Terms of Service

Effective date: June 11, 2026 · Last updated: October 29, 2026

01Who we are, and what these terms cover

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and License Ladder ("we," "us"). They cover your use of the licenseladder.com website, the License Ladder mobile app, License Ladder Online (our browser-based study platform, including Exam Coach, its AI study helper, and its free demo), and the physical study materials we sell (together, the "Products"). By purchasing or using the Products, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, don't buy or use the Products.

You must be 18 or older to purchase or to use the free demo. The Products are built for the California contractor licensing exams and are sold for use in the United States.

02What License Ladder is, and isn't

License Ladder is independent exam-preparation material for the California contractor licensing exams. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), its testing vendor, or the State of California.

• Our materials are study aids. They are not legal, financial, or professional advice, and they don't replace the official rules. Always confirm current requirements, fees, and deadlines with the CSLB.
• The same goes for Exam Coach (Section 10): its answers are study help, not legal, financial, or professional advice.
• Exam content, passing scores, fees, and procedures are set by the CSLB and its testing vendor and can change at any time, without notice to us or to you.
• Buying License Ladder does not register you for any exam, does not file your application, and does not guarantee licensure.

03Your purchase

License Ladder is a one-time purchase: physical flashcards shipped to you (yours to keep), plus study guides and 12 months of access to the app on your phone or computer, starting when your order is confirmed. Every update we release during those 12 months is included. There is no subscription and no recurring charge; access simply ends at the end of the year unless you buy again.

• Prices. Prices are shown at checkout in U.S. dollars. Promotional prices are limited-time and can end without notice. Sales tax, where applicable, is added at checkout.
• Order acceptance. Your order is an offer to buy. We may decline or cancel an order (for example, for suspected fraud, a pricing or listing error, or an address we can't ship to). If we cancel, we refund in full.
• Pricing errors. If a product is listed at an obviously wrong price because of an error, we may cancel the order and refund you rather than honor the error.
• Payment. By submitting payment details you confirm you're authorized to use that payment method, and you authorize us (through our payment processor) to charge the total shown.

04Shipping & risk of loss

We ship the physical materials to the address you give us, and app access starts when your order is confirmed. Delivery estimates are estimates, not promises: carriers, weather, and busy seasons happen. Title and risk of loss pass to you when the shipment is delivered to your address. If your order arrives damaged or goes missing in transit, contact us within 30 days of the expected delivery date and we'll replace it or refund it.

05The pass guarantee

We stand behind License Ladder. The plain-English version lives on the guarantee page; this is the version that governs. If you do all of the following and still don't pass, we'll refund your purchase price:

• Study with License Ladder and reach a green readiness score in the app before your exam date;
• Sit the exam within 12 months of your purchase;
• Request the refund within 60 days of your exam date, with your official result notice and the readiness score shown in your app account.

The guarantee covers your License Ladder purchase price only, not CSLB application fees, exam fees, travel, or anything else. It applies once per customer. We may update the guarantee for future purchases, but the version in effect when you bought is the one that applies to you. If the terms shown at checkout differ from this summary, the checkout version controls.

06Returns & refunds

Outside the pass guarantee, you may return the physical materials within 30 days of delivery for a refund of the purchase price, less return shipping. Materials should come back in resellable condition: normal handling is fine; a deck soaked in concrete sealer is not. App access ends when a purchase is refunded. Refunds go back to your original payment method, normally within 10 business days of our receiving the return. To start a return, email [email protected] with your order number.

07Your account

• Give us accurate information and keep it current; we use it to ship your materials and honor your guarantee.
• Your account is for one person: you. Keep your credentials to yourself; you're responsible for activity under your account.
• Tell us right away at [email protected] if you think someone else has accessed your account.

08Acceptable use

The Products are licensed for your personal exam preparation. Don't:

• Copy, photograph, resell, share, publish, or redistribute the cards, guides, app content, or question bank;
• Scrape, extract, or use any of the content to train an AI model or build a dataset;
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or tamper with the app, or interfere with the service or other users;
• Use the Products to build, improve, or seed a competing product;
• Use Exam Coach to copy out or rebuild the content, or try to make it ignore its rules or limits;
• Use bots, scripts, or someone else's details to start free demos, or start demos to get around their limits;
• Use the website or app for anything illegal.

If you break these rules we can suspend or terminate your access (see Section 18), and we keep all other remedies available to us.

09The apps & app stores

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the app on devices you own or control. We may update the app (including the question bank, features, and readiness scoring), and updates may be required for continued use. We aim to keep the app available but don't promise uninterrupted service. License Ladder Online is the same study tool in a web browser; you access it through a browser rather than an app store, and we update it the same way.

If you downloaded the app through Apple's App Store or Google Play, their terms also apply. Apple and Google aren't responsible for the app, its content, maintenance, or support; those are on us. Apple and Google are third-party beneficiaries of this section and may enforce it.

10Exam Coach

License Ladder Online includes Exam Coach, an AI assistant that answers questions about the study material, the exam, and the app. It's a study aid that comes with your app access, and a limited version is part of the free demo (Section 11). It isn't a person.

• It can make mistakes. Its answers are written by AI and can be wrong or incomplete, even when they sound sure. If an answer doesn't match the card, the guide, or the CSLB, trust those.
• It isn't legal advice. Exam Coach helps you study for the exam. It can't give legal, financial, tax, or business advice for your situation. For that, talk to a lawyer or an accountant, and confirm licensing rules with the CSLB.
• It can't act on your account. It can't see your CSLB application, your PSI exam booking, or your order, and it can't approve a refund, a return, or a guarantee claim. If anything it says differs from these Terms, including the pass guarantee in Section 05, these Terms control.
• Limits and changes. We may limit how many questions you can ask or how long a message can be, pause Exam Coach when it's busy or for maintenance, and change it or stop offering it. In the free demo, questions are limited per visit and per day, Exam Coach may take a break when demo use is high, and what you type is not stored.

How we handle what you type into Exam Coach, including how long we keep it, is in the Privacy Policy.

11Free demo

License Ladder Online has a free demo at webapp.licenseladder.com/demo. You enter your information to access the free demo, and it doesn't create an account. By starting the free demo you agree to these Terms, which apply to the demo, plus the following:

• For trying it out. The demo is for your own evaluation of License Ladder. It's for adults (18 or older) preparing for a California contractor license.
• What's in it. A sample: the first 15 cards of each exam with their linked practice questions, drills, and guide sections, and Exam Coach with a limited number of questions. Your progress isn't saved.
• It can change or end. A demo ends when you end it, after 30 minutes with no activity, or after 2 hours at most. Closing the browser usually ends it sooner. We may change, limit, pause, or stop the demo at any time.
• As is. The demo is provided "as is" and "as available," as Section 14 describes.
• Fair use. Section 08 applies. Don't scrape, copy, or download the demo content, and don't use bots or scripts to start demos or get around their limits.

How we handle the information you enter is in the Privacy Policy.

12Your reviews & submissions

If you send us a review, story, photo, or video, you give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use it to promote License Ladder, but we only feature customer stories with your permission, and we verify reviews against a real license number or order before publishing. Don't submit anything false, misleading, or that you don't have the rights to. We may decline or remove any submission.

If you send us ideas or feedback about the product, we can use them without restriction or payment; that's the price of us actually reading suggestions.

13Intellectual property

The Products (all card content, study guides, the question bank, software, design, and trademarks) are owned by us or our licensors and protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws. Buying License Ladder gives you the license described in these Terms. It does not transfer ownership of anything to you.

If you believe content on our site infringes your copyright, email [email protected] with the details the DMCA requires (identification of the work, the allegedly infringing material, your contact information, a good-faith statement, and your signature) and we'll respond as the law requires.

14Disclaimers

The Products are provided "as is" and "as available." We work hard to keep the material accurate and current, but codes, fees, and exam content change, and we make no warranty that the Products are error-free, that the app will be uninterrupted, or that you will pass any exam (beyond the pass guarantee in Section 05). That includes Exam Coach: its answers are generated automatically, and we don't promise they're accurate or complete. To the fullest extent allowed by law, we disclaim all other warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Some states don't allow certain warranty disclaimers, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

15Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent allowed by law, our total liability for any claim related to the Products is limited to the amount you paid us or $100, whichever is more. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, including lost income, lost business opportunities, exam fees, or licensing delays. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that can't be limited under law, including for gross negligence, willful misconduct, or rights you have as a consumer under California law.

16Indemnification

If your violation of these Terms (for example, redistributing the question bank) causes a third party to bring a claim against us, you agree to cover the reasonable costs and damages that result.

17Talk to us first: disputes & governing law

If something goes wrong, email [email protected] before doing anything else; most problems are fixable in one reply. Formal disputes work like this:

• Informal resolution first. Before filing any claim, send us a written description of the problem and give us 30 days to resolve it.
• Governing law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.
• Where. Disputes will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in California. Either of us may instead use small-claims court for qualifying claims.
• Time limit. Any claim must be filed within one year of when it arose, unless the law says otherwise.

18Termination

You can stop using the Products at any time. We can suspend or terminate your app access if you materially breach these Terms (especially Section 08) and, where the breach is fixable, you don't fix it after we notify you. Sections that by their nature should survive (including intellectual property, disclaimers, liability limits, and disputes) survive termination. Termination for breach doesn't entitle you to a refund.

19Changes & the boring-but-important stuff

• Changes. We may update these Terms. The "last updated" date above will change when we do, and meaningful changes will be flagged on this page. Continuing to use the Products after a change means you accept the new Terms; the Terms in effect when you purchased govern that purchase.
• Severability. If part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest still applies.
• No waiver. If we don't enforce a provision right away, we haven't given up the right to enforce it later.
• Assignment. You can't transfer your rights under these Terms without our consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of the business.
• Force majeure. Neither of us is liable for delays caused by events outside reasonable control (natural disasters, carrier failures, outages, and the like).
• Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and the terms shown at checkout are the whole agreement between us about the Products.

20Contact

Questions about these Terms: [email protected].