"We're licensed and insured" is on every vendor's business card, and boards tend to nod and move on. But a license claim you haven't verified is just a claim — and hiring an unlicensed or improperly licensed vendor can leave your association holding the bag for shoddy work, code violations, or an injury you assumed someone else covered. Most states publish a license lookup anyone can search. Here's how to use it and what to look for.
Why licensing matters for an HOA
A license isn't bureaucratic box-checking. It usually means the vendor met a minimum standard of competence, carries required insurance or bonding, and can be held accountable by a state board if they cut corners. For an association, that accountability is the point: if an unlicensed vendor damages property or a worker is hurt, the liability can flow back to the community in ways a licensed, insured vendor's coverage would have absorbed. Some states also bar unlicensed contractors from placing liens or even enforcing their contracts — which cuts both ways and signals a vendor operating outside the rules.
Know which license the work actually requires
"Licensed" means different things for different trades, and requirements vary by state and locality. Match the license to the work:
- General contracting / construction: a state contractor's license, often tiered by project dollar value.
- Pool service: many states require a commercial pool service license or a Certified Pool Operator (CPO) on staff for public and semi-public pools — which is what an HOA pool is.
- Landscaping: general landscaping may need only a business license, but anyone applying pesticides or fertilizers usually needs a pesticide applicator license.
- Electrical, plumbing, HVAC: almost always require a specific trade license, no exceptions.
- Irrigation and backflow: many jurisdictions require a certified backflow tester for the annual test.
- Tree work: some areas require an arborist certification or license for removals.
The lesson: don't accept "licensed" as a blanket. Ask which license, for which scope, and confirm it fits the job you're hiring for.
How to verify a license with the state
Almost every state publishes a license lookup online. The process:
- Get the license number and the exact legal business name from the vendor. A vendor who won't give you a number is answering your question by not answering it.
- Find your state's licensing board — the contractors' board, department of business regulation, or the relevant trade board. A search for "[your state] contractor license lookup" gets you there.
- Search by number or name and confirm four things: the license is active (not expired, suspended, or revoked), it covers the right trade and scope, the name matches the entity on your contract, and there are no unresolved disciplinary actions or complaints.
If the state's record and the vendor's story don't match — a different name, an expired date, a classification that doesn't cover your work — stop and ask why before you go further.
Bonding is not the same as insurance
Vendors often say "licensed, bonded, and insured" as one breath, but the three are distinct. A license is permission to do the work. Insurance (general liability and workers' comp) pays for damage and injuries. A bond is a financial guarantee that protects you if the vendor fails to complete work or violates the license terms. Confirm all three separately. A bond is worth verifying for larger projects — ask for the bond number and confirm it's active.
Watch for the common licensing dodges
A few patterns should make you slow down:
- "My license is being renewed." Maybe. Verify it's currently active, not pending.
- A license in a different name. The license must match the entity signing your contract. A borrowed or affiliated license doesn't cover them.
- Wrong classification. A general business license is not a contractor's or trade license. Make sure the classification covers your actual scope.
- Reluctance to share the number. The one genuinely bad sign. Legitimate vendors hand it over without hesitation.
Re-check at renewal, not just at signing
A license verified three years ago tells you nothing today. Licenses expire, lapse, and occasionally get suspended. Build a quick re-check into every contract renewal, and the same goes double for insurance, which can lapse between one monthly payment and the next. A vendor who was fully compliant when you hired them can quietly fall out of compliance without you ever hearing about it.
Where HOAcrew fits
Verifying licenses across trades, tracking expiration dates, and re-checking at every renewal is exactly the kind of steady administrative work that falls through the cracks on a volunteer board. On HOAcrew it is part of vetting. Three documents decide whether a company can bid: general liability, workers' compensation, and the credential the trade actually requires — a CPO card for pool, auto liability for landscaping, a background check for porter and amenity staffing, and lifeguard certification on top for guard scopes. Business registration is collected and verified by an admin as well, and it sits on file rather than deciding the bid. Each is stored with its expiry date and held to a stated renewal window: 30 days for insurance, none for a competency certificate, because an expired competency certificate is not a certificate. Once the window closes, the company cannot bid for or be awarded new work until the document is current again. "Is this company compliant" reads off one dashboard rather than a phone call.
HOAcrew is where a board runs this. Vetted independent local companies submit proposals against the scope you publish; your board compares them side by side, selects one, and the contract is between your community and the company it chose. HOAcrew verifies the three documents that decide a bid — general liability, workers' compensation and the credential that company's trade requires, and an admin reads each certificate of insurance and files what the document says, with every expiry date held against the limits your community sets. Every company's own invoice arrives in one view, with the visit records beside it.
However you hire, treat "we're licensed" as the start of a question. Ask which license, for which scope, then put the number into the state's own database and read the answer back off the record — that is the version a future board can rely on.