The CheckedHomePros 9-Point Contractor Vetting Checklist

CheckedHomePros is a directory operated by Velocity Ridge Holdings LLC. We pre-screen contractors so homeowners do not have to. This page documents the exact 9-point checklist we apply to every contractor before they enter the network, and every 90 days after, so you can audit the standard yourself. We turn away around 30% of applicants against this bar.

We pull every contractor's license number against the state registrar directly. AZ ROC for Arizona, Florida DBPR via MyFloridaLicense.com, Nevada State Contractors Board for NV, CSLB for California, TDLR for Texas.

We cross-check that the qualifier name on the license matches the company name on the W-9. Mismatches happen when a contractor buys an existing license shell to skip the qualifying exam, and that is grounds for rejection. We also flag any license that has been suspended or revoked in the prior 12 months even if it has been reinstated.

We pull a Certificate of Insurance annually with $1M per-occurrence and $2M aggregate coverage. Some pros buy short-term policies for marketing pitches then let coverage lapse 60 days later. Our 90-day re-audit catches that gap.

If a contractor cannot produce a current COI on request within 5 business days, the listing is paused. CheckedHomePros is listed as a certificate holder on each policy so the insurance carrier notifies us directly if coverage lapses or is cancelled mid-term.

If a contractor's helper falls off your ladder and the company has no workers comp, the homeowner can become liable under premises liability. We verify the state workers comp filing (ICA in Arizona, Florida DWC, Nevada DIR) every renewal cycle.

Sole-proprietor exemptions are allowed only when the contractor signs an exemption affidavit on file with the state. Any contractor with W-2 employees but no comp coverage is rejected automatically; this is the single most common reason we turn down otherwise qualified applicants.

The 50-review threshold filters new-account astroturf. A 5.0-star contractor with 12 reviews is not a real signal. The 4.5-star floor matches Yelp's "good" cutoff and the published Google Local Services Ads minimum for verified Pro status.

We track review velocity month over month. A sudden spike in 5-star reviews from accounts created in the last 60 days flags a contractor for manual review. Sustained 4.5 stars across 50+ reviews over at least 12 months is the floor for the network.

The Better Business Bureau is an imperfect signal, but it surfaces pattern complaints that Google review filters miss. We score the complaint-response ratio more heavily than the letter grade.

A B+ contractor who responds to every complaint within 48 hours beats an A contractor with 4 unanswered complaints. Pattern complaints around billing, warranty handling, or bait-and-switch pricing trigger an automatic pause and a manual case review.

We run the named license qualifier through state criminal records. Active construction fraud, theft of services, or contractor-fraud charges in the trailing 7 years result in automatic rejection. Old non-violent misdemeanors are reviewed case by case.

The qualifier is the person personally responsible for the trade work under state law, so this check is non-negotiable. Background checks are re-run if the qualifier changes or every 24 months, whichever comes first.

A state license is the baseline. Trade-specific certifications are the second filter: EPA Section 608 Universal for any refrigerant handling, NATE Core for HVAC technicians, Cross-Connection Control Specialist for plumbing backflow work.

State examples: AZ ROC C-39 / C-39R for HVAC, C-37 for plumbing, L-37 for low-voltage, K-11 for electrical. Florida CILB for plumbing, Florida ECLB for electrical. A generic state license without trade-specific cert gets a follow-up request for proof of training before the contractor is approved.

Contractors who skip permits cost homeowners twice: on resale (unpermitted work appears on disclosure forms and lowers offers) and on insurance claims (a denied claim is the worst-case outcome of unpermitted work on a covered loss).

We pull 90 days of permit history from each city's open-data portal where available. Phoenix, Tampa, Las Vegas, and Miami all publish permit data. A permit-pull rate that looks too low relative to a contractor's revenue volume flags them for follow-up. We ask for permits on every install over $5,000 and document them in the lead handoff.

Initial vetting is the easy part. Anyone can pass a one-time check. The 90-day re-audit is what keeps the network honest: it catches lapsed insurance, expired licenses, changed qualifiers, BBB complaint spikes, and Google review-velocity changes.

A contractor whose Google rating drops below 4.3 stars or whose insurance lapses is paused from new lead routing within 24 hours of detection. Re-instatement requires a fresh COI and a written response to every complaint in the trailing window.

The bar is a moving target because contractor health changes over time. The following are automatic disqualifiers, either at intake or during a re-audit:

• Lapsed state license at any point in the trailing 12 months
• Denied insurance claim activity flagged in state regulator filings
• BBB complaint count rising faster than revenue growth
• Google review velocity dropping below 12-month baseline for two consecutive months
• Permit-pull rate dropping below the metro baseline for the contractor's trade
• License qualifier change without notification to CheckedHomePros within 30 days
• Any active criminal charge for construction fraud, theft, or contractor fraud

Contractors pay us a flat fee per qualified lead, sized to the trade ticket. Homeowners pay nothing. We turn away around 30% of applicants. We charge the same per-lead rate to every contractor in a given trade and metro, so we cannot be paid for placement and ranking on this site is not for sale.