· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Contractor
Checking a contractor is quick, and it is the step that is easiest to skip once you like someone. License, insurance and references each answer a different question, so one cannot stand in for another. Run all three before you sign for a custom home or a remodel, on us as much as on anyone you are comparing us with.
License
Tennessee’s threshold depends on the size of the job. The Board for Licensing Contractors’ contractor license page requires a license before anyone bids, offers or negotiates a price on a project of $25,000 or more as a prime contractor, and electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing subcontractors need one when their portion reaches $25,000. Below that line, the board’s Home Improvement license page lists Davidson and Rutherford among nine counties where residential remodeling from $3,000 to $24,999 requires that license, so in Nashville a remodel of $3,000 or more needs one license or the other.
The board’s home page has a Verify a License search, and the same board also licenses limited licensed electricians and plumbers. Discipline is published separately: the Department of Commerce and Insurance posts regulatory board disciplinary actions as monthly reports, and it is worth opening the recent ones and searching for the company name.
Then check that the classification actually covers the work you are asking for, because a license is specific rather than general. The contractor page lists residential (BC-A), commercial (BC-B), electrical (CE), plumbing (CMC-A) and HVAC (CMC-C) classifications, and it explains that every license carries a monetary limit that applies to each individual project. A real license with a limit well under your contract price is still the wrong license for your job.
What insurance should a contractor carry?
Ask for general liability and workers’ compensation, and see proof of both. The Home Improvement page lists both among that license’s requirements, and the contractor page says liability coverage is required at a level set by the monetary limit, a scale the board’s general liability insurance rule spells out tier by tier, with workers’ compensation required unless the contractor shows proof of an exemption. Our advice is to have the certificate sent to you by the contractor’s insurance agent rather than accept a copy handed across the table, and to check that the policy dates run past the end of your job.
Workers’ compensation is the half people forget. The Department of Labor’s page on who must carry insurance says businesses in the construction industry generally have to cover everyone, owners included, where other businesses need coverage once they have five or more employees. A construction business owner can be listed on the workers’ compensation exemption registry, but the department notes that exempt owners must still cover all of their employees and that a listing says nothing about whether their license is valid. The Attorney General’s winter storm consumer alert puts the homeowner’s side plainly in its advice on hiring tree crews: workers’ comp protects you from being sued if a worker is injured on your property, and general liability covers damage to your home.
- Verify the license, its classification and its monetary limit with the state board
- A certificate of insurance sent by the contractor’s agent
- Workers’ compensation, not just liability
- References from jobs two or three years old
- A written contract, and no more than a third down
Which contractor references are worth calling?
We suggest asking for jobs completed two or three years ago rather than last month. A recent client can tell you how the job went; a client from three years ago knows whether the work held up and whether callbacks were honored. The Attorney General’s alert on tree trimming and removal scams adds two more places to look: references from people you trust, and reviews and complaints on independent platforms such as the Better Business Bureau.
Ask specifically what went wrong and how it was handled. Something usually does on a building job, and the answer to that question is the useful part of the call.
What the pattern of warning signs looks like
The tree trimming alert says to avoid anyone who pressures you to decide quickly by telling you the offer won’t be available later, and to be wary of a demand for full or substantial payment before any work is done. The winter storm alert fills in the rest: door-to-door sales with discounts that seem too good to be true, insistence on cash only, a contractor who asks you to pull your own permits, and no written estimate or contract. It also says Tennessee’s Home Improvement law prohibits asking for a down payment of more than one-third of the contract, and our post on paying a contractor without losing leverage goes further into how the payments should follow the work.
Any one of these may have an innocent explanation. Two or three on the same bid are reason enough to keep looking, and a contract that spells out dates, payments and change orders, the things a construction contract should say, clears several of them away at once. When you are ready to compare, ask us for a free estimate and check us the same way.
Sources
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, Contractor license — License required on projects of $25,000 or more as a prime contractor; electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing subcontractors at $25,000; classifications; per-project monetary limit; liability insurance by monetary limit and workers’ compensation unless exempt
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, Home Improvement Contractor license — Residential remodeling from $3,000 to $24,999 in nine adopting counties including Davidson and Rutherford; general liability and workers’ compensation required
- Rules of the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, Chapter 0680-6, General Liability Insurance — Rule 0680-6-.02: general liability of at least $100,000 for home improvement licensees and monetary limits up to $500,000, $500,000 for limits up to $1,500,000, and $1,000,000 above that
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors — Verify a License search; the board licenses contractors, home improvement contractors, limited licensed electricians and limited licensed plumbers
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Regulatory Board Disciplinary Actions — Disciplinary actions published as monthly reports
- Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Who Must Carry Insurance — Construction businesses generally must cover everyone including owners; other businesses at five or more employees
- Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Workers’ Compensation Exemption Registry — Exempt owners must still cover all employees; a registry listing does not reflect license validity
- Tennessee Attorney General, Consumer Alert: Protect Yourself During Tennessee’s Winter Storm (January 26, 2026) — Workers’ comp protects you from being sued if a worker is injured on your property; general liability covers damage to your home; red flags including door-to-door discounts, cash only, asking you to pull permits, no written contract; down payment capped at one-third under the Home Improvement law
- Tennessee Attorney General, Consumer Alert: Watch Out for Tree Trimming and Removal Scams (February 4, 2026) — Avoid pressure to decide quickly; be wary of full or substantial payment before work; references from people you trust and reviews on independent platforms
FAQ
Checking a Contractor Before You Sign — questions
How do I check a Tennessee contractor license?
Use the Verify a License search on the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors website. Confirm the license is active, that its classification covers the work you are asking for, and that its monetary limit is at least the size of your contract, since a license for one category or one size of job does not authorize another. In Davidson County a residential remodel from $3,000 to $24,999 calls for a Home Improvement license, and a project of $25,000 or more calls for a contractor license. Disciplinary actions are published separately in the Department of Commerce and Insurance monthly reports.
Why does workers compensation matter to me?
Tennessee generally requires construction businesses to carry workers compensation for everyone, owners included, and an owner who is exempt still has to cover employees. The Tennessee Attorney General’s office describes workers compensation as what protects you from being sued if a worker is injured on your property, and general liability as what covers damage to your home. Ask for proof of both, ideally sent by the contractor’s insurance agent.
What should I ask a contractor’s references?
Ask for jobs finished two or three years ago rather than recent ones, because those owners know whether the work held up and whether callbacks were honored. Then ask what went wrong and how it was handled. The Tennessee Attorney General also suggests references from people you trust and a look at reviews and complaints on independent platforms such as the Better Business Bureau.
Does a contractor need a license in Tennessee?
Yes, once the job is big enough. A prime contractor needs a state license before bidding on a project of $25,000 or more, and electrical, plumbing, HVAC, mechanical and roofing subs need one when their part reaches that figure. In Davidson, Rutherford and seven other counties, residential remodeling from $3,000 to $24,999 takes a Home Improvement license.