number. This lesson shows how the offer is worded, what the statutes actually say, and how to say no without burning the relationship.
The rule
B&P 7068.1(a) makes the qualifier responsible for supervision and control of the licensee's construction operations; violating the section is cause for discipline and a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail and a fine of $3,000 to $5,000 (7068.1(e)). Separately, B&P 7114 makes allowing your license to be used by an unlicensed person, or aiding or abetting one, a cause for discipline, and the registrar may order you to pay any party injured by the unlicensed person's work.
Why it matters
The unlicensed operator faces a misdemeanor under B&P 7028; you face a misdemeanor under 7068.1, discipline against the license you just earned, an order to pay whoever was harmed, and, because you are the qualifier, the workers' compensation misdemeanor in 7125.4(b) for every worker on that job. The fee is usually a few hundred dollars a month.