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How to check a roofer in California and Texas before you sign

The two states we cover treat roofers very differently. California licenses them, caps what they can ask up front and spells out what the contract must say. Texas has no state roofing license, but it has strict rules about roofers and insurance claims. Here is how to check a roofer in each, and the warning signs that apply in both.

In California: start with the license

Roofing in California is licensed by the Contractors State License Board. The roofing classification is C-39, and it covers installing and repairing roofing. Before anything else, ask for the license number and look it up on CSLB's Check A License page. What to look for:

• The license is active, not expired or suspended.
• The classification fits: C-39 for a roofing job, or a general building license when roofing is part of a larger project.
• The name and address match the business on the bid and the truck.
• A bond is on file, and workers' compensation insurance or a valid exemption.
• Any disciplinary history shown on the record, and how it was resolved.

A licensed roofer will give you the number without hesitation and it will appear on the contract. A number that belongs to someone else, or "my license is in process", is a reason to stop.

In California: the money rules

The Business and Professions Code limits payments on home improvement contracts, and roofing is home improvement. CSLB's bulletin on the subject sums it up: the down payment may not exceed $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, and it is against the law for a contractor to collect payment for work not yet completed or materials not yet delivered. The contract has to show the down payment under its own heading, in bold type, and if it has a payment schedule, each payment has to be tied to a described phase of work. Violating the down payment and progress payment rules is a misdemeanor, CSLB says. In practice that means a roofer asking for a third or half of the price before the first shingle comes off is asking for something the law does not allow.

In Texas: no state license, so check what you can

Texas does not license roofing contractors at the state level. That shifts the work to you, and the useful checks are practical:

1. Insurance. Ask for a certificate of liability insurance, and confirm it with the agent listed. Ask how workers on your roof are covered if one is hurt.
2. The city. Ask your city's building department whether the job needs a permit and whether the roofer must register; ask the roofer who pulls the permit.
3. A local base. A physical address in the area, a phone number that has been answered for years, and recent jobs nearby you can see.
4. The paper. A written contract with scope, products, unknowns priced, payment schedule and, for an insurance job, the deductible notice.

Some roofers in Texas belong to trade associations or hold manufacturer credentials. Those can be useful signs, but they are private programs, not state licenses; check what they actually require.

In Texas: the insurance rules every roofer must follow

Because so much Texas roofing follows hail and wind claims, the state draws hard lines. The Texas Department of Insurance says a roofer or contractor may not act as a public insurance adjuster on a claim where they also do the work, and may not advertise that they will. Its examples of improper conduct include offering to negotiate a settlement or file a claim for you and promising to recover "every dime". It is illegal for a contractor to offer to waive, rebate or absorb your deductible, contracts of $1,000 or more involving an insurance settlement must say that you pay the deductible, and your insurer may ask for proof. TDI points people to the Texas Attorney General to report violations; its roofing and insurance page has the number.

Red flags in both states

• A knock on the door right after a storm with a contract to sign on the spot.
• A large payment up front, or cash only.
• No written contract, or one with blank spaces.
• An offer to cover your deductible or to "take care of the insurance".
• A price that is good "today only".
• No address you can find, a phone that changes, or a truck with out-of-area plates and no local office.
• Reluctance to pull a permit, or a suggestion that you pull it yourself as owner.
• Photos of "your" damage taken somewhere you did not see them taken.

Comparing two or three roofers

Collect bids that describe the same roof. Ask each roofer the same questions: tear-off or overlay, which underlayment and where the self-adhered membrane goes, new flashing or reused, how ventilation will be handled, what decking costs per sheet if it is rotten, who pulls the permit, how payments are scheduled, and what the workmanship warranty covers in writing. Put the answers side by side. Prices that differ a lot usually describe different jobs, and the gaps tell you which questions to ask next.

The contract, before you sign

Read it at the table, not on a tablet in the driveway. Check that it names the products and colours, the scope down to the deck, the price for unknowns, the permit, the payment schedule tied to work done, clean-up, and the warranty. In California, check the license number and the down payment section. In Texas, check the deductible notice on any insurance job. If something you were promised is not in the contract, it is not promised. For what the work itself should include, see roof replacement and roof repair.

Where we fit

Roof Repairs is a free request service in the Contractor Near Me family, not a roofer. We do not do the work, quote prices or speak for your insurer. When you send a request, we call or email you back about your roof and the questions above, so you can go into the conversation with a roofer knowing what to check.

Sources: Contractors State License Board, C-39 Roofing classification, Check A License and Industry Bulletin #22-14: progress payment restrictions (2022-11-22); Texas Department of Insurance, Roofing and insurance: Know the law (updated 2025-03-24).