Contractor red flags, including the three you can see in the public record

The three flags in the record, by city

Permits Oct 2023 to Sep 2026 (Saint Paul Jul 2022 to Jun 2025). "Firms" counts every business with a permit in that trade. "Not matched" means we hold no license file we can join to that city's permits yet, not that the firms are unlicensed.

Flag 1: the license is no longer active

What it is. The firm pulled permits in the window, matched a state license, and that license now reads expired, suspended, revoked, inactive or voluntarily terminated. What the numbers say. Saint Paul roofing is the high end at 14.9%, with Bellevue HVAC (13.0%) and New York HVAC (12.8%) close behind. California boards show fewer: 2.8% of San Francisco roofers, 2.6% in Anaheim. Check it. Search the license number on the board's site the day you sign and again the day work starts; our state license guides link each board. Limit. We left out Miami, Cape Coral, Boulder, Arlington, Bend and Medford: the license files we match there carry almost no non-active statuses, so a lapsed license shows up as "no match" rather than "expired". A high no-match share (Austin electrical, 29.2%) means names that did not match, not unlicensed firms.

Flag 2: the firm went quiet

What it is. Five or more permits in the window and none in the last 12 months of it (for Saint Paul, the year to June 2025). What the numbers say. 144 Minneapolis roofing firms and 105 in Saint Paul fit that; so do 102 Seattle electrical firms. Check it. The firm's page here lists permits by date. If the last one is over a year old, ask what changed. A new business name is the answer to follow up: look it up on the license board and on our A to Z list. Limit. Firms close, merge and retire for ordinary reasons, and some move their work outside the city limits we cover.

Flag 3: few permits reach a final

What it is. The share of a firm's permits, a year or more old, that the city closed out with a final inspection. What the numbers say. Among Saint Paul roofers with 10+ permits, 113 of 290 finish under 70%; among Seattle electricians, 2 of 252 do. Cities record finals differently, so a gap between cities says little; that is why each row gives the 10th-percentile firm, the bar to compare a firm against in the same city and trade. Check it. Open the firm's page and look at the finished share; then search one of its older permits on the city portal and read the inspection list. Limit. Homeowners sometimes never book the final, and that counts against the contractor here.

See every Saint Paul roofer by permit record and license status →

Three city notes: Chicago roofers, Columbus siding, Cincinnati structural repair

Roofer red flags in Chicago

Illinois licenses roofers at state level through IDFPR: a license number "starts with #104-", subcontracted roofers "must also be licensed", and IDFPR warns about out-of-state roofers not licensed in Illinois (IDFPR brochure). We have not matched Chicago's permits to IDFPR yet, so flag 1 is yours to check on IDFPR's lookup. Flags 2 and 3 are in the table: 11 roofing firms went quiet, and Chicago closed out 64.7% of its roofing permits a year or more old, the usual one in 207 days.

Siding and roofing red flags in Columbus

815 roofing, siding and window firms filed 19,187 permits in Columbus from October 2023 to September 2026, and 40 of those with 5 or more permits filed none in the last 12 months (flag 2). We do not show flag 3 for this trade: Columbus records no issue-to-final dates for it, and its finished share, 38.3%, is far below Columbus plumbing (67.8%) and HVAC (65.7%); we read that as how the city closes these permits, not as the firms' work, but the file cannot say which. For the license, Ohio has no state siding license; the City requires a Home Improvement Limited Contractor license for roofing, siding, decks and fencing on homes, and contractors must hold it before they can apply for permits (City of Columbus). Ask for that license, then check the firm on the Columbus list and in our Ohio guide.

Structural repair red flags in Cincinnati

Cincinnati filed 597 structural repair permits from 336 firms; 52.4% of those a year or more old were closed out, the usual one in 353 days. Too few firms have 10 or more permits for a percentile, so compare a firm's own finished share against that city figure on the Cincinnati structural repair list. Every contractor working in Cincinnati must hold a current city registration; the lookup is in our Ohio guide.

Run all three checks in five minutes

1. Ask for the license number and the exact registered business name.
2. Search the number on the state board's site and read the status line; it must say Active. Our Washington and California guides show where it sits.
3. Search the business name on this site and open the firm page for your city and trade. Note the date of the newest permit (more than 12 months ago is flag 2) and the finished share.
4. Compare that finished share with the 10th-percentile figure in the table above for the same city and trade. Below it is flag 3.
5. Pick one older permit from the firm page and search its address on the city's own portal to see the inspection list.

Seven behaviour red flags, with the official source

1. They ask you to get the permit. The FTC's list of scam signs includes "Scammers ask you to get any required building permits" (FTC, read Oct 2026). The record shows it: the permit names you as owner-builder. It can also cost you a remedy. Nevada's Residential Recovery Fund excludes owners who pulled the building permit themselves (Nevada State Contractors Board, accessed Oct 2026).

2. They want a big deposit, all of it up front, or cash. The FTC flags contractors who "ask you to pay for everything up front or only accept cash". In California a home-improvement down payment may not exceed $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less (B&P § 7159.5(a)(3)), and the Attorney General lists a contractor who "takes more for a down payment than is allowed by law" as a common scam. CSLB: "Don't pay cash." The NAIC suggests paying in instalments by check or credit card so there is a record (NAIC, Sept 2024).

3. They came to your door. The FTC's list opens with "Scammers knock on your door looking for business", saying they are "in the area" or "have materials left over from a previous job". The Texas Attorney General notes scams "flourish in the wake of disasters", especially storms, and that door-to-door rip-offs ask for payment in full in advance.

4. They push you to sign now. The FTC, the California Attorney General ("pushes for an immediate decision"), the Texas Attorney General ("rushes you or tries to make you sign on the spot") and the NAIC all list pressure. Your check is time: the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel many sales made at your home, with two copies of a cancellation form owed to you; repairs you invited and emergency work are not covered (FTC, Sept 2025).

5. The contract has blanks, or there is no contract. The FTC says to get a written contract even where your state does not require one, with the contractor's name, address, phone and license number, start and completion dates, and every spoken promise, and to "make sure all blank spaces are filled in". The Texas Attorney General: "DO NOT sign a contract with blanks in it."

6. The bid is far below what other firms file for the same job. The FTC's scam list does not name price, but you can see what is usual for the job before you compare bids. In Saint Paul the middle half of roofing firms have a usual filed value between $9,550 and $15,552; in Seattle, the middle half of electrical firms file $2,250 to $8,000. A quote at half the bottom of that range is a reason to ask what is left out, line by line. Filed values are what contractors told the city, not contract prices, so treat a gap as a question.

7. They won't show you insurance. The NAIC tells consumers to get a copy of the contractor's proof of liability insurance and of workers' comp, and to "call the insurance company to verify the coverage" (NAIC, Sept 2024). A contractor who sends a photo of a certificate but will not name the agent, or whose certificate dates have passed, fails the check. Our bonded vs insured guide has each state's minimum.

What the record cannot flag

Workmanship the inspector does not see, unpermitted work, how a firm treats customers, and anything after our last refresh (about monthly). The license and permit searches are live; check them on the day.