Contractor License Check: Rules and Lookup Sites in 26 States
Does a roofer, an HVAC company, a plumber or a foundation or window contractor need a license in your state? The rule in 26 states and Washington DC, with the official site to look the license up. Checked November 12, 2026.
Updated
There is no national contractor license in the United States. Each state decides which trades it licenses, and some leave it to cities and counties. We checked the rule for five trades in 26 states and Washington DC, the places where FixRoster lists contractors. Plumbers need a state license in 21 of the 27. Roofers need one in 12, and in Georgia and Texas the state does not license or register roofers at all.
Look up your state's rule
Pick the state and the kind of work. You get the rule, who issues the license and the official site where you can look a contractor up.
The whole map: 27 rules side by side
Select any box to see the rule above.
- LState license
- RState registration, no exam
- CCity or county decides
- DDepends on the size or type of job
- NNo state license
On the state lookup page, read these five lines
- The status is active today. Expired, suspended and revoked licenses still come up in a search.
- The name on the license is the name on your contract. A salesperson who works under someone else's license is a warning sign.
- The class covers your job. A plumbing license does not cover a new roof, and a registration is not a license.
- Bond and insurance are in force. Many state sites show both. Ask for a certificate of liability insurance in any case.
- Complaints and discipline. Most boards list public actions against the contractor next to the license.
What the four words on a contractor's truck mean
- Licensed
- The state or the city checked the contractor's experience or made it pass an exam, and it can take the license away.
- Registered
- The contractor filed its name and usually proof of insurance or a bond. Nobody tested its skill.
- Bonded
- A surety company pays up to a set amount if the contractor breaks the rules of its license. It is not insurance for your house.
- Insured
- Liability insurance pays for damage the contractor causes. Workers' compensation covers its workers if they are hurt on your property.
When a licensed contractor walks off the job
Eight of the places we checked run a fund that pays homeowners when a licensed contractor does not pay what it owes. Hiring an unlicensed contractor normally leaves you outside the fund.
| State | Fund | Most it pays one homeowner |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Residential Contractors' Recovery Fund | Up to $30,000 |
| Florida | Florida Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund | Up to $100,000, or $30,000 when the contractor is a specialty trade |
| Maryland | Home Improvement Guaranty Fund | Up to $30,000 |
| Massachusetts | Home Improvement Contractor Guaranty Fund | Up to $25,000 |
| Nevada | Residential Recovery Fund | Up to $40,000 |
| New York | Home Improvement Contractor Trust Fund (New York City only) | New York City only: up to $40,000 |
| North Carolina | Homeowners Recovery Fund | No fixed amount. An award cannot pass 10% of the money in the fund |
| Virginia | Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund | Up to $30,000 |
The three-day right to cancel a door sale
If a contractor sold you the job at your home, a federal rule gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel and get all your money back. It covers sales of $25 or more made at your home, even if you invited the salesperson in. Saturdays count as business days. Sundays and federal holidays do not.
The seller has to give you a dated contract or receipt with a cancellation notice. The rule does not cover repairs you asked the seller to come and do, and in a real emergency you can give up the right in a signed handwritten statement.
What we read, and where this page stops
We read each rule on November 12, 2026 in the state statute, on the site of the licensing board or on the city's own site, and every answer links to the page it came from. Where the official page would not open from our location we say so in the answer, and you should confirm that rule with the agency before you rely on it.
Laws change and cities add their own permits and registrations on top of state rules. This page tells you where to look. It is not legal advice, and the agency's own site is always the last word.
Ready to compare companies? See the roofing, HVAC, plumbing, foundation repair and window replacement companies we list in each city.
Official pages each rule was read from
- Federal Trade Commission, Buyer's Remorse: The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule May Help, checked November 12, 2026.
- Federal Trade Commission, How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam, checked November 12, 2026.
- State statutes, licensing boards and city building departments, linked in each answer above.