Posted by mel on 20. August 2010 14:09
Looking to hire a contractor can be a daughting task--I know. I work with the companies and had to find these resources myself. A big part of that task is finding the information you need to know. (Please do NOT assume you know, that is how people get into trouble.) A step-by-step process is available in my book, Hiring a Contractor which is available on Amazon. Links to finding your local information are listed here. The information is listed by state, click on the link that corresponds to your state.
Good luck and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
If you find other information that needs to be included / updated please contact Mel DePaoli at mel [at] omicle.com. Thanks for your help and good luck!
Last updated: August 2010
General Resources:
Angie’s List: www.AngiesList.com
Contractor’s License Reference Site: http://contractors-license.org/
EPA’s Requirements: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm
http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?sectionID=715&genericContentID=121061
Federal Trade Commission’s Cooling-Off Rule: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro03.shtm
National Contractor License Service (State List): http://clsi.com/state_contractor_license_board.htm
Service Magic: http://www.servicemagic.com/
United States Department of Labor on Construction: http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs003.htm
What Is A Lien?: http://www.remodelingmyspace.com/legal-issues/contractor-laws/what-is-a-lien-and-are-you-at-risk.htm
States:
Georgia
Labor & Industries
http://www.georgia.gov/00/channel_title/0,2094,4802_4971,00.html
List of Local Government
http://www.georgia.gov/00/channel_title/0,2094,4802_5023,00.html
Attorney General
40 Capitol Square, SW
Atlanta, Ga 30334
Phone: (404) 656-3300
http://law.ga.gov/02/ago/home/0,2705,87670814,00.html
License Verification
214 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
Phone: (404) 656-2881
https://secure.sos.state.ga.us/myverification/
Board of Construction Industry
237 Coliseum Drive
Macon, GA 31217-3858
Phone: (478) 207-2440
http://sos.georgia.gov/plb/construct/
Hawaii*
Labor & Industrial Relations
830 Punchbowl St.
Honolulu, HI 96813
http://hawaii.gov/labor/
Attorney General
425 Queen Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: (808) 586-1500
http://hawaii.gov/ag
Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs—Business Searches
201 Merchant St, Suite 1805
Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: (808) 695-4618
http://hbe.ehawaii.gov/documents/search.html
Contractors License Board
DCCA-PVL Att: CLB
P.O. Box 3469
Honolulu, HI 96801
Phone: (808) 586-2700
http://hawaii.gov/dcca/pvl/boards/contractor
Hiring a Licensed Contractor
http://hawaii.gov/dcca/rico/licensedcontractor/
Idaho
Department of Labor
317 W. Main Street
Boise, ID 83735
Phone: (208) 332-3570
Fax: (208) 334-6430
http://labor.idaho.gov/dnn/idl/Home/tabid/617/Default.aspx
List of Local Building Departments
1090 E Watertower St.
Meridian Idaho, 83642
Phone: 1-800-955-3044
http://dbs.idaho.gov/
Attorney General
700 W. Jefferson Street
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720-0010
Phone: (208) 334-2400
http://www2.state.id.us/ag/
License Search
https://data.dbs.idaho.gov/etrakit2/Search.aspx?grp=aec
Division of Building Safety
1090 E Watertower St.
Meridian Idaho, 83642
Phone: 1-800-955-3044
https://data.dbs.idaho.gov/etrakit2/Index.aspx
Bureau of Occupational Licenses
700 West State Street, PO Box 83720
Boise, Idaho 83720-0063
Phone: (208)334-3233
Fax: (208)334-3945
https://secure.ibol.idaho.gov/eIBOLPublic/LPRBrowser.aspx
Contractors Board
https://secure.ibol.idaho.gov/IBOL/BoardPage.aspx?Bureau=CON
Illinois
Department of Labor
160 North LaSalle Street, 13th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Phone: (312) 793-2800
http://www.state.il.us/agency/idol/
Workforce Development
500 E Monroe
Springfield, IL 62701-1643
Phone: (217) 785-6006
http://www2.illinois.gov/employment/Pages/WorkforceDevelopment.aspx
Attorney General
100 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 814-3000
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/
Contractors Board—Department of Professional Regulation
320 W. Washington Street
Springfield, IL 62786
Phone: (217) 782-0458
http://www.dpr.state.il.us
License Look-Up:
https://www.idfpr.com/dpr/licenselookup/default.asp
Division of Professional Regulation
320 W. Washington Street
Springfield, IL 62786
Phone: (217) 782-0458
http://www.idfpr.com/DPR/default.asp
Housing Development Authority
http://www.ihda.org/
Indiana
Department of Labor
402 West Washington St.
Room W195
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (319) 232-2655
http://www.in.gov/dol/
Attorney General
302 W. Washington St., 5th Floor
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (317) 232.6201
Fax: (317) 232.7979
http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/
Contractors Board—Professional Licensing Agency
Professional Licensing Agency
302 West Washington Street, Room E034
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2700
Phone: (317) 232-2980
http://www.IN.gov/pla/
Iowa
Division of Labor
1000 East Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
Phone: (515) 242-5871
http://www.iowaworkforce.org/labor/index.html
Attorney General
1305 E. Walnut Street
Des Moines IA 50319
Phone: (515) 281-5164
Fax: (515) 281-4209
http://www.iowaattorneygeneral.org/
Licensed In Iowa—License Search Online
https://eservices.iowa.gov/licensediniowa/index.php?pgname=pubsearch
Contractor Law, a Department within Workforce Development
1000 East Grand Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0209
Phone: (515) 281-5387
http://ag.ky.gov/
Department for Local Government—County List
http://dlg.ky.gov/kentuckycounties.htm
Kentucky Landscape Architect Registration Board
163 West Short Street, Suite 351
Lexington, KY 40507
Phone: (859) 246-2753
Fax: (859) 246-2754
http://www.klarb.ky.gov/
Louisiana
Workforce Commission
1001 N. 23rd Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Phone: (225) 342-3111
http://www.laworks.net/
Local Parish List—Online
http://www.louisiana.gov/
Attorney General
1885 N. Third Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
P.O. Box 94005
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
Phone: (225) 326-6079
http://www.ag.state.la.us/
State Licensing Board for Contractors & Verification Search
P.O. Box 14419
Baton Rouge, LA 70898-4419
Phone: (225) 765-2301
Fax: (225) 765-2431
http://www.lslbc.louisiana.gov/findcontractor.asp
* State website has a live chat. Live chat allows you to chat with a person to help you find the information you are looking for.