How do I tell if a contractor's license is fake?

Fake contractor licenses are surprisingly common. The two patterns are: a license number that does not exist (fully fabricated) or a license number that belongs to someone else (license-borrowing).

Fully fabricated:

- The contractor invents a number that follows the format of the state's licensing system (typically 6-8 digits, sometimes alphanumeric). - The fake number is printed on quotes, contracts, and business cards. - A homeowner who doesn't check assumes the contractor is licensed. - When the homeowner finally checks (often after a problem), no record exists at the state board.

Detection: search the state board's license lookup. No record = fake.

License-borrowing (the more common pattern):

- The contractor uses a real license number that belongs to a real licensee — but not them. - May be the contractor's father, brother, business partner, or just someone who let them use the number. - The qualifier name on the license is someone other than the person standing in your driveway. - The work performed is technically unlicensed even if it passes inspection.

Detection: search the state board's license lookup. The number returns a real licensee, but the licensee's name does not match the person quoting your project.

How to detect either pattern:

1. Get the license number from the contractor. It should be on the quote, the contract, the business card, and any marketing material. A contractor who refuses to provide it is failing the test.

2. Search the state board lookup. Type the license number into the official state portal (cslb.ca.gov, roc.az.gov, oregon.gov/ccb, etc.).

3. If no record: the license is fake. Walk away and report to the state board's enforcement division. License fraud is a misdemeanor in most states; in some states (California) it can rise to a felony with multiple violations.

4. If a record exists, check four fields:

a. Status: must be Active. b. Class: must authorize the work being quoted. c. Business name on license: must match the business name on the contract. d. Qualifying party: must be either the person you're dealing with or someone they directly work for (the qualifier of an LLC can supervise the LLC's employees doing the work, but the qualifier must be a real employee or officer of the LLC).

5. If any of these four don't match: the license is being misused. Treat as fake.

Common subterfuges:

- "That's my partner's license, but I work under his supervision." Sometimes true (employees of a licensed contractor can do the work under qualifier supervision). Verify by asking who the qualifier is, then confirming with the qualifier directly.

- "I just took over this LLC from my brother." Check the Secretary of State for the entity's officer history. If the qualifier transferred properly, the licensing board record should show the new qualifier name.

- "The license is current, the website is just out of date." State board databases are usually updated within 24-48 hours. A "the website is out of date" claim is rarely true.

- "I'm in the process of renewing." Check the status. If it shows Expired or Inactive, the license is currently invalid regardless of the renewal claim.

- "Let me give you a copy of my license card." A photocopy of a license card is meaningless. The number is what matters. Always verify the number online.

What to do when you find a fake or misused license:

1. Do not hire the contractor. 2. Do not pay any deposit. 3. Report to the state licensing board's enforcement division. Most boards have a fraud hotline (CSLB's SWIFT enforcement, ROC's Investigation Division, etc.). 4. Report to your state Attorney General's consumer protection division. 5. If you've already paid, run the recovery sequence: certified-mail demand, credit-card chargeback, civil action.

Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) automatically detects most fake-license patterns. The license-board lookup returns the licensee's actual business name and qualifier; Groundcheck flags a mismatch with the entity name provided in the search. A "Critical" verdict from Groundcheck driven by license-mismatch detection is one of the highest-confidence fraud signals in the product.