Hiring a Contractor After a Storm

The safest thing anyone can tell you about hiring after a storm is what the states themselves say about it, because two of them have written the answer into criminal law. This guide is built out of state agency guidance and statute, and nothing else.

What two states do to unlicensed work once an emergency is declared

Florida. Under section 489.127 of the Florida Statutes, acting in the capacity of a contractor without being duly registered or certified is already prohibited. The statute then adds an aggravation: an unlicensed person who commits that violation during the existence of a state of emergency declared by executive order of the Governor commits a felony of the third degree.

California. The Contractors State License Board says the same thing in the same register: it is a felony to contract without a license in a declared disaster area. Its post-disaster consumer guide spells out both the penalty and the situation it was written for - some out-of-state contractors and unlicensed California trades people want to help rebuild in natural disaster areas. However, without a California contractor license, it is illegal and punishable as a felony to perform contracting work in a disaster area where a state of emergency has been declared, with punishment that may include a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 16 months in state prison.

You are not the enforcement mechanism for any of that, and you should not try to be. The reason it belongs on this page is simpler: the legislature and the licensing board both expect a wave of unlicensed offers after a disaster, and they said so in advance. Treat the knock at the door as the thing they were describing until it checks out.

The money rules, which are the part people wish they had known

• Deposits are capped in California. CSLB states the rule flatly: do not pay more than 10 percent down or $1,000, whichever is less. Its guide records the same limit as a matter of law for home improvement contracts, with a narrow exception for contractors who have filed a blanket performance and payment bond, noted on the license detail page.
• Cash is the wrong instrument. CSLB's post-disaster advice lists avoid paying in cash alongside don't let payments get ahead of the work and don't make the final payment until you are satisfied with the job and your local building department has signed off on the completed work.
• Prices are under a special rule in a declared emergency. Florida's section 501.160 attaches on the Governor's declaration and runs for a limited period after it. It treats a gross disparity between the price charged and the average price charged in the usual course of business in the 30 days before the declaration as evidence of an unconscionable price, unless the increase is explained by the seller's own increased costs or by market trends.
• Get at least three bids. CSLB's first two pieces of post-disaster advice are avoid rushing into repairs, no matter how badly they are needed and get at least three bids. Avoid hiring the first contractor who comes along.

What the register can tell you, state by state

The check is free everywhere, and once you have a number it needs nothing else. What it returns differs a great deal:

• It can confirm the credential is current and for this trade. That is the question every one of the ten lookups answers, and it is the one that matters most at a front door.
• Sometimes it confirms money is behind the company. Washington L&I publishes both the bond and the liability insurance on the record. Oregon splits it across two agencies, with the bond and insurance held at the CCB. Texas plumbing files carry an insurance certificate expiry.
• Often it does not. Florida, Virginia, Connecticut, Arizona and New Jersey publish no insurance and no bond in their license files. That is a gap in the state's file, not a finding about a contractor - and it is why you ask for the certificate yourself.

Walk-throughs for each state: Florida, Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Washington, Oregon, and the overview for all ten. Texas plumbing, HVAC, electrical and roofing each sit with a different body, covered in the same overview.

The order to do it in

1. Ask for the license number and the legal business name, in writing. Not the trading name on the truck. Oregon's CCB notes that the most accurate way to look up a license is with a CCB license number - the same is true of every other register on this list.
2. Run the number yourself, on the state's own site. Not a screenshot the company shows you, and not a certificate emailed to you as an image.
3. Ask for the certificate of insurance, from the insurer or broker. See how to check a contractor's insurance for the fields that matter.
4. Get the scope in writing before any money moves. The CCB's guide lists what a licensed Oregon contractor brings that an unlicensed one does not: a bond to reimburse poor workmanship, access to board mediation in a dispute, liability insurance, the ability to pull required permits, and a complaint history you can look at.
5. Keep the deposit small and pay traceably. See the money rules above.
6. Do not sign anything that transfers your claim until you have read it somewhere other than your driveway.

Where this site fits

Every company listed here has already been matched to the official register for its trade and state, with the number and the date of the check printed on the listing so you can repeat it. That is a shortcut through step two, not a replacement for it: the register is the authority, and if the register disagrees with a page here, believe the register and tell us. The reasoning is set out in the state lookup comparison and the full rules on the methodology page.

Storm-exposed states we cover: roofers in Orlando, plumbers in Houston, electricians in Bridgeport, electricians in Jersey City, and every Virginia city we cover.