What does a Ohio general contractor license lookup show?

Ohio does not have a statewide general contractor license lookup because the state doesn't license general contractors at the state level. Ohio has no statewide general contractor license; HVAC, plumbing, and electrical are licensed at the state level. General contracting requires city-level licensing.

What this means for verification: there's no central database to query for "is this general contractor licensed in Ohio." Instead, Ohio verification leans on four sources.

Source 1 — Local jurisdiction. Cities like Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati often have local building-department registration. Check the city's website.

Source 2 — Secretary of State. Ohio Secretary of State (https://businesssearch.ohiosos.gov/) shows whether the general contractor's business is a registered legal entity in good standing. Dissolved or administratively revoked = red flag.

Source 3 — Court records. Civil court judgments, UCC liens, and mechanics' liens are public record in every Ohio county. A general contractor with multiple unsatisfied judgments is a hard stop.

Source 4 — OSHA and BBB. Federal OSHA inspection history is public, and BBB complaints are searchable. These are the strongest substitute trust signals when there's no state license to anchor verification.

Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) pulls all four sources into one sourced report under 90 seconds. The contractor is never notified.

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