Contractor licence lookup
Go straight to your state's official licence register, and know what to check once you are there.
What this tool does and does not do. It reasons over general US building-code practice and routes you to your own jurisdiction's official page. It does not know your local exemption thresholds, fee amounts or review times, and it does not invent them. The office with jurisdiction is the only authority on those.
Why we send you to the state register
No directory should tell you a contractor is licensed. Licence status changes daily — suspensions, expirations, disciplinary actions — and any copy of that data is stale the moment it is made. The state register is the record, and it is free.
What to check once you are there
- That the licence is active, not merely issued at some point in the past.
- That the classification covers your type of work. A general licence does not always cover roofing, electrical or HVAC.
- That the name on the licence matches the name on your contract exactly. Contracting under a licence held by someone else is a common and serious problem.
- That workers compensation and liability insurance are on file and current.
- Any disciplinary history or complaints. Several state registers publish these.
- Whether a bond is in place, and for how much.
State licensing is not the whole picture
Many states do not license general contractors at all — licensing is done by cities and counties, and the state register will only show trades such as electrical and plumbing. Even where the state does license, jurisdictions frequently require a separate local registration before a contractor can pull a permit there. Ask the permit office whether local registration is required; a contractor who is not registered locally can hold up your application.
If a contractor asks you to pull the permit
Treat it as a warning. The permit holder is responsible for the work passing inspection, so a licensed contractor pulling it in their own name is the normal arrangement. Asking you to pull it as an owner-builder moves liability onto you, and is sometimes a sign the contractor cannot pull it themselves.