Before you hand a contractor a deposit for a six-figure addition, you should be able to confirm three things in under an hour: that they’re registered with the state, that they carry real insurance, and that the business in front of you is the same one on the paperwork. Most homeowners skip this step because it feels awkward or because the contractor seems trustworthy. The contractors who cause the most damage seem trustworthy too — that’s how they get the job.
Here’s exactly how to check, in both states we work in, and what each piece of paper actually proves. None of it is hard. All of it is the kind of thing a legitimate contractor expects you to do and a problem contractor hopes you won’t.
First, understand what “licensed” means in your state
This trips people up, because the rules are different on each side of the river. New Jersey does not issue a general “contractor’s license” for most home improvement work the way some states do. Instead, home improvement contractors are required to register with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and carry commercial general liability insurance. Specific trades — electrical, plumbing, HVAC — are separately licensed, and certain larger new-home work falls under the New Home Warranty program. So in NJ, “are you licensed?” really means “are you registered, insured, and are your trades properly licensed?”
Pennsylvania works similarly for home improvement: contractors doing home improvement work are required to register with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, which issues a registration number (the “PA HIC” number) that’s supposed to appear on contracts and advertising. As in NJ, individual trades carry their own licensing, and some municipalities add their own requirements on top.
The practical takeaway: the magic word isn’t “license,” it’s “registration plus insurance plus the right trade licenses.” Knowing that is half the battle, because it tells you what to actually ask for.
How to check registration
In New Jersey, the Division of Consumer Affairs maintains the home improvement contractor registration records, and you can confirm a contractor’s registration status with the state. Ask the contractor for their NJ Home Improvement Contractor registration number, then verify it against the state’s records rather than taking the number at face value. The registration should be current and should match the business name and entity you’re contracting with.
In Pennsylvania, the Attorney General’s office maintains a searchable record of registered home improvement contractors by name or HIC number. Ask for the PA HIC number — it should already be printed on their contract and estimate — and confirm it’s active and tied to the business you’re dealing with. A contractor who can’t produce a HIC number, or whose number doesn’t check out, is a contractor operating outside the law that exists specifically to protect you.
How to verify insurance — and why the certificate matters more than the number
Registration says the contractor signed up with the state. Insurance is what actually protects you if something goes wrong on your property, and it’s the piece most worth verifying carefully. Ask for a certificate of insurance (a “COI”) showing current commercial general liability coverage, and — if they have employees — workers’ compensation. Then do the one step almost nobody does: call the insurance agent or broker listed on the certificate and confirm the policy is active.
This matters because a certificate is a snapshot, and policies lapse. A contractor can hand you a COI that was real the day it was printed and expired the month after. The agent on the certificate can confirm it’s still in force in about two minutes. If the contractor carries no workers’ comp and someone is injured on your property, that exposure can land on you and your homeowner’s policy — which is exactly the risk a low, “off-the-books” bid is quietly passing to you.
Confirm the business is who they say they are
Registration and insurance both assume the business in front of you is real and established. Confirm it. Look up the business entity in the state’s business records and check how long it’s been registered under that name — a brand-new LLC with no track record under that entity isn’t disqualifying, but it’s worth knowing. Confirm there’s a physical office address you could actually drive to, not just a cell number and a magnetic logo on a truck door. Match the name on the contract, the name on the insurance certificate, and the name on the registration — they should all be the same entity. When they aren’t, ask why before you sign.
Check the trades and the township
For an addition, the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work has to be done under the appropriate trade licenses, whether by the contractor’s own people or by licensed subcontractors. Ask who holds those licenses and confirm the permits will be pulled under them. Then call your township’s construction office — Haddonfield, Moorestown, Voorhees, Collingswood, Haddon Township, or Haddon Heights on the New Jersey side; Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Wayne, Villanova, or Swarthmore on the Pennsylvania side. The township can tell you whether a contractor is known to them and pulls permits properly, and a contractor who wants to avoid pulling permits is telling you something important before the project even starts.
What to do if something doesn’t check out
A single gap isn’t always a deal-breaker — a registration that needs renewing, a certificate that needs updating. What matters is how the contractor responds when you ask. A legitimate contractor produces the documents without friction, because they have them and they’re used to the question. A problem contractor gets defensive, stalls, offers reasons the paperwork is “on the way,” or makes you feel difficult for asking. That reaction is itself one of the clearest signals you’ll get. The documents either exist or they don’t, and the contractor who has them is glad you checked.
What MAG does instead
We’re registered, insured, and happy to put every piece of that in your hands before you ask — registration, current certificate of insurance, and the trade licenses behind the permits we pull and close out in your township. Verifying a contractor should be the easiest part of hiring one. You can see how we approach home additions, who we are, or the case studies for completed projects across our service area.
Common questions
Does New Jersey require a contractor’s license for a home addition?
New Jersey requires home improvement contractors to register with the Division of Consumer Affairs and carry commercial general liability insurance, rather than issuing a single general “contractor’s license.” Individual trades — electrical, plumbing, HVAC — are separately licensed. So the right things to verify are registration, insurance, and the proper trade licenses, not a one-size “license” number.
What is a PA HIC number?
It’s the registration number Pennsylvania issues to home improvement contractors under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act. It’s supposed to appear on the contractor’s contracts and advertising, and you can verify it through the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office. A home improvement contractor working in PA without one is operating outside the registration law.
How do I actually confirm a certificate of insurance is real?
Call the insurance agent or broker named on the certificate and ask them to confirm the policy is currently active. A certificate only proves coverage existed the day it was issued; the agent can confirm it hasn’t lapsed since. This two-minute call is the single most valuable verification step and the one most homeowners skip.
Is a brand-new business an automatic red flag?
Not automatically — everyone starts somewhere. But a newly formed LLC with no track record under that entity is worth extra scrutiny: confirm the people behind it have a real history, check insurance carefully, and be cautious about large upfront payments. The concern is a contractor who dissolves and re-forms under a new name to shed a bad reputation or unfinished obligations.
What if the contractor refuses to provide documentation?
Walk. A contractor who won’t produce registration and a current certificate of insurance is either not carrying them or hoping you won’t notice they aren’t — and either way, you’d be taking on the risk they’re supposed to carry. The documents are routine. The refusal is the answer.