Provo contractor license lookup: the DOPL license, R100 or B100, and the City permits

Which license each job needs in Provo

Utah Code 58-55-102 defines the residential and small commercial contractor as one who may build "single-family residences, multifamily residences up to four units, and commercial construction of not more than three stories above ground and not more than 20,000 square feet", and both it and the general building contractor exclude "plumbing, electrical work, mechanical work", which they must hire out (read 23 October 2026). So on a basement finish the R100 firm should name a licensed electrician and plumber.

The handyman exemption in 58-55-305 covers work "with a contracted or agreed value of less than $7,000, including both labor and materials, and including all changes or additions". Even then, work on an electrical or plumbing system "shall be performed by a licensed electrical or plumbing contractor", and "if the total value of the project is greater than $3,000" the handyman must have filed an affirmation with DOPL. The usual Provo remodel permit carries $35,000, five times the limit.

Utah's Lien Recovery Fund is closed to new claims

DOPL says "The LRF is currently unable to pay new claims. Contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers must pursue other legal remedies to resolve payment disputes" (LRF General Information, read 23 October 2026). If your general contractor fails to pay a sub, you could face a lien with no fund behind you, so ask for lien waivers with each payment.

How to run the lookup in five minutes

1. Ask for the DOPL license number and, on a remodel, the license numbers of the electrician and plumber.
2. Search DOPL's License Lookup by name or number. Read the status, the expiry date and the classifications.
3. Match the class to the job: R100 or B100 for a house, a specialty only for its trade.
4. Permits: look the address up on Provo's portal (below).
5. Track record: open the firm on our Provo new-home builder list, remodeler list or roofer list.

How to search Provo permit records

Provo's CityView portal, branded Provo Connect, handles "permits, utility agreements, licenses, applications, inspections, and reporting zoning violations", and the City says "You can also search properties in Provo to find related information" (read 23 October 2026). Use Search for a Property with your address; applying for a building, fire or electrical permit needs an account. Help is on 311 inside Provo or 801-852-6000.

The portal is organised by property. Ours is organised by firm: each firm's Provo permits, usual job value and share closed, on the Provo permit statistics page and the compare lists.

What 1,149 Provo permits show

New homes close reliably: 88.2% closed within a year, the usual one in 254 days, and the five busiest builders held 63.1% of the work. Re-roof and solar permits are often never formally closed (36.1% and 20.3%), so those figures say more about paperwork than about roofs. Remodels are spread thin: 74.7% of remodel firms filed one permit in three years, which leaves the DOPL record as most of what you can check.

See every Provo home builder by permits closed →

Red flags in Provo

• An R100 or B100 firm doing its own wiring or plumbing. Both classes exclude that work.
• A "handyman" quote of $7,000 or more, or one split into smaller jobs.
• A specialty license used for a whole-house job, such as a roofer quoting a basement finish.
• No lien waivers offered on a job with subcontractors, now that the Lien Recovery Fund pays no new claims.
• A firm that has gone quiet: 3 home builders and 3 roofers with 5+ permits filed none in the last 12 months of our data.

What this lookup does not tell you

DOPL publishes no bulk license list, so our Provo pages show no license status; a blank there says nothing about the firm. Provo's permit file names a contractor on most building permits but almost no mechanical, electrical or plumbing permits, so only four trades are ranked. A permit covering several townhome addresses counts once, which makes large builders' counts smaller. Our data stops at September 2026. Penalties, citations and the disciplinary search are in How to check a contractor's license in Utah.