Running the Business · Part 7
Record retention: what to keep, for how long, and where the clocks come from
Every rule in this track leaves a record, and each record has a clock set by a different agency: ten years for the job folder because of the CSLB complaint window, three for payroll because of the Labor Code, four for employment taxes because of the IRS, three after termination for the I-9. This lesson is the retention schedule for a plumbing contractor in one place, organized by the folder the record lives in, with the section each clock comes from, and the one rule that simplifies most of it: keep the job folder ten years, the money records seven, the people records three after they leave, and destroy nothing while a complaint, a claim, or an audit is open.
What the full lesson covers
- Job folders (contract, change orders, permit and inspection, photos, tests, releases, warranty, correspondence): ten years from completion, because B&P 7091(b) and CCP 337.15 run ten years on latent defects.
- Money (bank statements, invoices, receipts, mileage logs, tax returns, asset records): seven years covers the IRS's three and six and the FTB's four; asset records for the life of the asset plus the limitations period.
- People (payroll and time records three years under Labor Code 1174; wage statements three; personnel files three after termination; I-9 three after hire or one after termination, whichever is later; certified payroll three after a public job).
- Safety (IIPP inspections and training records at least one year, and training for the length of employment; injury logs five years where the shop must keep them; RRP records three years).
- Nothing is destroyed while a complaint, a lawsuit, a claim, an audit, or a lien is open, whatever the schedule says.
Unlock the full lesson
This is the public summary. The full lesson has the method, the worked cases, the checklists and the templates:
- All in-depth lessons, exam prep and After the License
- 1,000+ practice questions
- AI tutor (100 messages included)
- 14+ hours of audio lessons
- Full-length practice exams
- Pass guarantee
Already have an account? Sign in
More lessons in Staying Licensed
- 1Renewal every two years: the clock, the fee, the five-year window, and what an expired license means mid-job
- 2A bond or workers' compensation lapse suspends the license automatically. The most common suspension, and the calendar that prevents it
- 3Address changes within 90 days, and personnel changes: the notices that keep the license record true
- 4Code cycles: the 2025 California Plumbing Code took effect January 1, 2026; the intervening supplement lands July 1, 2027; the 2028 code on January 1, 2029. How to track them
- 5Record retention: what to keep, for how long, and where the clocks come fromYou are here
- 6Template: the annual compliance calendar