How to Verify a Roofing Contractor’s License and Insurance

The most important aspect of completing a successful roofing project is ensuring you hire a qualified roofing contractor. The construction industry is rapidly evolving with numerous roofing contractors arising every day, competing for available roofing jobs. To ensure you end up with the right one, you must verify their license and insurance, among other requirements and standards. Below, we’ll look at some of the practical tips for verifying a roofing contractor’s license and insurance that will help you get the right contractor for your next project.

Verify State Licensing Requirements

Depending on the state you come from, there are specific licensing requirements that contractors must follow, which sometimes vary based on the type of work they perform. It’s crucial to learn these requirements in your state to ensure you’re hiring trusted roofing contractors. You can check these requirements from the respective state websites, as most states endeavor to maintain an online database for public benefit.

The verification process is easy, you need to obtain the contractor’s license number and input it on the respective state website. Alternatively, you can search the contractor’s name or business name. If their name, business name, or license number is available on the website, you can trust their credentials and proceed to do business with them.

Check for Complaints or Disciplinary Actions

You can check if a potential contractor has complaints or pending disciplinary actions through the state’s website or by contacting your State Department of Professional Regulation or a related agency. Inquire about any recent complaints raised against the roofer or previous disciplinary actions taken against them to be sure you’re not signing up a company with questionable characters.

Read Reviews

You can use online reviews to verify customer satisfaction while checking any mention of licensure and insurance. Satisfied customers can sometimes reveal the things that pleased them the most while working with a contractor, and these may include the contractor’s licenses and insurance coverage.

You can visit their websites to read reviews or do a simple Google search, then filter the online reviews. Even if you’ve verified their licensure from the steps above, you can use the reviews to check the quality of work they deliver from the pictures shared by previous customers. This way, you can gauge whether their work standard matches the licensing they claim to have. Any company must have the occasional bad reviews, but it’s a red flag if there’s an overwhelming number of bad reviews.

Ask the Potential Roofing Company Directly

If you don’t have any other way of knowing about your target company’s qualifications, ask them directly. While many homeowners feel uneasy asking directly, it is the easiest and quickest way to verify the authenticity of the roofing company. In fact, insured and licensed companies don’t feel offended when asked about their licensure and are often proud to display these qualifications.

When potential roofers offer proof that they are licensed, it puts you at ease and gives you the confidence to continue with the contract. If they’re unwilling to provide this information, you should consider other contractors for the project.

Verifying a roofing contractor’s license and insurance is an important step you must not miss. Many licensed roofing contractors are happy to provide their licensure and insurance information upon request, but many homeowners like verifying without involving the contractor. The tips above should help you verify their information so you can get to work with the right team.