How to Check If a Plumber Is Licensed, Bonded, and Insured

Before a plumber touches your pipes, confirm three separate things: that they’re licensed (they met your state or city’s standard for the work), insured (general liability plus workers’ comp, so an accident on your property doesn’t become your bill), and bonded (a surety bond that pays you if they take your money and don’t finish). It takes about ten minutes — get the exact business name and license number, look it up on your state board’s official site, then call the insurer and the surety on the paperwork to confirm each is active today. A clean license proves a plumber is legitimate; whether the work is any good is a separate question.

Why ten minutes now beats a headache later

A quick check protects you from two different things. First, a contractor who isn’t qualified for the job, or doesn’t mean to finish it. Second, money trouble you didn’t cause: if an uninsured worker gets hurt in your basement or a bad joint floods the unit below, those costs can land on you. Licensed, bonded, and insured are three separate protections, and a plumber can have one without the others, so confirm all three before the first wrench turns.

Licensed, bonded, insured — what each word actually buys you

• Licensed means the plumber proved to a state or local board that they met its standard: training, exams, and often proof of insurance. It means they’re allowed to do the job. Skill is a separate question.
• Insured usually means two policies: general liability, which covers damage to your home, and workers’ compensation, which covers a worker hurt on your property. Without them, depending on your state, an injury or a flood can become your problem.
• Bonded means the plumber bought a surety bond: a third party that pays you if they take your deposit and fail to finish the agreed work. A bond covers broken promises; it does nothing for accidents or property damage.

Step 1 — Check the license the right way

1. Get the exact business name and the license number before anyone comes out. In states that license people as well as companies, also get the name of the licensed plumber who will be responsible for your job.
2. Search “[your state] plumbing license lookup” and click through to the official state board, not a directory that happens to rank first. Copies of license data on other sites can be out of date; the board’s own lookup is the source.
3. Confirm four things: the license is active, it is the right type for plumbing work, the name matches the business you’re hiring, and there is no serious discipline record.
4. Expect each state to work a little differently. Some license the company, some license the individual plumber, many do both, and the license classes have different names. Read the lookup result for what this license allows, not just whether one exists.

If you live in one of the three cities FairPipes covers today, these are the boards to start with: in Arizona, the Registrar of Contractors (azroc.gov); in Tennessee, the Board for Licensing Contractors, which also keeps a list of Limited Licensed Plumbers; in Montana, the Board of Plumbers. Each has a free online search.

When the state search comes up empty — check the city or county

Not every state licenses plumbers statewide; in some, cities or counties handle it. If your state search turns up nothing, don’t assume the trade is unregulated. Call or search your city or county building or licensing department and confirm the plumber is registered there. While you have them, ask whether your job needs a permit. Most bigger plumbing jobs do, and the plumber should be the one who pulls it. Confirm the permit is pulled and the inspection is scheduled before any work gets covered up.

Step 2 — Verify the insurance, don’t just take the certificate

Ask for a Certificate of Insurance (COI) — usually the standard ACORD 25 form — in the plumber’s or company’s name. Then do the part most people skip: call the insurer or agent printed on the COI and confirm the policy is active today. A certificate only proves coverage existed the day it was issued — policies lapse. That’s also why “insurance on file with the state board” isn’t the same as active coverage: the board holds a snapshot from submission day, and only the insurer can tell you the policy is still in force.

Read the COI for two lines: general liability (damage to your home) and workers’ compensation (injuries). Limits should fit the job — a faucet swap and a sewer-line replacement aren’t the same exposure, so bigger jobs call for higher liability limits. Adequate numbers vary by project and region, so ask the plumber and the agent what fits rather than trusting a round figure someone quotes you. Your state’s insurance department can tell you what, if anything, your state requires.

Step 3 — Verify the bond is real and current

Ask for the surety company’s name and the bond number, then call the surety to confirm the bond is active. If the plumber walks off or breaches the contract, you file a written claim with that surety — typically with your contract, proof of payment, and documentation of the loss. Be realistic about size: a bond is often small next to a major remodel or sewer job, so it rarely covers a big loss in full.

Red flags that should stop you

• No license number, or one that doesn’t match the business name.
• Refusal to give the number. A licensed plumber has no reason to hide it.
• Cash only, no physical address, an expired or missing certificate.
• The person at your door may not be the licensed one. Ask who will actually be on site and look up each name; the license on the contract may belong to someone who never shows up.

If the plumber turns out unlicensed or uninsured

Report them to the state licensing board, or to the city or county office that licenses plumbers where you live, and to your state attorney general’s consumer-protection office. In some states, unlicensed work is a crime, but rules and penalties vary. For money you’ve lost, small-claims court is often the realistic route; limits and steps differ by state and county. And remember the injury exposure: an uninsured worker hurt on your property can become your financial problem, so keep every document and get legal advice if the loss is large.

Paperwork is not workmanship — how to judge the rest

A clean license and current insurance confirm legitimacy. They say nothing about whether the plumber solders a clean joint. To judge skill, read the complaint history with a cool head — one resolved, minor complaint from years ago carries nothing like the weight of a revocation for fraud or repeated code failures. Then check references, read detailed past-customer reviews, and get several written, itemized estimates. Comparing them side by side is your best defense against overpaying. Before you call anyone, the questions to ask before hiring a plumber are worth running through so you’re not negotiating blind.

If you’re in Phoenix, AZ; Chattanooga, TN; or Billings, MT, you can read what past customers said — the good and the bad, side by side — free on FairPipes, which is piloting in those three cities. Use it to size up reputation, then run the license and insurance checks above yourself through the state board.

Your quick pre-hire checklist

• Exact business name and license number (plus the licensed plumber’s name, if your state licenses people).
• Looked it up on the official state board — active status, license type, name match, discipline record.
• If the state search was empty, checked the city or county department, and asked about the permit.
• Got the COI and called the insurer to confirm general liability and workers’ comp are active today.
• Got the bond number and confirmed it’s active with the surety.
• Confirmed who’s actually on site; no red flags.
• Collected references and several written, itemized estimates.