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How to email a contractor to ask about their license and insurance

You're close to hiring a contractor and before you sign a contract or hand over a deposit you want to confirm three things. The first is their license, which most states require for work above a certain dollar amount and which you can check on a state website once you have the number. The second is general liability insurance, which pays if the contractor damages your house or a neighbor's. The third is workers' compensation, which covers a worker who gets hurt on your property. Without it, an injured worker can come after you as the homeowner. Every legitimate contractor gets asked this and has the paperwork ready. Asking by email means the answer arrives as documents you can keep, not as a verbal "yes, we're covered."

Before you send

  • Your state's contractor license lookup page. Search "[your state] contractor license lookup." Some states license by trade, some by dollar amount, and a few don't license general contractors at all, so know which applies to you.
  • The exact business name on the quote. The license and the insurance certificate should match it. A license under a different name or a person's name is worth asking about.
  • What a certificate of insurance looks like: a one-page document from the insurer listing the policy types, limits, and expiration dates. Many homeowners ask to be listed as "certificate holder," which means the insurer notifies you if the policy is cancelled.
  • Whether the contractor will use subcontractors. Their workers need to be covered too, either under the contractor's policy or their own.
  • Your project's rough value. Some states set a minimum liability limit for a licensed contractor, and you may want more for a big job.
Subject License and insurance details before we sign, [project] at [your address] 
Hi [contractor name],

Thanks for the quote on [project] at [your address]. I'm leaning toward going with you, and before I sign I'd like to confirm a few standard details for my records:

- Your contractor license number and the name it's issued under, so I can check it on the [state] licensing site
- A current certificate of insurance showing your general liability coverage and its limits
- Proof of workers' compensation coverage for your crew, or an exemption if you're a sole owner with no employees
- Whether any part of the job will be subcontracted, and if so, confirmation those subcontractors carry their own coverage

If it's easy, I'd appreciate being listed as the certificate holder on the liability certificate; the insurer can send it directly to this email address.

I'm hoping to sign by [date] so we can hold the start date you mentioned. Thanks for your help with this.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • The normal reply is a license number and a PDF certificate within a day or two, usually sent straight from the insurance agent. Check that the business name matches, the policy dates cover your project, and the license is active with no open complaints.
  • Vague replies ("we're fully insured, don't worry") are a bad sign. Ask once more for the actual certificate. If it doesn't come, don't sign.
  • If the license search shows it belongs to a different person or company than the one you've been talking to, ask directly who will hold the permit and be responsible for the job.
  • Keep the certificate with your contract. If the job runs long, ask for an updated one when the policy's expiration date passes.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Verify a contractor's license and insurance before I hire them 
Hi StandIn,

I'm about to hire a contractor and I'd like you to get their license and insurance details in writing before I sign.

The contractor: [name, company name as it appears on the quote, and email address].
The project: [what the work is and roughly what it costs].
My address: [street address].
My state: [state, for the license lookup].
When I'd like to sign: [date].

Please ask them for their license number, a current certificate of insurance for general liability, and proof of workers' compensation, and find out whether they use subcontractors. Once the documents arrive, check that the names and dates line up with the quote and tell me if anything looks off.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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