How to check a contractor’s license in any state

Every state issues contractor licenses differently. Here is the five-minute routine that works anywhere, the official lookup for all 50 states and D.C., and what the status words actually mean.

By LicensedAndInsured.com · Updated October 1, 2026 · Not legal advice; confirm requirements with the licensing board in your state.

There is no national contractor license. Each state decides which trades it licenses, which it leaves to counties, and which need no license at all, and each runs its own lookup. The routine below works everywhere; the lookup links are on our any-state license check page.

The five-minute routine

Get the number and the name from the contractor. A real licensee knows both without looking. Ask whose name the license is in; in many states the license belongs to an individual qualifier, with the company listed as a “doing business as.”
Use the issuing board’s own lookup. Third-party directories, including this one, show a snapshot with a date. The board is the source of truth for today.
Check four things: status (active and current), scope (the license category covers your job), name (matches the contract and the certificate of insurance), and expiration (not before your job ends).
Open the discipline or complaint history. Most boards show final orders, probation and fines. One resolved complaint in ten years is normal; a pattern is not.
Match the person to the business. If the license is held by an individual, ask how they relate to the company on your contract. “Borrowed” licenses, where a licensed qualifier lends their number to an unlicensed operation, are a recognized form of fraud in several states, including Florida.

How states differ

Statewide general licensing (for example Florida, California, Arizona, Nevada): one board licenses general and most specialty contractors; counties may add local registrations.
Trade-only licensing (for example Texas): the state licenses electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians, but general contracting is regulated locally or not at all.
Registration states: contractors register rather than qualify by exam; the registration still gives you a regulator and a complaint path.
Local licensing: counties and cities issue competency cards or trade licenses; the lookup is on the county’s site.

Reading the status words

Active / Current: may contract and pull permits. Inactive / Voluntarily inactive: holder is not practicing; may not contract in that scope. Delinquent: renewal overdue. Probation: active but under discipline; read the order. Suspended / Revoked / Null and void: may not contract. In Florida, the state’s weekly public data file includes active, inactive and voluntarily inactive licenses but omits delinquent, involuntarily inactive and null-and-void ones, which is why absence from a directory never proves a license exists or doesn’t: confirm at myfloridalicense.com.

Florida shortcut

For a Florida contractor, search by business name or license number here. Verified listings show the license status as of the date of our last weekly DBPR sync, the identity check, and the certificate of insurance on file, with the dates. Unverified listings show the public record as-is.

Common questions

How do I look up a contractor’s license?

Get the license number and legal name from the contractor, then search the lookup run by the board that issued the license, not a third-party site. Confirm the status is active, the scope matches your job, the name matches your contract, and check the discipline history.

What if a state doesn’t license my trade?

Many states license only certain trades (electrical, plumbing, HVAC) and leave others to counties or cities, or unlicensed. If no license exists, the certificate of insurance and references carry the weight, and a local business tax receipt shows the company is registered to operate.

What does “inactive” or “delinquent” mean?

Inactive usually means the holder chose not to practice under the license for now; delinquent means a renewal or fee is overdue. Neither allows the contractor to pull permits or contract for work in that scope. Only an active, current status does.

Hiring in Florida?

Search 95,000+ active Florida contractor license records and see whose credentials were verified, and when. Free.

Search Florida licenses & insurance Check a license in any state