What does Groundcheck NOT verify?

Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) is a public-records aggregator. It verifies records that are public, government-published, and entity-focused. There are several important categories of contractor information it deliberately does NOT cover.

1. Insurance certificate verification.

Insurance is a private contract between the contractor and a private carrier. Certificates of Insurance (COIs) can be forged, can be from canceled policies, can have inadequate limits, or can be for the wrong named insured. The only reliable verification is a direct call to the carrier listed on the COI. Groundcheck shows the licensing-board-reported workers' comp status (a public-record proxy), but does not call the insurer or verify the certificate itself.

What to do: request a fresh COI naming you as cert holder, then call the insurance agent to confirm policy in force, named insured matches, coverage adequate, and no pending cancellation.

2. References.

References are private contacts between the contractor and their prior customers. Groundcheck has no access to a contractor's customer list. Reference checks are a phone call you must make yourself.

What to do: ask the contractor for 3-5 recent references on similar projects. Call each. Ask about timeline, change orders, final price vs. bid, and whether they'd hire again.

3. Pricing competitiveness.

Groundcheck does not analyze bids, doesn't have a database of market prices, and doesn't compare the contractor's quote against industry benchmarks. Pricing analysis is a separate workflow.

What to do: get 3 bids from different contractors. The middle bid is usually closest to actual cost. A bid 30%+ below the others is a fraud or quality red flag; a bid 30%+ above is overpricing.

4. Personal criminal history of the owner.

Personal criminal history is regulated under the FCRA when used for any consumer purpose. Even for commercial procurement, accessing personal criminal records requires the individual's consent in most states. Groundcheck does not access personal criminal history — that's a separate FCRA-regulated workflow.

What to do: for projects where you need to verify the owner's personal background (rare for residential, more common for federal contracting or high-trust commercial relationships), engage an FCRA-compliant background check service like Checkr or Sterling with the contractor's written consent.

5. Tax returns.

Federal and state tax returns are private. Tax LIENS are public (Groundcheck does check these), but the underlying returns are not.

What to do: for commercial procurement requiring financial review, request audited financial statements directly from the contractor or engage a CPA to review.

6. Current building permits in progress.

Groundcheck does not pull real-time building permit data. Permit history is published by local building departments and aggregated by BuildZoom — but Groundcheck does not integrate these directly.

What to do: check the contractor's permit history at the local building department or via BuildZoom. Look for: prior permits closed (not just opened), permits matching the work type you're hiring for, and a consistent permit-pulling pattern.

7. Manufacturer authorizations.

Solar inverter authorizations (Enphase, SolarEdge), HVAC manufacturer dealerships (Carrier, Trane), roofing manufacturer warranties (GAF MasterElite, Owens Corning Platinum), and similar private credentials are not in Groundcheck.

What to do: for warranty-dependent work, verify manufacturer authorization at the manufacturer's website (e.g., gaf.com find-a-pro for roofing).

8. Trade certifications beyond state licensing.

NABCEP for solar, NATE for HVAC, ICRA for healthcare construction, LEED AP for green building — these voluntary certifications are not in Groundcheck.

What to do: ask the contractor for their certifications and verify at the issuing organization.

9. Project-specific suitability.

Whether this contractor is the right fit for YOUR project type, YOUR design preferences, YOUR communication style — these are subjective judgments that no verification tool can make. Groundcheck handles "is this a legitimate, low-risk contractor?" not "will this contractor be a good partner on my specific project?"

What to do: meet the contractor in person, walk through the scope together, evaluate communication style, look at examples of their past work in person or via portfolio.

10. Promises about the future.

Groundcheck verifies the contractor's PAST and PRESENT public records. It cannot predict future behavior. A contractor with a Clear verdict today may have a mechanics' lien filed against them next month.

What to do: enable Groundcheck monitoring (Deep Dive or Pro) to catch new evidence as it surfaces. For long projects, re-verify before each major milestone payment.

This honest framing matters. Groundcheck is a strong tool for one specific job (public-records verification of business entities). Combining it with insurer calls, reference calls, permit history review, bid comparison, and in-person evaluation produces a full diligence picture.