· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Contractor
Verifying a contractor is quick and most people skip it. The three checks answer different questions and all three matter.
License
Tennessee licenses contractors above a project value threshold, and separately licenses electrical, plumbing and mechanical trades. The state board maintains a searchable register showing status, classification and any disciplinary history.
Check that the classification actually covers the work you are asking for — a license is specific rather than general.
Insurance
Liability insurance and workers’ compensation, verified by a certificate sent directly from the insurer rather than a copy handed to you. Confirm the dates are current.
An uninsured worker injured on your property can become your liability, which is the exposure most homeowners never consider.
- Verify the license and its classification with the state board
- Certificate of insurance direct from the carrier
- Workers’ compensation, not just liability
- References from jobs two or three years old
- A written contract before any money changes hands
References that mean something
Ask for jobs completed two or three years ago rather than last month. A recent client is pleased; a client from three years ago knows whether the work held up and whether callbacks were honored.
Ask specifically what went wrong and how it was handled, because something always does and the answer is the useful part.
What the pattern of warning signs looks like
Pressure to sign immediately, a large cash deposit, no written contract, a quote well below the others with no explanation, and no physical local address.
Any one may be innocent. Together they are the recognized pattern.