Checking a Virginia Roofing Contractor in Newport News, VA

What does the Department license?

Contractors, through its Board for Contractors, according to the FACTS sheet. Roofing is a specialty that can be added to a licence.

The FACTS sheet records that the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation licenses contractors through its Board for Contractors, and that roofing is a specialty classification. A homeowner checks the number and the specialty on the record, since the record is the reference.

A roofer may hold the right licence and the right specialty, or may not. The record shows which, and the homeowner does not need to know every internal class to ask the question.

• The Department licenses contractors
• Roofing is a specialty on the licence
• The record shows whether the scope is covered

Why this page states no experience figure

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

The FACTS sheet records that the experience requirements differ between DPOR forms, one year in one form and two in another for the same class. This page therefore states no figure. Where a roofer quotes one, ask for the source and check it on the Department's record.

Ask the roofer to show which form and which requirement applies to the licence held.

• Sources differ on experience requirements
• No figure is stated here
• Ask the roofer for the source

What if the roofer will not give a number?

Do not sign or pay a deposit. A roofer who cannot be checked cannot be relied on, whatever the quote says.

A roofer who will not give a licence number, or who says none is needed without a reason, cannot be checked. The homeowner should not sign or pay until the number can be verified on the record.

The Department is the place to take a licensing concern, and the homeowner keeps the quote and the record of the number given.

• Do not sign until the number is verified
• Keep the quote and the record of the number
• Raise licensing concerns with the Department

What a homeowner should carry to the check

The roofer's name, the 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. Note the date and the result on the quote itself, and keep the dated record with the contract.

• Name and number as written on the quote
• Scope beside the check
• 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 a deposit is paid.

A name, number or specialty that does not match the quote may have an innocent explanation, but it must be explained in writing before any money changes hands. If the explanation does not satisfy, do not sign and raise the concern with the Department.

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

Keeping this part of the record current

The record for this part of the roof is updated at each visit, with the date and the result, so the history stays accurate.

A homeowner who keeps this section with the roof file can compare it with the next season's check, and the change between the two is the most useful thing the record can show.

The roofer confirms each point on the day and writes the result down before leaving, so the record reflects the roof as it was found rather than as it was remembered later.