All states Iowa

1. Get the license number from the contractor

   Ask for the license number before anything else. A licensed contractor has it on the bid, the contract, the business card and often the truck. If someone says "we're licensed and insured" but can't produce a number on the spot, treat that as your first answer.

   Write down the exact business name as well as the number. In Iowa the license may be held by a company or by an individual, and the name on your contract has to match the name on the license.

2. Search the number on the official site

   Search the number on the official site. In Iowa that is the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) Contractor Registration (opens official site) license search at laborportal.iwd.iowa.gov. Search by the number first; a name search can miss a business that is licensed under a different legal name.

   Iowa splits licensing across more than one board: Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) Contractor Registration; Iowa Electrical Examining Board (DIAL); Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board (DIAL). Electrical, plumbing or HVAC work may be licensed by a different board than general construction, so make sure you are searching the right one.

3. Read the record: status, name, expiration

   Three things have to line up. The status should say active, current or valid, not expired, inactive, suspended or revoked. The name on the license should be the business or person on your contract. The expiration date should be after the day the work finishes, not just after the day you sign.

   Look for a complaints or discipline section on the record. Most Iowa license searches show open complaints, past discipline and sometimes bond claims. One old complaint on a long-running license is normal; several recent ones are not.

4. Check that the license covers your job

   Iowa licenses general, residential, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, refrigeration, hydronic and sheet metal work at the state level. A license covers one kind of work, so a roofer's license doesn't cover your electrical panel, and a specialty license doesn't cover a whole remodel. Check that the classification or license type on the record matches the job you are hiring for.

   Hiring for one trade? Iowa may license it through a different board. See electricians in Iowa , plumbers in Iowa or HVAC contractors in Iowa .

5. Know the small-job line

   Iowa lets unlicensed people do small jobs under $2,000. Contractors earning less than $2,000 a year from construction, or working only on their own property, do not have to register. Above that line, the person doing the work needs a license, and the exemption doesn't cover someone who splits a big job into small invoices.

6. Ask for proof of insurance

   Iowa requires insurance to hold a license: Workers' compensation certificate if you have employees; Iowa unemployment insurance number required.

   A bond is also required: $25,000 bond required only for contractors based outside Iowa.

   Whatever the state requires, ask for a certificate of insurance made out to you, and call the insurer on the certificate to confirm it is current. A license search tells you the contractor met the requirement when the license was issued or renewed, not that the policy is still paid.

7. Make sure the permit is pulled in the contractor's name

   Any job that needs a permit should have the permit pulled by the contractor, under the contractor's license. A contractor who asks you to pull the permit as the homeowner is usually hiding a license problem. Permits come from the building department for your city or county.

8. If something goes wrong, file with the board

   If the contractor stops showing up, does work the permit doesn't cover, or the license turns out to be wrong, put it in writing to them first, stop paying, then file a complaint in Iowa (opens official site) . Boards can suspend licenses, which gets attention a lawsuit doesn't.