Is there a free way to verify a contractor?

Every record class you need to verify a contractor is public and free at the source. The state licensing board lookup is free in all 51 jurisdictions — CSLB.ca.gov, roc.az.gov, oregon.gov/ccb, nclbgc.org, and so on. Secretary of State business entity searches are free in every state — sunbiz.org (Florida), bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov, sosnc.gov, and the rest.

OSHA enforcement records are free at osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.html — you can search by company name, address, or NAICS code. Federal court records (bankruptcies, federal lawsuits) are free in headline form via CourtListener.com and the free CM/ECF docket search; PACER charges $0.10 per page for full documents. County-level civil court records vary by county — most are free online, some require a courthouse visit, and some (Los Angeles, Cook County) charge per-search fees.

The reason a free aggregator exists is that running these checks one at a time takes 30 to 60 minutes per contractor, and you have to know which database to search for which state. A contractor licensed in California with a job site in Phoenix needs CSLB + Arizona ROC + Maricopa County court + OSHA + BBB — five separate searches.

Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) runs all five free public-records categories in a single search and returns a verdict in under 90 seconds. The free tier is genuinely free — no credit card, no email gate, no sample-only paywall. The $19 Deep Dive adds a downloadable PDF, court-record citations, and 12-month monitoring; Pro at $99.99/month is for procurement teams and high-volume users.

If you want to do the checks manually, the order is: license board first (fastest disqualifier), Secretary of State second (confirms entity exists and matches), OSHA and court records third, BBB last (it is the least authoritative of the five).