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California Repair Shops : Are You Certified?

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California Repair Shops : Are You Certified?

Here is an ultimate guide for California cell phone repair shops

If you own a cell phone repair shop in California and don't have an official state-issued license hanging on your wall, we have some bad news for you. This week CBS-Sacramento reported on an unlicensed cell phone repair shop in Sacramento, CA losing a customer's phone and refusing to provide a replacement solution. This sort of shady business practice is obviously frowned upon in the repair industry, but what caught our attention most was learning that cell phone repair shops in California are required to have an official state-issued license in order to lawfully operate.   California cell phone repair shops  

Did you know?

In California, all businesses that repair cell phones (or appliances) must be licensed by the state's Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair (BEAR). News to you? It was to us, too - and according to the article, we're not the only ones out of the loop. Many appliance and electronic repair shop owners aren't even aware this license is required to lawfully operate! According to Russ Heimerich of California's Department of Consumer Affairs, “a lot of appliance repair stores don’t know that they need to be licensed." If you fail to register your repair shop for a BEAR license you could be fined up to $150 per location. While you might think you're safe if you haven't been issued a warning or citation yet, check out this list of citations the state of California issued between July and September of 2013 which includes over 150 citations in just 3 months!

How to Register

The good news is, registration through the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair is easy and relatively inexpensive. The average cell phone repair shop will have to pay a registration fee and yearly renewal fee of $165 per location. The delinquency fee for not paying is 50% of the registration fee. There is no examination, education, or experience requirements for a registration issued by BEAR. To register all you have to do is complete this form online, print it out, mail it with your applicable fees to the Department of Consumer Affairs and wait 3-4 weeks. Once your certificate of registration arrives in the mail, it must be displayed in your shop where customers can see it. To learn more about how to register for your BEAR license, please check out the FAQ section of the California Department of Consumer Affairs BEAR website. We hope to raise awareness to keep everyone in the Repair Community on track and out of trouble! While we hate being the bearer of bad news, we sincerely hope we could help those of you who weren't aware of this certification to get registered. eTech Parts has traveled to California several times over the past four years and not once have we heard of this required certification. To the repair shop owners out there in California, have you ever been asked by customers about this certification? If you are certified, has it added to your repair shop's credibility? Let us know in the comments below, you know we always love hearing from you. Be sure to LIKE us on Facebook to stay in touch with the Repair Community and as always, keep checking back for more from eTech Parts!