How to Vet a Contractor Online

The in-person walkthrough is no longer the gating step. Most homeowners now decide which contractors to call based on what they can find online in 10 minutes. The contractors that get through that first filter are the ones with verifiable licensing, public insurance evidence, and review patterns that hold up under scrutiny.

This is also why the marketplace model has become the dominant funnel for higher-trust trades. Posting once and comparing pre-vetted bids replaces the homeowner's manual vetting workflow with platform-side verification.

Every state has a contractor licensing board with a public lookup. Search for the trade plus your state plus the words contractor license search. Enter the contractor's license number, then confirm three fields: the name on file matches the business name on the bid, the classification covers the work scope, and the status reads active or current.

If the contractor will not provide a license number, that is the answer. Skip them. If the lookup shows expired or suspended, also skip. Disciplinary actions on the public record are worth a second read but are not always disqualifying. Read the actual case rather than just the summary.

A real certificate of insurance is a one-page ACORD 25 form that lists the producer (insurance broker), the insured (contractor business name), and the policies in force. The most important fields are the general liability per-occurrence limit (typically $1M minimum for residential, $2M for larger jobs), workers' compensation coverage with state where applicable, and the policy effective and expiration dates.

Request the certificate directly from the broker, not from the contractor. Brokers will email a fresh copy in minutes. Screenshots are easy to fake, especially with PDF editing. Direct broker contact removes the doubt.

Star count on a single platform is the weakest signal. Look at three platforms (Google, the BBB, and one trade-specific platform like ContractShield reviews) and cross-check.

The two highest-signal patterns are how the contractor responds to negative reviews and the consistency of language across positive reviews. A contractor who responds calmly, with specifics, to a one-star review usually deserves the benefit of the doubt. A contractor whose positive reviews all use the same phrases is probably running a review-farm campaign.

Public lien records show whether the contractor has been on either side of a payment dispute. A pattern of mechanic's liens filed against the contractor (where the contractor is the defendant) means subcontractors and suppliers are not getting paid, which often pushes the contractor to ask for larger upfront draws on the next job to cover the gap.

Search your county clerk's website. Most jurisdictions have a free name search. Enter the business name and any DBAs. Two or more open filings in the past three years is a meaningful signal.

A verified marketplace runs every check above before any contractor is allowed to bid. The homeowner posts once and sees only bids from contractors whose licenses, insurance, and review history are already cleared. ContractShield runs license verification against state boards, certificate of insurance pulls, and a public-record check before a contractor can reach the verified_pro tier.

The homeowner's job becomes scope comparison, not vetting. That is the value the marketplace replaces.