How can I tell if my general contractor is licensed in Massachusetts?
Ask the general contractor for their Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs (CSL) license number, then verify it at the board's public lookup. The license must be Active, the class must include Construction Supervisor License (CSL) / Home Improvement Contractor, and there must be no open disciplinary actions. Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) does this in under 90 seconds and cross-checks court, OSHA, and BBB records simultaneously.
Confirming a general contractor's license in Massachusetts is a 3-step process. First, get the license number from the contractor — every legitimate general contractor working in Massachusetts should have one and should give it on request. If they refuse or hedge, walk away. Second, plug it into the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs (CSL) public lookup at https://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-consumer-affairs-and-business-regulation. Third, verify three fields on the lookup result: license status (must read "Active"), expiration date (must be in the future), and disciplinary history (must be clean).
What classification matters: Construction Supervisor License (CSL) / Home Improvement Contractor. Massachusetts general contractors working under any other classification are not authorized for the oversees construction projects across multiple trades, manages subcontractors, pulls permits, and is the primary licensee on residential and commercial builds you're hiring them for. Confirm the license covers the type of work being performed.
Red flags that the license isn't legitimate or the general contractor is misrepresenting: the license number doesn't return a result, the lookup returns a different name or business than you were given, the status is "Suspended" or "Inactive," the license is in another contractor's name (the general contractor is using someone else's license — illegal in every state), or the disciplinary history shows multiple open complaints.
What if the general contractor won't share their license number? In Massachusetts, every licensed general contractor is required to display the license number on all advertising, business cards, contracts, and vehicles. If they can't or won't provide it, they're either unlicensed or hiding something.
The fast path: run a free Groundcheck at earthmove.io/trust. Enter the contractor name and Massachusetts as the state. Groundcheck queries Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs (CSL), the Secretary of State, federal court records, OSHA inspection history, and BBB complaints, then returns a single sourced verdict. The contractor is never notified.
Detailed Massachusetts general contractor licensing rules: earthmove.io/trust/license/general-contractor/massachusetts.
Verify a Massachusetts general contractor now
Free Groundcheck cross-references Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs (CSL) licensing with court records, OSHA history, and BBB complaints. Under 90 seconds. The contractor is never notified.