How to Check a Roofing Contractor in Virginia

Who licenses a roofer in Virginia?

The Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, through its Board for Contractors. Its record is the reference, not the roofer's card.

A roofer may hold a licence with the roofing specialty or may not. The record shows which, and the homeowner does not need the internal classes to ask whether the record covers this roof.

Why no experience figure is given here

Because the sources disagree on the experience requirements between DPOR forms, and a wrong figure on a licence page misleads the reader.

The FACTS sheet records that the experience requirements differ between forms, and that no current DPOR roofing list could be confirmed. Where a roofer quotes a figure, ask for its source and check it on the Department's record.

• Sources differ between forms
• No figure is stated here
• Ask the roofer for the source

What to check on the record

The status on the day, the name against the quote, the roofing specialty against the scope, and the date of the check.

Read each field. The status should be active on the day, the name should match the quote and any difference must be explained, and the specialty should cover the roof work in the scope.

Print or save the record with the date so the reading can be shown later.

• Status active on the day
• Name matched to the quote
• Specialty matched to the scope

Insurance and bond in writing

Ask for proof of the insurance the job needs, in writing, and check any requirement on the Department's record.

A roofer should show the insurance the job needs and say so in writing. Do not rely on a verbal assurance. Keep the proof with the contract.

• Proof of insurance in writing
• Requirements checked on the record
• The proof kept with the contract

Subcontractors and their licences

Name each subcontractor on the quote and check its licence where one is needed.

A roofer who uses a subcontractor for flashing, decking or electrical work should name it on the quote, and the subcontractor's licence is checked on the same record. A subcontractor with no licence where one is required is a risk to the whole job.

• Name each subcontractor
• Check each licence on the record
• Keep the dated results with the contract

Where a complaint goes

A licensing concern goes to the Department. A claim concern goes to the insurer first, then to the Virginia Bureau of Insurance.

The Department takes licensing concerns. The Bureau of Insurance takes homeowner complaints about claims and expects the policyholder to try the insurer first. Keep the quote, the dates and the number given.

• Licensing concerns to the Department
• Claim concerns to the insurer, then the Bureau
• Keep the quote and the dates

What the homeowner should carry to the check

The roofer's name, the licence number as written on the quote and the scope, so the record can be matched exactly.

Bring the quote and the scope when you check the record, so the name and number can be matched as written. A number copied from a card is weaker evidence than the number on the signed quote. Note the date and the result on the quote itself.

• The name and number as written on the quote
• The scope beside the check
• The date and result noted on the quote

When the record and the quote disagree

Stop, ask the roofer to explain the difference in writing and check the record again before any deposit is paid.

A name, a number or a specialty on the record that does not match the quote may have an innocent explanation, such as a change of trade name. It must still be explained in writing before any money changes hands. If the explanation does not satisfy you, do not sign and raise the concern with the Department.

• Name the difference in writing
• Check the record again before the deposit
• Raise an unresolved concern with the Department

Why the licence check is repeated on long jobs

A licence can change status during a job, and a check at the start does not show a change in the middle.

On a job that runs for weeks, check the record again at the midpoint and before the final payment. The dated results show the roofer was properly licensed at each stage that money changed hands.

• Check at the start
• Check again at the midpoint
• Check again before the final payment

Keeping the check for an insurer

An insurer may ask whether the roofer was licensed on the day of the work, so the dated check is kept with the insurance file.

If a claim later involves the work, the insurer may ask who did it and whether they were licensed at the time. A dated check on the Department's record, kept with the insurance papers, answers that directly.

• The dated check kept with the insurance papers
• It answers the question of licence on the day
• Kept with the claim file if one exists

The Virginia record as a reference

The Department's record is the reference for a licence, and a card, a website or a verbal assurance is not.

A roofer may show a card, a truck sign or a website with a licence number. None of those is the record. The homeowner checks the number on the Department's own record, and keeps the result. The record is the only reference that the homeowner can rely on in a later dispute.

• The Department's record is the reference
• A card or website is not the record
• Keep the dated result

Verifying the roofing specialty against the scope

The specialty must cover the work in the scope, so the homeowner reads the scope and the specialty side by side.

Read the scope and the specialty on the record together. A licence that covers a general trade but not the roofing specialty does not cover a roof, and the record shows the specialty in its own field. Ask the roofer to explain any gap in writing.

• Scope and specialty read side by side
• A general licence is not the roofing specialty
• Any gap explained in writing

Questions to ask the roofer before the visit

Which licence, which specialty, which insurance, which permit office and who will be on the roof.

Five questions save time at the first visit: the licence number and its specialty, the insurance the job needs, the permit office for the address, and who will be on the roof. A roofer who answers all five in writing is easier to check than one who answers in conversation.

• The licence number and specialty
• The insurance the job needs
• The permit office and the crew

What a homeowner should not accept

A licence number that cannot be checked, a specialty that does not match the scope, or a request to pay before the check is complete.

Three things to refuse: a number that does not appear on the Department's record, a specialty that does not cover the roof work and a deposit paid before the check is complete. Each moves the risk onto the homeowner, and a roofer who insists on them should be asked to explain in writing.

• A number that does not appear on the record
• A specialty that does not cover the roof
• No deposit before the check is complete

When to check again

Check again before signing, before the first deposit, at the midpoint of a long job and before the final payment.

A licence check is most useful at the moments money changes hands. Check before signing, before any deposit, again at the midpoint of a long job and before the final payment. Each dated check is kept with the file, so the record shows the roofer was licensed at each stage that mattered.

• Before signing and before a deposit
• At the midpoint of a long job
• Before the final payment