CityvettedThe 90-second license check that should come before every electrician
Every state has a free contractor-license lookup. We mapped all 50 and built a checklist for spotting a lapsed, suspended, or borrowed license number.
Before an electrician touches your panel, you have time to do the one check that matters most, and it takes less time than it takes them to back the truck into your driveway. Every state in the country runs a free, public contractor-license lookup. Type in a name or a license number and you can see, in seconds, whether the person about to rewire your kitchen is licensed, whether that license is active, and whether it has ever been suspended or hit with a complaint. Almost nobody does this. They should, because electrical work is the one trade where a cut corner does not just cost money, it burns the house down.
We mapped the license lookup for all fifty states and found the same three failure modes over and over. A license that lapsed and was never renewed. A license that was suspended for cause and is being used anyway. And a borrowed license number, where the person on your property is working under someone else's credential. Each one is catchable in under two minutes, and each one is a reason to send the truck away.
- All 50 states offer a free online license lookup. You do not need an account, a fee, or the contractor's permission.
- The three things to verify: the license is active, it is in the right name, and it carries the right classification for your job.
- A lapsed, suspended, or borrowed license number is the most common red flag, and it voids your protection if something goes wrong.
- Unlicensed electrical work can void your homeowner's insurance claim if a fire is traced back to it.
Why electrical is different
You can survive a mediocre paint job. You can argue your way through a bad plumbing repair. Faulty electrical work hides inside your walls and waits. A loose connection or an overloaded circuit can sit quiet for months and then start a fire at two in the morning. This is why states license electricians more tightly than almost any other trade, and why the licensing board keeps a public record of who is allowed to do the work and who has been disciplined. The lookup exists precisely so that homeowners can use it. The fact that it is buried on a state website does not mean it is hard to use.
- Find your state's board.
Search your state name plus "contractor license lookup" or "electrical board license search." The official result ends in .gov. Skip the third-party sites that want a fee; the real one is free.
- Search the name or number.
Enter the business name, the individual's name, or the license number from their card or estimate. If they cannot give you a number, that is your answer already.
- Confirm the status says active.
Look for "active," "current," or "in good standing." "Expired," "lapsed," "inactive," or "suspended" means stop. A suspension often means the board found something serious.
- Match the name and the classification.
The name on the license should match the person or company you are hiring. The classification should cover residential electrical work. A number borrowed from a qualifying agent who never shows up is a known dodge.
- Scan for complaints or discipline.
Many boards list disciplinary actions right on the record. One old complaint is noise. A pattern of them is signal.
The borrowed-license dodge
This is the one most homeowners never catch. In many states, a company needs a licensed "qualifying agent" on file to operate, but the actual person doing your work may hold no license at all. They are trading on someone else's credential. The way to catch it is to ask who specifically will be on site and whether that individual is licensed, then check that name, not just the company. If the licensed name on file is someone you will never meet, you are not getting what the license promises.
"A license number on an invoice means nothing until you have typed it into the state website yourself. Thirty seconds. Do it."
to Daniel Ruiz, Senior EditorWhat a lapsed license actually costs you
Beyond the obvious safety risk, an unlicensed or improperly licensed electrician can blow up your finances in two quiet ways. First, work done without the proper license usually cannot be permitted and inspected, which becomes a problem the day you try to sell the house. Second, and worse, if a fire is later traced to unpermitted, unlicensed electrical work, your homeowner's insurer may deny the claim. You can spend ninety seconds now or argue with an adjuster later. The check is free. The alternative is not.
Cityvetted treats verifiable licensing as a floor, not a feature. For electricians especially, we cross-reference business names against state board records where they are available, and a lapsed or disciplined license pulls a company down hard regardless of how warm its reviews are. Great reviews from happy customers do not override a board that has flagged the work. The license check is the first thing we run, and it should be the first thing you run too.