How do you find out if a plumber has a license?

Answer 1

The simple answer is - you ask them to show you their licence card.

But that's not the only thing you need to do - you also need to investigate whether your job is covered by their licence. Licensed tradies know what their licence covers and usually respects the rules (because if they don't obey them their licence will be revoked).

Answer 2

So you have a contractor in mind for you Home Improvement Projects, and now you want to verify if they are; in fact, "Licensed and Insured" Like their Business Card, Company Vehicle, or Advertisement states. Well, verifying a Contractor's License and Insurance Policy status isn't that hard, if you know what to do and where to look.

Insurance

When you're talking insurance, a good rule of thumb is, "The Contactor MUST be Insured!' Ask the contractor if the company is insured against claims covering workers' compensation, property damage, and personal liability in case of accidents. Usually, the Property Damage and Liability Insurance should be a MINIMUM of 1 MILLION DOLLARS. Ask to see a copy of the Certificate of Insurance, or ask for the name of the Contractor's insurance carrier and agency to verify that the contractor has this insurance. This is important for you as a homeowner. If a worker is injured working on your property and the contractor does not have the insurance, you are the one who will have to pick up the bill for an injured worker's injuries and rehabilitation, if necessary. Don't let your homeowner's insurance policy become th e contractor's liability coverage!

Licensing

Contractor Licensing is a little trickier subject. It would be much easier to verify licensing information, if all States had the same requirements and all contractors were licensed by one insurer... but they don't, and they aren't, so it takes a couple extra steps to verify that your contractor is licensed.

States like Michigan and Florida strictly enforce licensing and even have different types of specialty licenses based on what type of work the contractor does. Some States like these even have web sites you can visit and simply type in the contractors name to check for a current license.

For instance, the State of Michigan is broken into 2 major areas for licensing.

Other States like Indiana and New Hampshire, only require licensing in 1-3 areas,,, Like Plumbing and Electrical. All other requirements are regulated at the local level (city or county), with some area's not requiring licensing at all. If you live in an area like this, you will have to call your City or Counties business office and ask about licensing requirements for your project and area, and then ask them to verify the licensing status of your contractor. If the contractor is not required to be licensed, it doesn't mean he isn't licensed... or can't get licensed. It simply means it is not required for him to be licensed in that area. (Cars don't have to get at least 15 mpg, but it sure does make it better when they do!) Investigating a contactor's license may seem like a pain, but it will be more of a pain to try to get financial restitution form an unlicensed contractor who preformed a horrible job on your project.