How can I tell if my general contractor is licensed in Ohio?

In Ohio, there is no statewide general contractor license to verify. Ohio has no statewide general contractor license; HVAC, plumbing, and electrical are licensed at the state level. General contracting requires city-level licensing. This means "is my general contractor licensed" has a different answer here than in states like California or Florida, where every general contractor must hold a state license.

What to verify instead: (1) Local jurisdiction. Many Ohio cities and counties require general contractors to register or hold a local contractor license. Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati typically have local building-department registration requirements. Check the city's building department website.

(2) Business entity status. Even without a trade-specific license, the general contractor's business should be registered with the Ohio Secretary of State (https://businesssearch.ohiosos.gov/). The entity status should be active or in good standing — not dissolved, withdrawn, or administratively revoked.

(3) Public-record history. Court judgments, mechanics' liens, OSHA citations, and BBB complaints are the strongest trust signals when there's no state license to anchor verification. A general contractor with multiple recent judgments or an unresolved lien is a hard stop.

Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) pulls all three categories in under 90 seconds. For trades without statewide licensing like general contractors in Ohio, the public-record verdict is the trust verdict. The contractor is never notified.

Detailed Ohio general contractor rules: earthmove.io/trust/license/general-contractor/ohio.