Vetting a Renovation Contractor for a Major Project

A bigger investment deserves more diligence — here's the checklist.

Verify licensing independently

Check your state's contractor licensing board directly rather than relying only on what the contractor tells you or shows you.

Confirm insurance coverage

Ask for a certificate of insurance and consider verifying directly with the insurer that coverage is active and sufficient for your project's scope.

Actually call the references

Request references from similarly-scoped projects and actually call them — ask specifically about communication, timeline adherence, and how change orders were handled.

Get a detailed written contract

A complete contract should specify scope, materials, payment schedule, timeline, and what happens with change orders — verbal agreements are much harder to enforce later.

Trust your gut on communication

How responsive and clear a contractor is during the bidding process is often a good indicator of what working with them throughout the project will actually be like.