How to Verify a Connecticut Contractor's License

The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) licenses people, not companies, and that changes how you read a Connecticut license. The number a plumber hands you belongs to a named person, and the company is the trade name that person works under. So the question is never just "is this company licensed" but "who holds the license, and is that the person doing my work".

DCP's 2025 consumer alert puts the test in one line: the credential should match the individual's identity, as well as be appropriate for the scope of work to be completed. Both halves apply to the three credentials this site publishes in Connecticut: the plumbing and piping contractor license, the electrical contractor license, and the heating, piping and cooling contractor license, Connecticut's name for the HVAC credential.

What to ask the contractor for

Ask for the full credential code and the name of the person it belongs to. A Connecticut code looks like PLM.0280907-P1: a trade prefix, a number, and a suffix that says which class of license it is. The prefixes are PLM (plumbing and piping), ELC (electrical) and HTG (heating, piping and cooling).

If the license belongs to the owner rather than the company, that is how Connecticut works, but you still want the holder's name. DCP's consumer page for electricians says why: only contractors can obtain permits and sign contracts.

Run the lookup

The official search is DCP's eLicense License Lookup at elicense.ct.gov/lookup/licenselookup.aspx. It is a search form, not a record: no web address opens one license directly, so every Connecticut listing on this site prints the number for you to paste.

The form has Type Prefix, Number, SubCategory and License Status fields, plus Business Name / DBA / Nickname, First Name, Last Name and address fields. DCP's instructions say to use only 1 or 2 pieces of information, and recommend entering the license type category list and the license or registration number. In practice:

1. Pick the Type Prefix (PLM, ELC or HTG) and type the number. Leave everything else blank.
2. No number? Search Last Name plus First Name, or the trade name in the DBA field.
3. Scroll. The page itself warns that search results will appear below the search screen. You must scroll down.
4. Open the record. DCP's FAQ says to check the "Credential Status" for active or approved licenses and then click Detail, which will reveal the license status, type, expiration date, and more.

The lookup itself states that all data within License Lookup is maintained by the State of Connecticut, updated instantly, and considered a primary source of verification.

Reading the result

Status. In the eLicense data this site ingests, a licensed contractor shows one of four values: ACTIVE, ACTIVE IN RENEWAL, APPROVED or ACTIVE UNDER REVIEW, and all four are live. ACTIVE IN RENEWAL is easy to misread. It is a live license inside its renewal window, and in the electrical contractor rows this site measured in August 2026, more sat in ACTIVE IN RENEWAL than in plain ACTIVE. Do not walk away from an electrician because the record says "in renewal". Do walk away from INACTIVE or RETIRED.

Expiration date. Connecticut licenses expire on one statewide cycle date per trade each year: in the data this site ingests, every plumbing license expires on the same month and day, and so does every electrical and every heating license. The date confirms currency and nothing else, so this site checks it and never shows it per listing.

The license type, and the word UNLIMITED or LIMITED in it. The state's data names each credential in full, for example "PLUMBING & PIPING UNLIMITED CONTRACTOR", and the Detail view shows the type. That scope word is a legal boundary, not a grade. The E-1 holder shall be permitted to do all electrical work as defined in section 20-330 of the general statutes; the P-1 holder may do all plumbing and piping work as defined in section 20-330; the S-1 holder may do all heating, piping and cooling work as defined in section 20-330. Limited classes are narrower: an L-5 electrical contractor may perform only work limited to low voltage, alarm or signal work, audio and sound systems. Rewiring a kitchen is not low-voltage work, so an L-5 is the wrong license for it.

The suffix number. DCP's electrician page states the rule: licenses with odd numbers are contractors and licenses with even numbers are journeymen/employees. The plumbing and heating code lists follow the same pattern (P-1 and S-1 contractors, P-2 and S-2 journeypersons). DCP describes the P-2 as able to do all plumbing and piping work only while in the employ of a contractor licensed for such work. A journeyperson works on a contractor's crew; the contractor is who you contract with. If the only number you are offered ends in -P2, -E2 or -S2, ask who the contractor is and look that person up too.

The name. Compare the holder's name on the record with the name on your contract. DCP's alert warns that it is illegal to buy or sell a credential, and to complete any work outside the scope of a license.

The trap: a home improvement registration is not a trade license

A contractor may show you a DCP home improvement contractor registration (an HIC number). It is a real credential, and DCP requires it: all Home Improvement Contractors, New Home Construction Contractors, and Home Improvement Salespeople must be registered with the Department of Consumer Protection. But it is a registration, not a trade license, and DCP says the licensed trades need more: skilled work often done as part of a home improvement project (such as electrical, plumbing, HVAC) will likely require a more specific license that involves additional training and certification.

For plumbing, electrical or heating and cooling work, look for the PLM, ELC or HTG license held by a named person, whatever HIC number is on the quote. Connecticut issues no roofing license at all; roofing falls under the home improvement registration, so this site publishes no Connecticut roofing pages.

What the record leaves out

The state's eLicense extract publishes no phone number, no insurance and no bond for any licensee, so a Connecticut listing on this site shows none of the three: a gap in the state's file, not a finding about the contractor.

What the record does support, we show as the state records it: the business name, the license number, and the person who holds it. We ingest DCP's State Licenses and Credentials dataset, which the state describes as updated daily, keep only the four live statuses above, and check each expiration against our own verification date. Start at the Connecticut hub, or go straight to plumbers, electricians or HVAC contractors, then paste the number into the DCP lookup.