| # | Ask | Check it at | What the file says is normal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | License number and exact registered name? | State license board search | SF roofers: 91.7% active; Seattle electricians: 10.3% no longer active |
| 2 | Will you pull the permit, in your company's name? | City permit portal, by your address | Seattle electrical permits finished: 94.6% |
| 3 | Three addresses of jobs like mine here, last 12 months? | City permit portal, by each address | Seattle heat-pump firms with one permit in 3 years: 16.5% |
| 4 | What share of your permits passed a final? | Our firm page | Seattle heat-pump firms (10+ permits): 64.8% to 96.7% |
| 5 | What value will you file on the permit? | Our compare page, "usual job" | SF roofing, middle half of firms: $11,000–$19,600 |
| 6 | Who insures you, and can I call them? | The insurer named on the certificate | WA minimum: $250,000 combined, or $200,000 + $50,000 (L&I) |
| 7 | Who holds your bond, and for how much? | State license board search | CA $25,000 (CSLB); WA $30,000 general, $15,000 specialty (L&I) |
| 8 | What deposit, and what payment schedule? | Your state's statute | CA cap: 10% or $1,000, whichever is less |
| 9 | Who pulls the electrical and plumbing permits? | City permit portal | Medford: each trade permit names its own contractor |
| 10 | Start date, and how long to the final? | Our compare page, "days to finish" | Seattle heat pump: 105 days; SF roofing: 36 days |
1. "What's your license number, and what exact name is it under?"
Why: the license record is where the board keeps the bond, insurance and complaint history. Good answer: a number given on the spot, matching the name on the estimate. Check: type the number into the board's own search: CSLB in California, L&I Verify in Washington, DBPR in Florida, the CCB search in Oregon. Status must read Active today. In our Seattle file, 77 of 749 electrical firms that pulled permits in the last three years now show an expired, suspended or otherwise inactive license (10.3%). Our state guides walk through each board: California, Washington, Florida.
2. "Will you pull the permit, in your company's name?"
Why: the FTC's home-improvement page lists a contractor who asks you to obtain the permits as a sign of a scam (FTC, read Oct 2026). Good answer: "Yes, we pull it, here's when, and I'll send you the number." Check: a week after the start date, search your address on the city portal (the permit search for all 46 cities). The permit should name the company, not you. Most permitted jobs do get signed off: 94.6% of Seattle electrical permits a year or more old reached a final, and 97.5% of Miami roofing permits did.
3. "Give me three addresses of jobs like mine you did here in the last year."
Why: references are chosen by the contractor; permit records are not. Good answer: street addresses, not first names and phone numbers. Check: search each address on the city portal and look for a permit in the contractor's name, of your job type, with a final. In San Francisco roofing, 551 firms had one permit in three years and 142 had ten or more; in Seattle heat pumps only 16.5% had a single permit. A one-permit firm is not a bad firm; it is a firm with one job you can inspect.
4. "What share of your permitted jobs passed a final inspection?"
Why: a final is the city's sign-off; a permit that expires without one is a job nobody checked at the end. Good answer: a contractor who knows the number, or says "look us up". Check: the firm's page on this site shows its permits and how many reached a final. Among Seattle heat-pump firms with 10 or more permits, the 10th-percentile firm finished 64.8% and the 90th-percentile firm 96.7%; 17 of 118 such firms were under 70%. In San Francisco roofing the spread was 62.2% to 98.1%. Compare a firm with others in the same city and trade, not across cities.
5. "What value will you put on the permit?"
Why: the filed value is what the contractor told the city the job is worth, and it shows whether your quote is in the usual range. Good answer: a figure close to the contract price. Check: the compare page for your city and trade shows each firm's usual filed value. In San Francisco roofing the middle half of firms (with 3+ permits, n = 335) file usual jobs between $11,000 and $19,600; the usual job across all permits is $15,275. A quote at three times the top of that range deserves a line-by-line explanation.
6. "Who is your insurer, and can I call them to confirm?"
Why: a certificate shows cover on the day it was printed; the insurer can confirm it today. Good answer: a certificate showing the company name, the insurer's phone number and the policy number. Check: the National Association of Insurance Commissioners says to get exactly those three items and "Call the insurance company to verify the coverage", and to ask for proof of workers' compensation too (NAIC, Sept 2024). In Washington, L&I requires general liability cover of $200,000 public liability and $50,000 property damage, or $250,000 combined single limit, for registration (L&I, accessed Oct 2026), and the L&I Verify record shows the insurer on file.
7. "Who holds your bond, and how much is it?"
Why: the bond is the money a customer can claim if the contractor breaks the license law. Good answer: the surety's name and the amount. Check: the board lookup shows the bond. The California contractor bond is $25,000 (CSLB bonds guide, rev. 12/22); Washington's is $30,000 for general and $15,000 for specialty contractors since 1 July 2024 (L&I). One bond covers every job the contractor has open, so earlier claims shrink what is left.
8. "How much is the deposit, and when are the other payments?"
Why: a large deposit is money you cannot get back if the job stops. Good answer: a small deposit and payments tied to stages of finished work. Check: the statute. In California a home-improvement down payment "shall not exceed" $1,000 or 10% of the contract, whichever is less, and later payments may not exceed the value of work performed (B&P § 7159.5(a)(3), (a)(5)); CSLB adds "Don't pay cash". The FTC says "Don't pay the full amount for the project up front" and never to make the final payment "until the work is done and you're satisfied with it" (FTC, read Oct 2026).
9. "Who pulls the electrical and plumbing permits?"
Why: trade work is often permitted separately: in Medford every electrical, mechanical and plumbing permit is issued to its own contractor and finaled on its own (Medford permit file). Good answer: the names of the electrician and plumber. Check: search your address on the portal after the start; each trade permit names its own contractor. Seattle issues electrical permits to 749 separate firms in our file, and you can look each one up on its own firm page.
10. "When do you start, and when will the final inspection be?"
Why: the contract date is a promise; the permit file shows how long jobs like yours actually take. Good answer: a start date and an estimated completion date written into the contract, which the FTC says the contract should include. Check: our compare pages give usual days from permit issue to the city's completion date: 105 days for a Seattle heat pump, 66 for a Seattle furnace, 36 for a San Francisco roof.
See every San Francisco roofer by their permit record →
Three contract questions no public record answers
These go in the contract, because no board or permit file will hold them for you. The FTC says the written contract should include every promise made out loud (FTC, read Oct 2026).
- "What is your warranty on labour, and who registers the manufacturer's warranty?" Get the length and what it covers in the contract, and the registration confirmation in your name.
- "How do we handle changes?" Ask that every change to scope or price be written and signed by both of you before the work is done, so the final bill matches paper you have seen.
- "Who are your subcontractors and suppliers, and will you give me lien releases?" In California, subcontractors and suppliers who may file a lien must send you a Preliminary Notice, and you may withhold the next payment until you get unconditional releases for the last one; CSLB calls a joint check payable to the contractor and the supplier or subcontractor "the simplest way to prevent liens" (CSLB, read 21 October 2026).
Not sure the job needs a contractor at all? Our general contractor vs handyman guide has the dollar line in 16 states.
What these checks do not tell you
The permit file shows what was filed, signed off and licensed. It does not show workmanship the inspector does not look at, how the contractor treats customers, or work done without a permit. Our license match is by name or number; a firm we could not match is shown as unmatched, not unlicensed. Our copy is refreshed about monthly; the city portal is the live record.
How we know this
Counts come from the permit records of each city, Oct 2023 to Sep 2026 for San Francisco and Seattle, matched to the state license files. "Finished" is the share of permits a year or more old that the city closed out; the firm-level spread uses firms with 10 or more permits. Usual job values use firms with 3 or more priced permits. Deposit, bond and insurance figures are quoted from the CSLB, California's Business and Professions Code, Washington L&I, the FTC and the NAIC, read 20 October 2026.
Numbers come from San Francisco DBI building permits on one- and two-family homes, with the contractor from the city's permit contacts file; City of Seattle (SDCI) building, trade and electrical permits on single-family and duplex homes (the city's open-data exports), data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How many questions should I ask a contractor?
10 is enough if each one can be checked; the 3 contract questions below the list cover what the record cannot. A license number, a permit promise, three recent addresses, the insurer's name and a payment schedule can each be verified in a few minutes on a public site or with one phone call.
- Is it normal for a contractor to have only a few permits in my city?
It depends on the trade. Among San Francisco roofing firms, 51.4% pulled exactly one permit in three years; among Seattle heat-pump installers it was 16.5%. One permit is not a bad sign on its own. It means you have one job to look at instead of fifty.
- What finished share should I expect?
Among Seattle heat-pump firms with 10 or more permits, eight in ten sit between 64.8% (the 10th percentile) and 96.7% (the 90th). A firm well below its own city's spread for its trade is worth a question; compare within the city, because each city records finals differently.
- Can a contractor ask me to get the permit?
The FTC lists a contractor asking you to obtain the required permits as a sign of a home improvement scam. A permit in your name usually makes you the party responsible for inspections. Ask why before agreeing.
- What if the contractor is not on your site?
They may work under a different registered name, mostly outside the city limits we cover, or in a trade the city does not publish. Search the city's permit portal by the addresses they give you; that file is the record of truth.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- How to finance a roof, heat pump or solar: FHA, USDA, PACE and state loans compared
- Is Angi (formerly Angie's List) worth it? How it works and what it costs homeowners
- Seattle contractor license lookup: which license, where to search, and what the permits show
- Contractor red flags, including the three you can see in the public record
For one city
- How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam — FTC Consumer Advice (accessed 2026-10-20)
- How Can I Avoid Getting Scammed by a Contractor? — NAIC Consumer Insight (2024-09-30; accessed 2026-10-20)
- California Business and Professions Code § 7159.5 (2025 edition, via Justia) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- What Seniors Should Know — CSLB (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Contractor's License Bonds guide — CSLB (rev. 12/22) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Register as a Contractor — Washington L&I (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business — Washington L&I (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Check a License — CSLB (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Verify a License — Florida DBPR (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Oregon CCB License Search (accessed 2026-10-20)
- How to Prevent a Mechanics Lien — CSLB (accessed 2026-10-21)