To check a contractor’s license, go to your state contractor licensing board’s website, open its free license lookup tool, and search by the contractor’s license number or registered business name. The result will tell you whether the license is active, what categories of work it authorizes, when it expires, whether a surety bond and workers’ compensation coverage are on file, and whether the contractor has any disciplinary history. The whole check takes about five minutes, and doing it before you sign a contract or hand over a deposit is the single best protection you have against fraud, uninsured work, and a project you can’t enforce later.
What to Get From the Contractor First
Ask for the license number during your first conversation. It’s the fastest and most accurate way to pull up the right record, especially when a common business name might return dozens of results. The number usually appears on the business card, the written estimate, or the contract itself. Many states require contractors to display it on advertisements, vehicle signage, and websites.
If you don’t have the number, write down the contractor’s full legal name and registered business name. These are often different from the name on the truck. Someone operating as “Mike’s Remodeling” may be registered under a formal LLC or a personal name, and getting the exact spelling of the business entity saves time when results pile up.
Ask for proof of general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage at the same time. A reputable contractor won’t hesitate to provide it, and having the policy details in hand lets you verify them independently.
Where to Run the Search
Every state that requires contractor licensing maintains a public search tool, and the lookup is free. Some states call it “license verification,” others “check a license” or “find a contractor.” The search fields almost always accept license number, individual name, or business name.
If you aren’t sure which agency handles licensing where you live, searching for “[your state] contractor license lookup” will get you to the right page. Some states run a dedicated contractor licensing board. Others handle it through a broader department of labor, consumer affairs, or professional regulation. A handful of states don’t license contractors at the state level at all and leave it to cities and counties, so you may need to check locally instead.
Start with the license number if you have one. It pulls up the exact record without ambiguity. If you’re searching by name, use the registered business name rather than a trade name or nickname. When multiple results come back, match the city, license classification, and any other identifying detail to make sure you’re on the right record.
What an Active License Should Show
License status is the first thing to check. It should read “Active” or “Current.” Anything else — inactive, suspended, revoked, expired — means the contractor cannot legally take on your project, even if they held a valid license at some point in the past.
Status alone isn’t enough. Confirm the rest of the profile:
- Expiration date. An active license that expires next week could lapse before your project wraps up. Look for a renewal date that extends comfortably past your expected completion timeline.
- License classification. Contractors are licensed for specific types of work. A general contractor license covers broad residential or commercial construction; specialty licenses cover trades like plumbing, electrical, or HVAC. The classification has to match the work you need done. A roofer’s license doesn’t authorize someone to rewire your kitchen.
- Bond information. Most states require contractors to carry a surety bond that protects you if they abandon a project, fail to pay subcontractors, or violate licensing laws. Required amounts vary widely, from a few thousand dollars to six figures depending on the license type and project size.
- Workers’ compensation insurance. If the contractor has employees, workers’ comp should be on file. Without it, you could face personal liability if a worker is injured on your property. Sole proprietors with no employees are typically exempt, but that also means no coverage exists if they get hurt on your job site.
Confirming Insurance Yourself
The license profile may show insurance on file, but that snapshot can be out of date. Policies lapse, get cancelled, or expire between licensing board updates. The only reliable way to confirm current coverage is to ask the contractor for a Certificate of Insurance and then verify it with the insurance company directly.
A Certificate of Insurance lists the contractor’s legal business name, policy numbers, coverage limits, and effective dates. When you receive one, check that the business name matches the name on the contract and the license. Call the insurance agent listed on the certificate to confirm the policy is still active. It takes five minutes and closes a gap the licensing database can’t.
You want to see two coverages at minimum. General liability covers damage the contractor causes to your property or a neighbor’s property during the project. Workers’ compensation covers medical costs and lost wages if an employee is injured on the job. These protect different risks, and you need both confirmed. If the contractor says they’re a sole proprietor with no employees and therefore exempt from workers’ comp, that’s a conversation worth having about what happens if they’re injured while working at your home.
Reading the Complaint and Disciplinary Record
An active license doesn’t mean a clean record. Most state licensing boards publish complaints, disciplinary actions, and enforcement history going back several years. The information usually sits on the same profile you pulled up during the license search, though some states keep it on a separate complaints page.
Look for patterns rather than isolated incidents. A single complaint from years ago that was resolved may not be concerning. Multiple complaints about the same issue — unfinished work, payment disputes with subcontractors, building code violations — tells you something about how this contractor operates. Formal disciplinary actions like fines, license suspensions, or probation are more serious and usually mean the board investigated and found a violation.
This is where most people stop too early. They see “Active” and move on. A contractor can hold an active license while carrying a trail of substantiated complaints, and the disciplinary record is where the story behind the status lives.
A Permit History Check Takes Another Few Minutes
Many cities and counties maintain online permit databases you can search by address or contractor name. Running the contractor’s name through your local building department portal shows whether they have a track record of pulling permits for past projects. If someone claims ten years of experience in your area but no permits appear under their name, ask why.
A contractor who routinely pulls required permits is one who expects their work to be inspected and is confident it will pass. One who suggests skipping permits to “save you money” is waving a red flag. Unpermitted work can violate local building codes, void your homeowner’s insurance on the affected area, and create problems when you try to sell the house.
What You Lose by Skipping the Check
The consequences of hiring an unlicensed contractor fall on you, not just on the contractor. That’s the real reason the five-minute check is worth doing every time.
- You may become liable for worker injuries. In most states, if an unlicensed contractor or their employee is hurt on your property, you can be held personally liable. The unlicensed worker may be treated as your employee for liability purposes even if you had no idea the person was unlicensed.
- Your insurance claim can be denied. Many homeowner’s policies exclude coverage for work performed by unlicensed contractors. If the work causes damage, or damage occurs during the project, your insurer may have grounds to deny or reduce the claim.
- Unpermitted work hurts your home’s value. Unlicensed contractors often can’t pull building permits, which means the work isn’t inspected for code compliance. When you sell, you’ll likely need to disclose that work was done without permits, which can reduce the price or require you to pay a licensed contractor to redo it.
- You lose legal remedies. In many states, an unlicensed contractor cannot enforce a contract in court or file a mechanic’s lien against your property. That protects you on the payment side, but it also means the contractor has no legal accountability to finish the job or fix defective work, because the contract may be considered void.
- State recovery funds likely won’t help. Several states maintain contractor recovery funds that reimburse homeowners harmed by fraud or abandonment, but eligibility generally requires that the contractor was licensed at the time of the misconduct. If the contractor was never licensed, you typically cannot access these funds at all.
Reporting an Unlicensed Contractor
If you discover someone performing regulated construction work without a license, report it to your state’s licensing board or enforcement division. Most boards accept complaints online, and the process usually takes a few minutes. You’ll typically need to provide the project location, the name of the individual or business, and a description of the work being performed.
State enforcement agencies investigate these reports and may conduct on-site inspections. Penalties for unlicensed contracting vary by state and can include administrative fines, misdemeanor charges, and in serious cases involving repeat offenses or work in declared disaster areas, felony prosecution.