How to Choose a Roofer: License, 10 Questions, $257 Visit

Count of 50 states plus DC from the site's roofing license table, checked October 11, 2026 against each state agency. Cities and counties can add their own license and permit rules in every group.

When to call a roofer now, and when to take your time

• Now: water is coming through a ceiling or light fixture, or a section of roof is open to the sky. Get a temporary fix; emergency roof repair covers tarps and what they cost. The checks below still apply to whoever comes, but a tarp is a small job; save the big contract for later.
• This month: a slow leak, missing shingles or flashing pulling away. You have time for two or three written quotes.
• Plan it: an aging roof you want replaced. Take the full checklist on this page and compare at least three bids for the same scope.

Storm or insurance work is a separate matter. If wind or hail did the damage and you are filing a claim, call your insurer first; that process, the deductible rules and the state storm chaser laws are on storm damage roof repair. The roof line on this site is for roof work you pay for yourself.

How do I check a roofer's license?

Look up the license number on your state board's site before you sign anything. Ask for the number in writing on the estimate, then match three things on the lookup: the business name, an active status, and a class that covers roofing. The roofing license by state table links the lookup for every state and DC.

The rules split four ways. Fifteen states license roofers outright. California's Contractors State License Board issues the C-39 Roofing license for jobs of $1,000 or more or any job that needs a permit. Arizona's Registrar of Contractors issues the R-42 for jobs over $1,000. Florida's DBPR issues a Certified Roofing Contractor license (statewide) or a Registered one (local only). Illinois's IDFPR issues a Limited or Unlimited Roofing license for any roofing job. Sixteen states register roofers instead. Registration often has no trade exam, but it can carry real requirements. Oklahoma's Construction Industries Board requires residential roofers to carry at least $500,000 in liability insurance, and Washington's Department of Labor and Industries requires a $15,000 bond for a specialty roofing registration.

Eight states license roofers only above a dollar amount, and twelve have no statewide roofing license at all, including Texas, New York, Ohio and Colorado. In those states the city or county may still license roofers. New York, for one, has licensing in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties and Buffalo. Call the local building department, ask whether the roofer is registered there, and ask whether the job needs a permit. With no state board behind the roofer, check insurance and references harder.

The five checks to run on any roofer, in the order that catches problems fastest.

What questions should I ask a roofer before hiring?

Ask ten questions, in writing where you can, and compare the answers across quotes. Each one is here because a vague answer to it is where roofing jobs go wrong:

1. What is your license or registration number, and does its class cover roofing? A general or handyman credential may not, and Florida requires a roofing license for reroofs.
2. Can your insurer send me your certificate? A certificate that comes from the insurance company is harder to fake than one the roofer hands you.
3. Who pulls the permit? The roofer should. Metro Nashville's codes office, for one, says an owner who pulls the permit becomes totally responsible for code compliance.
4. Are you certified by the shingle maker, and at what tier? GAF, for example, lets its Certified contractors offer its System Plus warranty, while only Master Elite contractors may offer its Golden Pledge warranty. Ask which warranty you would get, in writing.
5. What does your own workmanship warranty cover, and for how long? Get it in writing, separate from the manufacturer's warranty, so you know who answers for an installation mistake.
6. Will you tear off the old roof or lay over it, and why? The answer changes the price, so every quote should say which.
7. What do you charge if you find rotten decking? Get a per-sheet or per-square-foot price on the quote so a surprise does not set its own price.
8. Will the flashing, underlayment and vents be replaced or reused? These are where most leaks start, and they should be separate lines on the quote.
9. Is my roof still under a warranty, and will your repair affect it? NRCA says that when a roof is under warranty, the installing contractor should make repairs to avoid conflicts with warranty terms.
10. Who will be on my roof: your crew or a subcontractor? If it is a subcontractor, ask whose license and insurance cover them.

Price shopping works best when every quote prices the same thing. Ask each roofer to list materials, labor, tear-off, disposal, flashing and the permit on separate lines; roof replacement cost shows what each of those runs nationally.

What are the red flags? Warning signs to walk away from

Walk away from a roofer who knocks after a storm, pushes a same-day price, offers to cover your deductible or wants cash up front; state attorneys general and insurance regulators name each of these:

• The knock after a storm. The Indiana Attorney General lists someone at your door who "notices" your roof needs work, and a roofer with leftover materials from a neighbor's job, as storm chaser warning signs.
• A discount that ends today. The same Indiana guide flags a same-day price. A real quote is still good tomorrow.
• An offer to cover your deductible. It is illegal in Texas for a contractor to waive, rebate or absorb your deductible, the Texas Department of Insurance says, and Florida law (s. 489.147) bars roofers from offering cash, gifts or a deductible waiver to get you to file a claim. Indiana bans it too.
• A request for cash or the full price up front. Illinois's roofing regulator (IDFPR) says not to pay cash and not to pay in full until the work is done. The Texas Department of Insurance says never pay the entire bill up front.
• A deposit over the legal limit. California caps the down payment at 10 percent or $1,000, whichever is less (CSLB). Maine and Pennsylvania hold deposits to about one third of the price, per their attorneys general.
• No written contract, or one with blanks. Indiana requires a written contract above $150 and New York requires one with a 3-day right to cancel. The Texas Department of Insurance says never sign a contract with blank spaces.
• An out-of-state truck with no local license. IDFPR names out-of-state roofers who are not licensed in Illinois as a warning sign; the same check works anywhere a state licenses roofers.
• An offer to deal with your insurance company for you. Illinois says a roofer "cannot represent, offer, or advertise to represent" you on a claim, and Texas bars a roofer from acting as your public adjuster.

How much should a roofer charge for the first visit?

A roof inspection costs $125 to $392 for most homeowners, with a $257 average, in Angi's September 2026 data. HomeGuide puts it at $100 to $400, averaging $280. Ask on the call whether there is a visit fee and whether it is credited to the job. A repair itself typically runs $395 to $1,968 in HomeAdvisor's 2026 figures; roof repair costs and roof inspection cost break both down.

What should be in a roofing contract?

A roofing contract should be written, signed, itemized and dated before work starts, with the deposit inside your state's limit. Put these in it:

• The roofer's license or registration number, business address and insurance carrier.
• The scope line by line: tear-off or overlay, the shingle or panel product by name, underlayment, flashing, vents, decking price, disposal and permit.
• Start and finish dates, and what happens if weather delays the job.
• The payment schedule. In California the down payment may not exceed $1,000 or 10 percent of the price, whichever is less, and no progress payment may get ahead of the work, per CSLB. Maine caps it at one third on jobs over $3,000 (Maine Attorney General). New York requires deposits to be held in escrow or bonded (NYS Department of State).
• Both warranties: the manufacturer's, with its name, and the roofer's workmanship warranty, with its length.
• Your right to cancel. New York and Pennsylvania give 3 days on home improvement contracts, and Illinois gives 72 hours on roofing contracts.

Several states require a written contract for jobs above a low threshold: Indiana at $150, Maine at $3,000. Even where none is required, do not let work start on a handshake.

Where do I complain about a roofer?

Complain first to the state board that licensed or registered the roofer, then to your state attorney general's consumer protection office. In California that is the CSLB's complaint process; in Illinois, IDFPR; in Florida, the DBPR. In Texas, the Department of Insurance points roofing and deductible violations to the Texas Attorney General at 800-621-0508.

Some states run recovery funds that repay homeowners when a licensed contractor's work goes wrong. Maryland's Home Improvement Guaranty Fund pays up to the amount paid to the contractor, capped at $30,000, for work by licensed contractors. Arizona's Residential Contractors' Recovery Fund covers owners who live, or plan to live, in the home as a primary residence and were harmed by a licensed residential contractor. These funds pay only on licensed work, which is one more reason to run the license check first.

What to do before you sign with a roofer

1. Look up the license or registration number on the state board's site; in a no-license state, call the city.
2. Ask the insurer to send the certificate of insurance directly to you.
3. Get at least three written quotes for the same scope, itemized line by line.
4. Check the manufacturer tier and which warranty it lets the roofer sell.
5. Keep the deposit inside your state's cap and pay by check or card, never cash.
6. If a storm did the damage, call your insurer before you sign anything and read storm damage roof repair.

About the roof 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 each state's license lookup: roof repair in Houston, roof repair in Miami and roof repair in Denver.