How do I file a complaint against a contractor?
File complaints with three places simultaneously: the state licensing board (CSLB, ROC, CCB, etc.), the state Attorney General's consumer protection division, and the Better Business Bureau. For unpaid work, also file a bond claim with the surety listed on the contractor's license.
Filing a single complaint with the BBB does not accomplish much. The BBB has no enforcement power. The complaints that actually produce outcomes are filed with state regulatory bodies that can suspend or revoke a license, order restitution, or fund a recovery claim.
State licensing board complaint: every state with a contractor license has a complaint form on the board's website. California CSLB has the most-used process (cslb.ca.gov/Consumers/Filing_A_Complaint/). Arizona ROC, Oregon CCB, Nevada NSCB, Florida DBPR, and North Carolina NCLBGC all run formal investigations and can compel the contractor to respond, issue citations, or open disciplinary proceedings. Most boards have a statute-of-limitations window — file within 4 years in California, 2 years in Arizona, etc.
State Attorney General consumer protection complaint: every state AG has a consumer-protection division that aggregates complaints. Single complaints rarely produce action; pattern complaints (10+ against the same contractor) frequently result in criminal fraud prosecutions. File at the AG's website regardless.
Bond claim: every licensed contractor carries a surety bond. California CSLB licensees carry $25,000; Oregon CCB residential carries $20,000. The bond pays directly for completed-but-unpaid work, abandonment, or substandard work. Find the surety company name on the contractor's license lookup and file a claim directly with the surety — this is faster than waiting for a board citation.
Local building department: if the contractor pulled permits and walked away, the local building department can deny final inspection and document the abandonment, which strengthens every other claim.
BBB: file last. The BBB will forward the complaint to the contractor and ask for a response. Useful primarily as a public-record marker for future homeowners researching the same contractor.
Federal complaints — useful for specific cases: file with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov for cross-state or storm-chaser fraud; file with the SBA Office of Inspector General if the contractor took a PPP loan or federal disaster relief and disappeared.
Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) surfaces existing complaint history on every report — BBB complaint counts, CSLB disciplinary actions, OSHA citations, court filings — so the next homeowner has the benefit of your complaint when they search.
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