Homeowner guides · 2026-10-20 · By David Linda, Founder
Is My Contractor Licensed? How to Check in Your State
“Are you licensed?” is the most common question homeowners ask a contractor, and the least useful one, because the answer is almost always “yes.” Sometimes that is true. Sometimes the license expired years ago, belongs to someone else, or covers a different trade. Here is how to get a real answer quickly, and what the answer actually means.
The fast answer
Ask your contractor: “Can you send me your verified HomeProFax report?” The report shows every license record matched to the business, the board that issued it, the license type, its status and its expiry date, all from public records. A licensed contractor can share it in a minute. If they cannot or will not, that tells you something too.
If they have not claimed a profile yet, search the business name free on HomeProFax.com. HomeProFax holds 501,894 contractor profiles, so there is a good chance a report already exists.
What the license statuses mean
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Active | The license is current with the issuing board. | Check the type matches your job and the name matches your contract. |
| Expired | The license was not renewed by its expiry date. | Ask whether it was renewed or whether they work under another license. |
| Inactive | The holder put the license on hold. | Not current. Ask before any work that requires a license. |
| Suspended or revoked | The board took action against the license. | Read the board record. Do not hire for licensed work. |
| No license found | No matching record yet. | Ask for the license number and issuing board. It may be a name mismatch. |
How often licenses are not current
In HomeProFax data, the answer depends heavily on the state, because each board publishes different records:
- Texas: of 168,090 profiles built mainly from Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) data, 34,742 show an expired license, about one in five.
- Colorado: of 62,502 profiles built from Colorado DORA data, 30,831 show an expired license, about half. See the Colorado guide.
- California: our 228,992 California profiles come from CSLB’s current license file, which lists licenses that are on the books today, so expired California licenses are mostly not in our data. If a California contractor has no HomeProFax profile at all, ask for their license number and the name it is issued under.
An expired record is not proof of wrongdoing. People retire, change trades and move. But it is the single most common gap between what a contractor says and what the record shows, and it takes one question to clear up.
Which trades need a license?
California
The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) licenses general contractors and specialty trades such as roofing (C-39), electrical (C-10), plumbing (C-36) and HVAC (C-20). A license is required for any job of $1,000 or more in combined labor and materials, and for smaller jobs that need a building permit or use employees (this threshold rose from $500 on January 1, 2025).
Texas
Texas does not issue a statewide general contractor license. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) licenses electricians and air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, and the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners licenses plumbers. Some cities add their own rules: Austin, for example, requires general and trade contractors to register with the city before they are assigned to a permit.
Colorado
Colorado licenses electricians and plumbers through DORA. General contractors and roofers are licensed by individual cities and counties, such as Denver, Aurora and Boulder, and those licenses generally do not carry over from one city to the next.
Your city may add its own rules on top of these. If you are hiring a general contractor in Texas or Colorado, ask which city license or registration they hold for your address.
Licensed is not the whole story
A license is the minimum. It does not tell you whether the contractor pulls permits, has board discipline on file, or has unresolved complaints. That is why a HomeProFax report goes further than a license lookup:
- Discipline: 4,033 profiles carry a board discipline or legal-action flag.
- Permits: 2,011,488 permits are matched to 42,873 profiles. See contractor permit history.
- Complaints and reviews: BBB data where researched, plus links to Google, Angi, Yelp, BBB and HomeAdvisor in the “Around the web” panel.
The HomeProFax Score sums these up, with up to 35 of 100 points for license status alone.
Check the name, not just the license
A real license can still belong to a different business. Make sure the business name and license number on your contract match the report. If a contractor gives you someone else’s license number, or the name on the truck differs from the name on the report, ask why before you sign. This is covered in more detail in the contractor license, permit and complaint check guide.
Browse by state
California contractors · Texas contractors · Colorado contractors · all states. See a sample HomeProFax report (Fox Service Company, Austin).
Figures are counts of HomeProFax profiles as of October 20, 2026. Licensing rules summarized here are general and can change. Confirm the rules for your job with the issuing board or your local building department. HomeProFax organizes public records and is not a consumer report. See data sources and the disclaimer.
Common questions
How can I tell if my contractor is licensed?
Ask them for their verified HomeProFax report. It shows the license records matched to the business, the issuing board, the status and the expiry date, from public records. You can also search the business name free on HomeProFax.com.
What is the difference between an expired and an inactive license?
An expired license was not renewed by its expiry date. An inactive license is usually one the holder has voluntarily put on hold. Either way, the license is not current, so the holder should not be contracting work that requires it until it is reactivated.
Do all contractors need a license?
No. It depends on the state, the city and the trade. California requires a CSLB license for jobs of $1,000 or more and for any job that needs a permit or uses employees. Texas licenses electricians, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, and plumbers, but does not issue a statewide general contractor license. Colorado licenses electricians and plumbers at the state level and leaves general contractors to cities.
My contractor’s license is expired. Should I cancel?
Ask first. They may have renewed recently, or they may work under another license. Ask for the current license number and check that it appears on their report. If no current license exists for work that requires one, pause the job.
Does HomeProFax verify licenses?
HomeProFax matches public license records from state boards to contractor profiles and shows the source. A Verified badge additionally means the contractor claimed their profile and passed a license match and admin review. The issuing board remains the official source.
Keep reading
- How to Verify a Contractor’s License in Any State
- How to read a HomeProFax report: what the score does and does not mean
- Permits, discipline records and red flags, explained
- How to Check a Roofer: License, Permits and Complaints
- Contractor license, permit and complaint check: the five records that matter, in one report
- Colorado Contractor License Lookup: DORA and City Licenses
- Contractor permit history: why pulled permits tell you more than reviews
Search any contractor free on the homepage, read how the HomeProFax score works, or see a sample HomeProFax report → (Fox Service Company, Austin).