If he's not showing his license, insurance, etc, then run because chances are he doesn't have any. Every contractor I've ever used showed me his license and insurance the first time we met (Since I always ask)

That is what i was figuring. Such a shame as the person coming out has been great to work with, patient with regards to working with me and figuring out the project. something like 4 estimates worked up and 4 meetings. Was going to pull the trigger up to that point. Going to inform them without more details on the company and so forth that we can't move forward on monday.

Without the context of your conversation, it is hard to form an opinion. In most jurisdictions licensing is available online for the public to check. You might also be able to access any permits your potential contractor has pulled, which would contain the insurance info. It wouldn't be unusual for a contractor to include this info in his contract, I doubt many carry it in their back pocket.

If the first thing out of potential customers mouth is, "license, registration, and insurance please", I'd politely tell them I was going out to my truck to get it, then proceed to drive away....

Every contractor that I work with is proud of being legitimate. They will include those documents as part of a presentation, to show their value to a customer. It’s a point of pride, and not contention. Anyone who doesn’t present themselves as above board first thing in an interaction, likely isn’t. Avoid those.

If you're getting design ideas from contractors, (which is not a good idea) it might be better to start with a designer first. They can connect you with pre screened contractors who they work with, and you won’t need to chase down people. You’ll get a better designed and planned project, with less stress for you.

Any legitimate contractor will be happy to supply license and insurance information. Anyone who would get huffy or “drive off” is definitely one to avoid. In 32 years in construction, we were never insulted when a potential client wanted that information. Without proof of insurance, all liability (his company damages your neighbors’ property or damages your property) and all injuries to his employees ($$$$$$) become the sole responsibility of the property owner.

Did you ask for references to see his work, and then go see it? Thats also important.

If a contractor isn’t above board enough to give you the information about both his license and insurance without making the whole experience into a root canal, then you don’t want to use him, even if he is licensed. Getting huffy over asking about it says he doesn’t have it and needs to get off of your property before he hurts himself tripping over that huff.

You are working backwards here though. You design a space first and then you get quotes from contractors. Getting quotes and refining your ideas as you go along isn’t doing you or the contractors any favors. No one is working on pricing of the same project. Everyone is guessing about everything.

So I went to the dentist yesterday afternoon armed with my new found knowledge. I went up to the receptionist to check in and politely asked for my dentists license, business registration, and a copy of her malpractice insurance. I thought this would make her happy and proud.

About an hour went by, so I decided to check in again. Apparently a couple of emergency cleanings came in and I was told to reschedule with another dentist.

I can't wait until the UPS guy shows up armed with my new knowledge, I'm sure he'll be proud and happy to provide all the documents on the spot.

My dentist has his business license, dental licensing, and board certification information hanging on the wall, right behind the receptionist. Not at all unusual in doctor's and dentist's offices. You think a building contractor should be held to a lower standard? You bet I check if any new doc I go to is up to date on their board certifications; I've never had the slightest push back when asking-- it's a *lot* of work to obtain and keep those certifications.

My contractor has his license information printed on his business card and posted on his website. I would think that was SOP.

Thanks for all the replies. I should probably clarify a few things. Yea at first it was a little backwards as it was our first foray into anything like this. We had an idea on what we wanted and the layout we also wanted. Problem we have ran into is that we have gotten multiple solution offers on this and where to proceed from. We settled on this one company representative to do the cabinets first then we wanted to proceed with the car port. We got the contract and it is very light on the information. Scheduling to be done after down payment, nothing else really listed. I contacted him and asked about the insurance and so forth. Was informed they would supply this "after" signing the contract. From there i went online and started reading up some more on remodel nightmares. This lead me to the issues with the contract not specifying dates or anything other than "per estimate".

I should also mention that while the representative was great the company is greatly lacking in online information. Website doesn't mention much at all, no social activity in a few years and so on. Nearly zero online info or reviews. That is were the concern original started

The very first thing I would do is to have a look at previous work performed by this contractor.

Reworking cabinetry and enclosing a carport require skill sets at near opposite ends of the spectrum. A worker may possess adequate skills to enclose a carport and be a complete disaster when it comes to painstaking attention to detail when working with cabinetry. Kinda' like you generally would not hire a timber framer to build a grandfather clock.

I had a contractor provide me with insurance information that was not valid. Make sure the documentation is current and comes directly from his insurance company.

"We got the contract and it is very light on the information."

Signing a vague contract is asking for trouble.

I am going to asking for more info on the contract, license and insurance information along with terms and conditions on contract. If they don't want to do this then i'll have to start over.

Hi, Laura,

Not all states require contractors to be licensed, so check to see what your state's requirements are. Most municipalities require contractors to have a business license, which is not the same thing.

You should absolutely make sure the contractor is insured before letting them set foot on your property. If not, you may be responsible for compensable workers' injuries plus any general liability. Proceed with caution.

pretty sure georgia does require licensing. We have found their license info out online. We are now waiting on the proof of insurance, dates to be on the contract and more details on the work to be done and payment stipulations. I appreciate everyone's input. We are having a very hard time finding someone to do what we want. We are now at the point of probably just trying to hire someone to build out the outside walls, doors, windows and we'll just do all the rest ourselves.