All states North Carolina

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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina that is the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors (opens official site) license search at portal.nclbgc.org. Search by the number first; a name search can miss a business that is licensed under a different legal name.

   North Carolina splits licensing across more than one board: North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors; North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors; North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors. 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 North Carolina 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

   North Carolina licenses general, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fuel gas and fire sprinkler 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? North Carolina may license it through a different board. See electricians in North Carolina , plumbers in North Carolina or HVAC contractors in North Carolina .

5. Know the small-job line

   North Carolina lets unlicensed people do small jobs under $40,000. A general contractor license is required when the cost of the undertaking is $40,000 or more; owners building for their own occupancy are exempt. 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

   A bond is also required: Working capital of $17,000 (limited), $75,000 (intermediate), or $150,000 (unlimited), or a surety bond of $175,000, $500,000, or $1,000,000 instead.

   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. Building permits in North Carolina (opens official site) .

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 North Carolina (opens official site) . Boards can suspend licenses, which gets attention a lawsuit doesn't.