How to Choose a Roofing Contractor: The Checks That Matter

→Not sure where to start? Take the Roof Check.About 2 minutes. Rough answers are fine.

How to choose a roofing contractor comes down to four things you can check yourself before any money moves: the license, the insurance, two or three written bids on the same scope, and a written contract that sets out the payment schedule. The FTC and FEMA state all of it plainly, and none of it depends on taking a stranger's word. One correction up front, because the claim is widely repeated: an inspection offered at no charge is not by itself evidence of a scam.

Verify the license and insurance yourself

The FTC's home improvement scam guidance puts licensing first: "Consider only contractors who are licensed and insured. Check with your state or county government to confirm a contractor's license, and ask the contractor for proof of insurance." A laminated card handed to you at the door is not verification, and neither is a logo on a truck.

There is a reason the FTC names both the state and the county. FEMA's checklist of questions to ask a contractor explains that "in some states, there is no state-wide licensing for certain trades such as general contractors; rather, it may done locally by the county or the city," and that "some jurisdictions may not have any licensing requirements; however, for your safety, it is recommended that you work with a verified licensed professional whenever possible." So the first thing to establish is not whether a particular roofer is licensed, but who does the licensing where you live, and whether roofing is covered at all.

FEMA also describes what verifying actually means: "ask for a copy, check the expiration dates, and contact the issuing authority to verify their license is in good standing." The same checklist says to ask for proof of general liability insurance before you sign, by "asking for a copy of their insurance certificate, checking the expiration dates, and contacting the issuing authority to verify their insurance is valid," and to ask whether the contractor carries workers' compensation insurance, which "protects you from liability if a worker is injured while on your property." FEMA attaches a caveat that matters for the small crews most roofing jobs involve: "if the general contractor does not have employees, he may not need or have workers' compensation insurance."

Insurance is the harder of the two to confirm, because a policy is a private contract that can lapse between the day the certificate was printed and the day the crew arrives. FEMA's instruction is the one to follow: get a copy of the certificate, check the expiration dates, and contact the issuing authority to verify the insurance is valid.

Get two or three written bids on the same scope

The FTC's national guidance for hiring after storms and disasters is to "get estimates from more than one contractor," not to "automatically choose the lowest bidder," and to "ask for an explanation if there's a big difference in price." A FEMA fact sheet puts a number on it, "get two or three written estimates," though that sheet is not national guidance: FEMA issued it in September 2025 for one declared disaster, the July 2 to 18 storms and flooding in Central Texas, and the licensing advice in it points at Texas agencies. The same sheet recommends "using a local contractor, someone who is known in the community," and warns that "out-of-town scam artists may be the first to arrive at your front door after a flood."

The FTC sets the floor for what an estimate is. A written estimate "should include a description of the work to be done, materials, completion date, and the price." A number scribbled on the back of a card is not an estimate, and it cannot be compared with anything.

The comparison only works if every roofer priced the same job. Decide the scope before you invite bids: tear-off or overlay, how deck replacement will be priced if rot turns up, which flashings are being renewed, what the ventilation plan is, and who hauls the debris. What your roof actually needs is a separate question, and the roof replacement guide walks through how to establish it before anyone quotes you.

Two questions from FEMA's checklist are worth asking and rarely are. "How many building permits has the contractor obtained in this jurisdiction in the last two years?" tells you whether they know your local code and permit process. And a contractor who will not hand over past clients is telling you something: FEMA says "a credible general contractor should have no problem providing multiple references," and suggests contacting at least three to five previous clients who had similar work done.

What the contract should say before you sign

The FTC lists what belongs in the agreement: "the contractor's name, address, phone number, and license number," "an estimated start and completion date," "any promises made during conversations or calls related to issues such as the scope of work and the cost of labor and materials," and "a written statement of your right to cancel the contract within three business days, if you signed it in your home or at a location other than the seller's permanent place of business." It also says to make sure "all blank spaces are filled in."

That last point is the whole game. The same FTC storm guidance describes dishonest contractors asking you to sign a "blank contract," and offering a discount "but only if you sign a contract right away."

Read the cancellation line closely, because it is regularly quoted without the condition that makes it true. The FTC's three business days turn on where you signed: "in your home or at a location other than the seller's permanent place of business." A contract you sign at the roofer's office is not covered by it. That distinction cuts exactly where roofing sales happen, because the contract pushed at you on your own porch after a storm is the one the right was written for, and the one you sit down to sign at an office is not.

State law often adds to the federal baseline. The Illinois Attorney General tells homeowners there that a contract should carry "the contractor's full name, address, and telephone number," "a description of the work to be performed," "starting and estimated completion dates," and the "total cost for work performed including charges for estimates." Illinois does not set a dollar figure above which a contract must be written; what it ties to $1,000 is a disclosure. The contractor "should present the Home Repair Consumer Rights document for any work valued at $1000 or more," a form from the Attorney General's office that "describes the necessary elements that should be in a contract for work," and which both sides sign after going through it. On cancellation, Illinois carries the same condition as the FTC, not a wider right: "you have three business days to cancel any contract if the sale is made and signed at your home." Only the age rule goes further, giving seniors over 65 up to 15 business days on a contract made and signed at home. Your state's rules will differ; your state consumer protection office or attorney general publishes them.

Two more items belong in writing. FEMA's checklist says a credible contractor should give you a written warranty that "should clearly spell out what is covered, what is not, and for how long," with a minimum of one year on work and materials and two years preferred. It also says to ask for a written lien waiver at the end of the job, which records that you have paid in full and waives the contractor's and subcontractors' right to place a lien on your property.

How to pay, and how not to

The FTC's line is short: "Don't pay the full amount for the project up front. Some states actually limit the amount of money a contractor can ask for as a down payment." It also says never to make the final payment "until the work is done and you're satisfied with it."

FEMA's two documents disagree about deposits, and it is more useful to say so than to average them. The Texas fact sheet says "don't make a down payment or a final payment until the job is complete," and to "beware of contractors who ask for large payments up front to purchase materials." The contractor checklist says the opposite about the deposit: one "is not unusual," it says, to cover initial time and materials, though "you should never pay a general contractor in full before the project is completed." They were written for different situations. The fact sheet is disaster advice, aimed at the weeks when out-of-town crews collect deposits and disappear; the checklist is for ordinary planned construction with a contractor you chose at your own pace. Our reading is to use the fact sheet's zero-deposit position as the default whenever the roofer found you, and to treat a deposit as reasonable only with a local contractor whose license and insurance you verified yourself. Where both documents agree is the part that actually protects you: never pay in full before the work is done, and check what your state caps a down payment at.

The checklist is the most practical of the three on mechanics. It describes withholding at least 10% until the work is finished to your satisfaction as common practice, and says to "make payments in a way that they are traceable, or get receipts for each of your payments."

Are free inspections a scam?

You will find it stated plainly on roofing websites that a roof inspection is never offered at no charge, and that anyone offering one is running a scam. Stated that broadly, it does not survive contact with the consumer guidance it is usually leaning on.

A free inspection does turn up on one agency's warning list. The Illinois Attorney General's warning signs of home repair rip-off schemes include "someone who offers to inspect your home for free without authentic identification establishing their business status." That item is worth reading to the end, because our reading is that the qualifier carries it: what the sentence describes is an unidentified stranger at the door, and the free offer is how that stranger opens. Drop the second half and you are left with a rule the Attorney General did not write. The FTC's list, which does not mention price at all, points the same way: "scammers knock on your door looking for business because they are 'in the area'" and they "pressure you for an immediate decision."

On that reading the price is not the tell. What happens after the inspection is. An inspection you sought out, from a roofer you found and verified yourself, is ordinary work that many companies do at no charge because it is how they win jobs. An inspection is doing its job when you get photographs, a written description of what was found, and no obligation attached. It has gone wrong when you are handed a contract or an authorization form to sign on the spot, told the offer ends today, or asked to let someone deal with your insurer on your behalf before you have read what you are signing.

If the job is a replacement

The checks above matter most on the largest job, where the money is biggest and the work is hardest to inspect after it is covered up.

One practical habit makes the bids readable: write your scope down once, hand the same sheet to every roofer, and ask each of them to price it line by line. Then differences between bids mean something. Without it, the cheapest bid is usually the one that left the most out.

Bottom line

Choosing a roofer is mostly verification, and almost all of it happens before you sign. Confirm the license with the state or county that issues it, get proof of insurance and call the insurer named on the certificate, collect two or three written bids on one written scope, and keep the payment schedule tied to completed work. A free inspection is not the warning sign; being rushed is, and the few days you take to verify and compare are yours to take.

Before the bids arrive, the four kinds of roof inspection explains who is paying whom for each look at your roof. To read the bids once they land, see what moves a roof replacement price.

Common questions

How do I check whether a roofing contractor is licensed?

The FTC says to check with your state or county government to confirm a contractor's license, and to ask the contractor for proof of insurance. FEMA's contractor checklist adds that you should ask for a copy, check the expiration date, and contact the issuing authority to confirm the license is in good standing.

How many roofing quotes should I get?

The FTC says to get estimates from more than one contractor, and that a written estimate should describe the work, the materials, the completion date and the price. A FEMA fact sheet issued after the July 2025 Central Texas storms and flooding puts a number on it: two or three written estimates. The bids only compare if every roofer priced the same scope.

Is a free inspection a scam?

Not on its own. The Illinois Attorney General does list an offer to inspect your home for free, made by someone without authentic identification establishing their business status, among its warning signs. Read closely, the condition doing the work in that sentence is the missing identification. The FTC's signs are the uninvited knock, the pressure for an immediate decision, and the demand for cash up front.

How large a deposit should a roofer ask for?

The FTC says not to pay the full amount up front and notes that some states limit what a contractor may ask for as a down payment. FEMA's two documents differ: its contractor checklist says a down payment is not unusual but that you should never pay in full before the project is completed, while its Texas post-disaster fact sheet advises no down payment at all until the job is complete. The specific limit is set by your state.

Can I cancel a roofing contract after I sign it?

The FTC says a home improvement contract should include a written statement of your right to cancel within three business days, but only if you signed it in your home or at a location other than the seller's permanent place of business. Sign at the contractor's office and that right does not apply. Illinois sets the same three business days on the same condition, a contract made and signed at your home, and goes further only for seniors over 65, who get up to 15 business days.

Sources

1. FTC Consumer Advice: How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam
2. FTC Consumer Advice: How To Avoid Scams After Weather Emergencies and Natural Disasters
3. FEMA: Beware of Post-Disaster Contractor Fraud (Texas fact sheet, DR-4879, Sept. 9, 2025)
4. FEMA Building Codes Toolkit: Checklist to Ask Your General Contractor
5. Illinois Attorney General: Home Repair Fraud

By RoofWise USA Editorial Team. First published September 17, 2026. Advertiser disclosure