Short answer: yes, and most of it is free. A contractor's license, bond, insurance, business registration, court cases, board complaints and building permits are public records or easy to ask for. A criminal or credit check on the person is a different thing: federal law limits who can get one, and it will not tell you whether their last job passed inspection.
In a hurry? In Washington, look up the license, bond and insurance now, free. In any state, start with your state's official lookup, or email us one contractor's name and state and we will send back what the state board shows on their license, free.
What a contractor background check can cover
| Record | What it tells you | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| License | Whether it is real, current and the right class for the job | Your state's lookup; in some states the city or county |
| Bond and insurance | What stands behind the work, with amounts and end dates | The license page in several states; otherwise ask the insurer for a certificate |
| Business entity | Whether the company is active and how long it has existed | The Secretary of State's business search |
| Court cases | Suits by clients and against the company, and bankruptcies | PACER and RECAP for federal cases; the county court's portal for state cases |
| Complaints and discipline | Citations, suspensions and settlements | The licensing board; your state or local consumer protection office |
| Permits | Whether past jobs were signed off | The city or county's permit search |
| Reviews and references | What past clients say | Ask for recent clients and call them; read online reviews critically |
The FTC's advice covers the same ground: confirm the license with your state or county, ask for proof of insurance, ask the local Home Builders Association and consumer protection officials about complaints, and search the company's name with words like scam, review and complaint. How to vet a contractor before you sign walks through each record, with every state's lookup.
What it costs
State license lookups are free. Federal court records on PACER cost $0.10 a page, at most $3 a document, and the fees are waived if you spend $30 or less in a quarter. RECAP on CourtListener is free and holds much of PACER, not all of it. County court portals and city permit searches vary, so check before you rely on one.
Can I run a criminal or credit check on a contractor?
Not the way you can look up a license. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer reporting agency may give out a person's file only to someone with a valid need, and an employer needs the person's written consent. Screening companies work inside those rules, so ask them what applies to you before you order anything. County court records are public in many places and you can search a name, but a name match is not proof it is the same person.
It also answers a different question. Neither report says whether the company's bond is current or whether its permits were ever closed. If crews will be in your home, the simple route is to ask the company what screening it does and get the answer in writing.
Is there one national database?
Not that we know of. Each state keeps its own license records, and some have no statewide license for general contractors, among them Texas, New York, Illinois and Colorado, so the city or county is the check there. A clean record in one state says nothing about another. Search where the work will be, and ask where else the company has worked and under what names.
How to read what you find
- Match the names and numbers. The business name and license number on your contract should be the ones on the state's page.
- Treat a name match as a lead. Business names repeat. Confirm it is the same company before you act on it.
- A lawsuit is a claim, not a finding. Read what the case is about: a contractor suing over an unpaid invoice is a different story from a client suing over abandoned work.
- An empty page is not a clean history. Washington's page, for one, mostly covers the previous six years, and a company under a new name starts with an empty one.
- An expired permit is a question. It means the work was never signed off under that permit. Ask about it before you pay.
Asked for a deposit? See what the law allows, state by state.
Or have it done for you
The Contractor Due Diligence Report runs the business-record checks above on the contractor you are about to hire, in any state, and returns one document within two business days, every finding sourced and dated. Read a real sample report (a Washington roofing contractor, names withheld). It is a public-record review of the business, not a consumer report or background check on any person, and it does not cover criminal or credit history.
Sources read October 31, 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.