How to check a roofing contractor in South Carolina
South Carolina, unlike a good many states, actually regulates this. The check takes two minutes and hardly anybody does it.
In Texas anybody can call themselves a roofer, because the state does not license the trade at all. South Carolina is not like that, and it gives you a check worth running.
Residential roofing falls under the Residential Builders Commission, part of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The state publishes a licence verification service, and it is open to the public and free.
Run the search
Search the company name exactly as it appears on the estimate or contract, not as it appears on the truck. Then search the name of the person you are actually dealing with, because a company frequently operates under a licence held by an individual.
What a clean result gives you: confirmation the entity exists on the state register, what classification it holds, and whether the status is current. What it does not give you is any opinion about the quality of the work.
What a blank result gives you is a question, not an answer. Trading names differ from registered names, and there are legitimate explanations. There are also illegitimate ones. Ask.
The checks the register cannot do for you
Insurance, verified with the insurer. Ask for general liability and workers’ compensation certificates and telephone the agent named on them. A certificate is a document; a live confirmation is evidence.
A local address that is a place. Not a mailbox at a shipping store. Somewhere a person could actually be found.
How long under this name. Roofing companies dissolve and reappear. Length of time in the trade is a different question from length of time as this entity, and only one of them is verifiable.
Who will physically be on the roof. Own crew or subcontracted crew. Neither answer is wrong. An evasive answer is.
Who answers in year three. The workmanship warranty is the part that matters, and it only matters if somebody picks up.
What a real bid contains
A shingle named by manufacturer, line and wind rating, which matters more here than almost anywhere. The underlayment. The fastening pattern, because coastal requirements are not inland requirements. New flashing, new pipe boots and new drip edge, stated as new. Ventilation. A per sheet decking price. The permit. Two warranties, material and workmanship, with separate lengths.
If the bid is one line and one number, there is nothing to compare and nothing to hold anyone to.
Questions people ask
- What exactly do I search for?
The company name as it appears on the contract, and separately the name of the individual you are dealing with. Companies trade under names that differ from the registered entity, and finding nothing under the trading name is a reason to ask rather than a conclusion.
- A company says it is licensed. Is that enough?
No, because it is easy to say and free to say. Look it up. It takes less time than reading the bid.
- What if they are registered but the licence is in someone else's name?
That happens and it is not automatically improper, but it is a question worth asking plainly. Whose licence is this work being done under, and what is that person’s relationship to the company on my contract.
- Does a licence mean the work will be good?
No. It means there is a body that can hear a complaint about them, which is more than you get in an unlicensed state, and it means they were willing to be on the record.