Hiring a Contractor
How do I check a Delaware contractor's license and insurance?
Short answer
Delaware requires contractors to hold a State of Delaware business license and to register with the Division of Revenue. Ask for the license number, a certificate of general liability insurance and workers' compensation coverage sent directly from the insurance agent, and confirm the business name on those documents matches the name on your contract.
The documents to ask for
A legitimate contractor produces these without hesitation, usually within a day:
- Delaware business license number and the exact registered business name
- Certificate of general liability insurance, emailed by the agent, not the contractor
- Workers' compensation certificate covering everyone who will be on your property
- A written contract with scope, materials, payment schedule and start and completion dates
- References from projects of similar type and size in your area
Why workers' compensation matters most
General liability covers damage to your property. Workers' compensation covers injuries to the people working on it. If an uninsured worker is hurt on your roof or in your basement, the exposure can land on your homeowner's policy, and that is the single largest financial risk in hiring the wrong contractor.
Ask for the certificate to come directly from the insurance agency. Certificates are easy to alter and easy to let lapse after issuance.
Red flags that predict problems
Patterns matter more than any single fact. These recur in nearly every bad remodeling story we are called in to fix:
- A large deposit demanded in cash before any materials are ordered
- No written scope, or a one-page quote with a single lump-sum number
- Pressure to skip permits to save money
- A price dramatically below every other bid
- Door-to-door solicitation after a storm
- No physical business address in Delaware
How Dream Craft Builders answers these questions
We are a licensed and insured Delaware contractor with a shop at 2201 Ogletown Road in Newark. We provide license and insurance documentation with every proposal, pull permits under our own license, and give an itemized scope rather than a lump sum, so you can see what is and is not included before you sign anything.
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Talk to a licensed Delaware builder
Free consultation and an itemized estimate — permits, inspections and all.