California public works: DIR registration and where the work is

What California public works contractors must register with DIR, what it costs, and where public works are being awarded — with live counts from DIR project records.

Registering with DIR

Contractors and subcontractors who bid on or perform California public works register with the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). As DIR's registration page states:

  • Registration runs by fiscal year (July 1–June 30): one, two or three years for a fee of $400, $800 or $1,200.
  • To register, a contractor must have workers' compensation coverage for any employees and use only subcontractors who are registered public works contractors.
  • A first-time registrant who bid on, was awarded or worked on public works in the past 12 months without registering pays a $2,000 penalty.

Checked on DIR's site 2026-10-06; rules change, so confirm on DIR's contractor registration page before you bid.

Where the work is

Awarding bodies — cities, counties, school districts, special districts and state agencies — register their public works projects with DIR. Atriam tracks 649,239 of those projects from 10,185 awarding bodies. DIR's public records carry contract amounts for projects registered since July 2024.

Counties whose awarding bodies registered the most projects

Each awarding body counts in the county where most of its projects are.

  1. Los Angeles County — 97,603 projects from 615 awarding bodies
  2. San Diego County — 56,693 projects from 340 awarding bodies
  3. Orange County — 48,298 projects from 228 awarding bodies
  4. Riverside County — 38,105 projects from 234 awarding bodies
  5. San Bernardino County — 28,281 projects from 222 awarding bodies
  6. Santa Clara County — 23,707 projects from 166 awarding bodies
  7. Kern County — 23,287 projects from 183 awarding bodies
  8. Alameda County — 23,186 projects from 220 awarding bodies
  9. Sacramento County — 20,909 projects from 189 awarding bodies
  10. Ventura County — 15,030 projects from 99 awarding bodies

Awarding bodies with the most projects

  1. Department of Transportation, Division of Procurement and Contracts — 6,410 projects
  2. City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering — 6,012 projects
  3. City of Los Angeles/ Department of Recreation and Parks — 5,825 projects
  4. California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) — 4,711 projects
  5. County of Orange/OC Public Works — 4,654 projects
  6. County of Santa Barbara General Services, Procurement Services — 4,572 projects
  7. City of San Diego — 4,455 projects
  8. Val Verde Unified School District — 3,392 projects
  9. County of Ventura GSA — 3,282 projects
  10. Bakersfield City School District1 — 3,125 projects

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