How to Choose a Restoration Company: 10 Questions, $50 Fee

Water and fire restoration has no single state license in most places, so these are the checks that stand in for one. Sources: IICRC, Maryland Attorney General, state mold licensing laws.

Is it an emergency? When to hire today and when to slow down

• Today: standing water, a ceiling that is sagging or dripping, or sewage. The EPA says to dry water-damaged areas within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold, and R&R Magazine's guide to the IICRC categories says clean water can turn into contaminated water as it sits. Hire for the extraction and drying now; you can still shop the rebuild.
• After a fire: do not go back in until fire officials say it is safe, the American Red Cross says. Photograph what you throw away and call your insurer.
• Can wait for quotes: the repairs after the structure is dry: drywall, flooring, cabinets and paint. That is ordinary contractor work, and you can compare bids.

Insurance first, in this order. Photograph and video the damage before anything is moved, as the Texas Department of Insurance advises. Call your insurer and get a claim number. Then hire. Never sign over the claim: do not sign an assignment of benefits or anything that lets the company deal with your insurer in your place. Florida's insurance regulator puts it plainly: "don't sign anything before calling your insurance company." How coverage works is on does homeowners insurance cover water damage.

How do I check a restoration company's license and credentials?

Check three things: IICRC certification, a contractor license for any rebuild, and a state mold license if mold is part of the job. Most states have no license for water extraction and drying itself, which is why the industry certification carries weight here. The Maryland Attorney General's consumer guide tells homeowners to ask whether a restoration company is IICRC certified.

An IICRC Certified Firm must carry current general liability insurance and employ at least one IICRC-certified technician, according to the IICRC's application rules, and Cleanfax reports that certified firms must also agree to the IICRC Code of Ethics. That is a floor, not a guarantee: one certified technician can qualify a whole firm, so ask whether the person running your job holds the water damage certification.

The rebuild is different. Replacing drywall, flooring and framing is construction, and most states license it; look up the company, or its rebuild subcontractor, with your state contractor board. If mold turns up, states such as Texas, Florida and New York license mold work and keep the assessor and the remediator separate; the rules are on how to choose a mold remediation company.

What questions should I ask a restoration company before hiring?

Ask these ten on the phone or at the door, before anyone starts tearing out materials:

1. Is your firm IICRC certified, and is the lead on my job certified in water damage? The Maryland Attorney General suggests asking.
2. Do you work to ANSI/IICRC S500? It is the industry standard for water damage, now in its Fifth Edition (2021). For smoke and soot, the standard is S700 (2025).
3. What category and class of water is this, and how did you decide? Category drives the price and what must be thrown out.
4. Will you take moisture readings each day and give me the drying logs? The logs are your proof to the insurer that the structure is dry.
5. How do you bill equipment? Ask for the daily rate of each dehumidifier and air mover and any minimum days.
6. What exactly am I signing? A work authorization for a defined job is normal. An assignment of benefits or a direction to pay is not something to sign on day one.
7. If my insurer pays less than your bill, who owes the difference? The Maryland Attorney General says you do, even if the claim is denied.
8. Will you handle the rebuild, and who holds the contractor license for it?
9. If you find mold, will you test it yourselves? In Texas a licensee may not assess and remediate the same project, so testing should come from someone else.
10. What is your emergency fee, and what does the first visit include?

You choose the company. The Maryland Attorney General says you "are not obligated to hire the restoration company called by your insurance company." An insurer's preferred vendor can be convenient, but run the same checks on it.

What are the red flags? Warning signs in restoration contracts

Walk away from a company that wants your claim signed over, cash up front or a signature before you have called your insurer; state regulators name each of these:

• Paperwork that assigns your insurance benefits. Florida now voids assignments of post-loss benefits on residential policies issued on or after January 1, 2023 (s. 627.7152). Elsewhere, an assignment can still be valid, so read anything titled assignment of benefits or direction to pay before you sign.
• An offer to negotiate your claim. In Texas a public adjuster on your claim cannot also be your contractor, and contractors cannot advertise that they will handle your claim (Texas Department of Insurance). A public adjuster must hold a state license.
• Pressure to sign before you call your insurer. Florida's Chief Financial Officer says not to sign anything first.
• A demand for cash. The California Department of Insurance says "Don't pay cash."
• A down payment over the limit. California caps it at 10 percent or $1,000, whichever is less (California Department of Insurance and CSLB).
• Blank spaces or a full prepayment. The Texas Department of Insurance says never sign a contract with blank spaces and never pay the entire bill up front.
• Tearing out materials before the adjuster sees them. TDI says not to throw away damaged items until your adjuster has seen them and not to make permanent repairs before the insurer sees the damage. Temporary steps to stop more damage are fine once you have photos.
• The same company finding mold and quoting to remove it, in a state that forbids that. Texas, New York and Florida keep the two jobs apart.

How much does a restoration company charge for the first visit?

Expect an emergency fee of $50 to $200 and labor of $70 to $200 an hour, in Fixr's water damage guide. The whole job, extraction through repairs, averages $3,868 in HomeAdvisor's June 2026 data, with most homeowners paying $1,383 to $6,369, and extraction and drying alone running about $3 to $7.50 a square foot. Fire jobs are much bigger: HomeAdvisor puts fire and smoke restoration at $3,083 to $52,031, averaging $27,477. Line by line pricing is on water damage restoration cost and fire damage restoration.

What should be in a restoration contract?

Sign a work authorization that names the job, the price basis and who pays, not a blank form that covers everything. It should list:

• The scope: extraction, drying, removal of named materials, and whether the rebuild is included.
• How each item is priced: per square foot, per hour, or per piece of equipment per day.
• That you remain responsible for the bill, and what happens if the insurer pays less. The Maryland Attorney General warns that you owe the company, not your insurer.
• No assignment of benefits, and no clause letting the company negotiate with your insurer.
• The deposit, inside any state limit (California: 10 percent or $1,000, whichever is less).
• The drying goal and how it will be documented, with copies of the moisture logs to you.

For policies Florida issued in the older window, the state capped an emergency services assignment at the greater of $3,000 or 1 percent of the dwelling coverage and allowed 14 days to rescind. On newer Florida policies an assignment is void. In any state, the safer route is no assignment at all.

Where do I complain about a restoration company?

Complain to your state attorney general's consumer office, to the contractor board if the company did licensed rebuild work, and to your state insurance department if it interfered with your claim. The Texas Department of Insurance takes questions at 800-252-3439. If the problem is mold work in Texas, TDLR takes complaints within two years. Recovery funds such as Maryland's Home Improvement Guaranty Fund, up to $30,000, cover only licensed home improvement work, so the rebuild contractor's license matters.

What to do before you hire a restoration company

1. Stop the water if you can and keep out of rooms with wet ceilings or electrical hazards.
2. Photograph and video every room before anything is moved.
3. Call your insurer and write down the claim number and the adjuster's name.
4. Ask the company about IICRC certification, the S500 standard, the emergency fee and equipment day rates.
5. Read every page you are asked to sign. Sign a defined work authorization; do not sign over the claim.
6. Keep damaged items until the adjuster has seen them or you have photographed them.

About the water damage line. The call line connects you to an independent local company that pays us for the referral. We do not license, vet or rate the companies that answer, so run the checks on this page on whoever picks up: the license lookup, the written quote and the questions. Hours vary by company. How calls work.

City guides with local rules and lookups: water damage restoration in Miami, water damage restoration in Houston and fire damage restoration in Los Angeles.