Guides · 2026-10-25 · By David Linda, Founder

How to Check a Contractor in Colorado: License, Courts, Permits and Insurance

Checking a contractor is something you can do yourself, for free or close to it, in about ten minutes. The catch is that the records are scattered. This guide gives the general method first, then the exact Colorado sites for each step. Everything here was checked on the official pages listed under Sources on October 25, 2026.

Is there a credit bureau for contractors?

No. There is no single official credit bureau for contractors that homeowners can check. The tools that come closest are built for businesses checking other businesses, not for homeowners hiring a pro:

Levelset sells construction-payment tools. Its page for property owners offers "credit risk reports" with a Payment Risk Score built from past payment disputes, average days to pay and ratings from other contractors and vendors.
Experian business credit reports and the Dun & Bradstreet Business Information Report are paid business credit files. Both pitch them for deciding how much credit to extend to a customer, supplier or partner.

A homeowner's question is different: is this contractor licensed, insured, and free of a record of discipline, lawsuits and unfinished permits? There is no one place for that answer. You put it together from the license board, the courts, the city permit office, OSHA, the insurer and the BBB. HomeProFax pulls the public licensing, permit, discipline and business-registration records into one free contractor report, with a link to each source. You still finish the steps it can't do for you, such as court searches and calling the insurer.

How to check a contractor in Colorado in 10 minutes

Get the exact business name and license numbers (1 minute). Ask for the legal business name, every state and city license number, and the address. A real contractor answers this in one text message.
Look the business up on HomeProFax (1 minute). Search the name to see its free contractor report: license status and expiry, permits, discipline flags and sources. Use it as your map, then confirm the key facts at the source.
Electricians and plumbers: confirm the state license and discipline (2 minutes). Search the DORA license lookup. The status must be active, and the record shows any board action.
Roofers, general contractors and HVAC: confirm the city license (2 minutes). Colorado doesn't license these trades statewide, so check the city or county where your house is: Denver, Aurora, or PPRBD for Colorado Springs and El Paso County.
Confirm the business exists (1 minute). Search the Colorado Secretary of State business database for the exact name on your contract and check its status.
Check insurance and workers' comp (2 minutes, plus a call). Get a certificate of insurance, call the insurer named on it, and search the CDLE workers’ comp databases.
Check complaints and safety (1 minute). Look at the business's BBB profile and the OSHA establishment search.
If the job is big, search the courts (extra time). Colorado state court records are online only through paid vendors. See the courts section below.

Any one of these can stop a hire. An inactive license, a business that isn't in good standing, or an insurer that has never heard of the policy is enough to walk away.

Who licenses what in Colorado

The first trap is assuming "licensed" means the same thing for every trade. DORA's own consumer page says it plainly: "Not all occupations are licensed, such as roofers and general contractors," and it tells you to check with your city (DORA).

Trade	Who licenses it	Where to check
Electricians	State: DORA State Electrical Board	DORA license lookup
Plumbers	State: DORA State Plumbing Board	DORA license lookup
Roofers	No state license; cities and counties	Denver, Aurora, PPRBD, Lakewood
General contractors	No state license; cities and counties	Same city and county offices
HVAC / mechanical	No state license; cities and counties	Same city and county offices

Cities often require the state license before they register an electrician or plumber. Aurora, for example, has electricians and plumbers put their state master and contractor licenses on file instead of issuing a separate trade license, and Lakewood asks plumbing and electrical registrants for the state contractor's and master's licenses (Lakewood registration classes). Our guides go deeper on electricians and plumbers, roofing licenses, furnace and HVAC work and Denver licensing.

Step 1 in depth: the license and the discipline record

A license number on a business card or truck proves nothing until you see its status. In HomeProFax's Colorado data, 62,503 profiles with a Colorado address hold a DORA electrical or plumbing license record, and 31,652 of them (51%) have no active one. The state roster keeps expired and inactive licenses for years, so a number can look real and still be dead. (Source: HomeProFax profile data built from the DORA roster of October 19, 2026, counted October 25, 2026.)

On the DORA lookup, check three things: the status (active, not expired or inactive), the license type (it should match the work you're hiring for), and whether the record shows a board action. DORA's home and repair page tells consumers to look up licenses and check for discipline before hiring. For city-licensed trades, the city lookup shows status and expiry; Denver's e-permits system also lets you search records by contractor license number.

Step 2 in depth: civil and small-claims court records

Court records answer the question license boards can't: has this business been sued by customers or suppliers? In Colorado this takes more effort than the other steps:

State courts are not searchable on the Judicial Branch website. The Colorado Judicial Branch says access to court records "is not available directly through the Colorado Judicial Branch website." Online access is through approved third-party vendors, and "there are charges for these services" (Colorado Judicial Branch). Two vendors that serve the public are Background Information Services and LexisNexis CoCourts.com.
Or ask the clerk. Each courthouse clerk can search its own records. Fees vary by court; for example, the Summit County Combined Courts fee form lists a $5 non-party search (court form). Call the clerk in the county where the business is based.
Denver is separate. Denver County Court runs its own system, separate from the state courts, and has its own public case search at denvercountycourt.org. It hears civil cases up to $25,000 and small claims.
Federal court matters less for home repair, but HomeProFax reports show possible federal-case matches from CourtListener, labeled "possible match — verify". Same names are common, so confirm before you draw a conclusion.

Search under both the business name and the owner's name. A single old case isn't a verdict on the business; a pattern of customer suits is. The BBB won't fill this gap: its FAQ says it generally does not report private lawsuits or small claims court actions (BBB FAQ).

Step 3 in depth: the permit history

Permits show what a contractor actually builds, under its own name, and whether the work passed inspection. They also tell you whether the contractor will pull a permit for your job.

Denver: the Denver e-permits (Accela) portal lets you search permit records, including by contractor license number. See the city's e-permits page for help.
Aurora: the project status search looks up permits by address or by person or business.
Colorado Springs and El Paso County: PPRBD's permit search by address shows permits for a property, and its contractor search shows the license.
Boulder and Denver open data feed the permit section of HomeProFax reports, so you can see a contractor's permits there without learning each portal.

Look for a steady record of permits that reached final inspection, in the trade you're hiring for. A roofer with years of business and no roofing permits is a question to ask. See our Denver and Boulder permit guide for what an open permit means.

Step 4 in depth: OSHA safety record

The OSHA establishment search lets you search by establishment name and shows inspections, citations and violations. Two cautions from OSHA's own page: different companies can have similar names, and records can change until a case is closed. An inspection alone isn't a finding; look at whether violations were cited and how serious they were.

Step 5 in depth: insurance, workers' comp and bonds

Ask for a certificate of insurance listing the business name, policy number and dates, then call the insurance company to confirm the policy is active (NAIC). Don't rely on the paper alone. Colorado's Division of Workers' Compensation says a certificate "indicates past coverage but doesn't always confirm current status," and it offers two databases: one for active workers' comp coverage and one for businesses that legally rejected coverage (CDLE). The same page warns that if you hire an uninsured roofing company and a worker is hurt, you may share liability.

Some cities set their own insurance rules. PPRBD, for example, requires a roofer's certificate to show that re-roofing is covered (PPRBD insurance requirements). If a contractor says it's bonded, get the surety company and bond number and confirm them with the surety.

Step 6 in depth: BBB and complaints

The BBB is a nonprofit, not a government agency. Its A+ to F rating weighs complaint history, how the business responds, transparency and licensing or government actions, and customer reviews don't change the rating. Accreditation is separate and paid, and BBB says dues don't buy a rating (BBB FAQ). Read the complaint text, not just the letter grade. Our HomeProFax vs BBB comparison covers what each one shows.

If something has already gone wrong

Fraud or deceptive practices: report to the Colorado Attorney General at coag.gov or StopFraudColorado.gov.
Licensed trades: file a complaint with DORA against the electrician or plumber's license.
Money owed: Colorado small claims court handles claims of $7,500 or less (Colorado Judicial Branch).
A deposit and no work: see what to do if a contractor took your deposit in Colorado.

What a HomeProFax report covers, and what it doesn't

A HomeProFax report is a free contractor report from public records. HomeProFax holds 68,075 Colorado contractor profiles, including 36,748 profiles marked active (as of October 24, 2026; see Colorado contractors). Each report shows the license line (issuer, type, status and expiry), building permits where the city publishes them, board discipline flags, Colorado business registration where it matches, a BBB rating where researched, approved homeowner reviews and possible federal court matches. Every line links to its source.

It does not search Colorado state or small-claims courts, check insurance, or replace the city lookup for the city where you live. It is a starting point for your own check, not a substitute for it. How the score works is on our methodology page.

Other places homeowners check

Site	What it is	Compare
BuildZoom	Contractor directory with a free matching and project service for homeowners	HomeProFax vs BuildZoom
BBB	Nonprofit ratings, complaints and accreditation	HomeProFax vs BBB
Angi	Marketplace to find, book and pay pros	HomeProFax vs Angi

Colorado pages to start from

City pages: Denver · Aurora · Colorado Springs · Boulder. Trades: Aurora roofers · Aurora general contractors · Aurora HVAC · Denver electricians · Denver plumbers. Seasonal guides: hail damage and roof replacement · frozen pipes.

Last updated October 25, 2026. Agency rules and portals: the official pages listed under Sources, checked October 25, 2026. Business-credit products: each company’s own product page, checked October 25, 2026. Colorado figures: HomeProFax profile data as of October 24, 2026 (DORA electrical and plumbing roster of October 19, 2026). This is general information, not legal advice. Rules and portals change, so confirm with the agency. HomeProFax is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the FCRA, and its reports may not be used for credit, insurance, employment or tenant screening decisions. Full disclaimer.

Common questions

Is there a credit bureau for contractors?

No. There is no single official credit bureau for contractors that homeowners can check. Business credit tools such as Levelset, Experian business credit reports and Dun & Bradstreet are built for businesses deciding whether to extend credit to another business. Homeowners piece together a contractor's record from the license board, the courts, city permit records, OSHA, the insurer and the BBB. HomeProFax pulls the public licensing, permit and discipline records into one free contractor report with source links.

How do I check a contractor myself?

Get the legal business name and license numbers, confirm the license and any discipline with the licensing agency, confirm the business with the Secretary of State, search civil and small-claims court records, check permits with the city, search OSHA, call the insurer named on the certificate of insurance, and read BBB complaints. In Colorado most of these steps take about ten minutes; state court searches take longer and usually cost a fee.

Do roofers and general contractors need a license in Colorado?

Not from the state. DORA says not all occupations are licensed, such as roofers and general contractors, and tells consumers to check with their city. Denver, Aurora, Lakewood and PPRBD (Colorado Springs and El Paso County) are examples of local offices that license or register them. Electricians and plumbers are licensed by the state through DORA.

How can I search Colorado court records for a contractor?

The Colorado Judicial Branch says its records are not searchable directly on its website. Online searches go through approved third-party vendors that charge fees, such as LexisNexis CoCourts.com, or you can ask the clerk of the county court to search; fees vary by court. Denver County Court runs its own separate system with its own public case search.

How do I verify a contractor's insurance in Colorado?

Ask for a certificate of insurance and call the insurance company named on it to confirm the policy is current. For workers' compensation, Colorado's Division of Workers' Compensation offers databases to check active coverage and legal rejections of coverage, because a certificate shows past coverage but may not confirm current status.

What is a HomeProFax report?

A HomeProFax report is a free contractor report from public records such as license boards, permits and business registrations. HomeProFax is not a consumer reporting agency, and its reports may not be used for credit, insurance, employment or tenant screening decisions. Use it as a starting point for your own check.

Where do I complain about a Colorado contractor?

Report fraud or deceptive practices to the Colorado Attorney General (coag.gov or StopFraudColorado.gov), file license complaints against electricians and plumbers with DORA, and use small claims court for money claims of $7,500 or less.

Sources

Official pages we checked for this guide. Rules change, so confirm with the agency before you rely on them.

More Colorado guides

All HomeProFax.com guides · Colorado contractors