What we measured
We searched public state licensing records for your business and checked whether an active license is findable under the name you trade as.
Why it matters
This is a gate, not a scored item. For regulated and field-service businesses, no seal is issued without it - because a certification that doesn't check licensure isn't a certification.
There are two separate failures here, and the second is the one that catches people.
Your license can be active but unfindable. If your license reads "Robert J. Smith" and you market as "Bob's Plumbing LLC," a customer searching your business name finds nothing and concludes you're unlicensed. So does a marketplace's verification vendor, and so do we.
The financial risk is not theoretical. Many states bar an unlicensed contractor from suing to collect on a contract, and California lets a customer recover everything already paid for work performed while unlicensed. That is the largest single dollar risk in this entire guide series.
Fix it yourself
Check it the way a customer would
Not from your licensee account. Open a private/incognito window, logged out, and search the public lookup - using the business name you actually market under, not just your license number.
Record four things: license number, status word (Active / Current / Clear / Expired / Delinquent / Suspended), expiration date, and bond/workers' comp status.
Step 1
Find your state's lookup
STATE PUBLIC LOOKUP
California (construction) cslb.ca.gov → Check a License
California (other professions) search.dca.ca.gov
Florida myfloridalicense.com
Texas tdlr.texas.gov/LicenseSearch
New York (professions) op.nysed.gov
New York (DOS occupations) dos.ny.gov/licensee-search
Step 2
STATE PUBLIC LOOKUP
Arizona roc.az.gov/search
Georgia sos.ga.gov/licensing-division-license-lookup
North Carolina nclbgc.org/license-search
Washington secure.lni.wa.gov/verify
Illinois idfpr.illinois.gov/checklicense.html
Ohio elicense4.com.ohio.gov
For any other state, use the free U.S. Department of Labor tool: careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Training/find-licenses.aspx - pick your occupation and state and it returns the actual licensing agency.
Only trust .gov sites. There's a large ecosystem of scraper sites mirroring board data - they're frequently stale and they are not the record.
Know the traps in your state
Licensing is state- and often city-level, and several big states surprise people: New York has no statewide general-contractor license. It's municipal - NYC's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam each run their own.
Texas has no state general-contractor license. TDLR covers electricians and HVAC; plumbers are a separate board.
Illinois has no state GC license. Roofers and plumbers are state-licensed; general contracting is municipal.
Ohio's state license covers only five trades - electrical, HVAC, refrigeration, plumbing, hydronics. Everything else is city or county.
If you search a state board and find nothing, you may be looking in the wrong place, not unlicensed.
Step 3
Fix a name mismatch
If your license is under a personal name and you trade under a business name, contact the board and ask how to add the DBA or business entity to the public record. Most boards allow this.
Meanwhile, put your license number in plain text on your website - footer of every page, and on your contact page.
Ohio License #12345 lets a customer verify you in one search.
Step 4
Fix a lapse immediately
1. Screenshot the current public record.
2. Call the board - don't email. Ask exactly what's owed and what's missing (fees? continuing education? bond? workers' comp certificate?), and whether a retroactive or grace provision applies.
3. Pay by a method that gives you a same-day receipt.
4. Stop performing licensed work until the status flips. This is where the disgorgement risk lives.
5. Re-check the public lookup in 3-10 business days and screenshot again.
6. Notify anyone holding your credential on file - general contractors, property managers, platforms. Their stale copy is what they'll act on.
Many states have a grace window. California, for example, requires retroactive reinstatement if a complete renewal arrives within 90 days of expiration - which closes the licensure gap entirely. The delinquent fee still applies.
Step 5
Clear any unsatisfied judgment6
Common mistakes
Working while lapsed. Multiple states let the customer recover everything paid.
Relying on the renewal notice. Address changes and spam filters kill it. Calendar it yourself.
A name mismatch. Functionally identical to no license, from the customer's side.
Assuming your internal account status matches the public record. They lag, and sometimes disagree.
This fix is free. You can earn and keep any Agenarys Seal tier - including Platinum - without paying Agenarys anything beyond the audit itself. If you would rather have help doing it, we sell that. We never sell passage.
Sources and further reading
State licensing board public lookups (see table)
CareerOneStop License Finder (U.S. Dept. of Labor): careeronestop.org
California Bus. & Prof. Code § 7031; CSLB renewal and judgment resolution guidance Agenarys · Operational Intelligence Audit · Standard v2026.1 Issued July 2026 · agenarys.com/guides/license-verification An unresolved civil judgment can suspend your license independently of renewal. Boards typically require an Acknowledgment of Satisfaction, a documented payment plan, a court-endorsed appeal with a stay, or bankruptcy documentation.
See Check Your Public Court Records - this is the link between the two.
You've checked the public lookup logged out, in a private window.☐
Your business name - not just your license number - returns your license.☐ Status is Active/Current, and the expiration date is in the future.☐ Your license number is in plain text on your website.☐ Renewal dates are in your calendar with 60 days' notice.☐ No unsatisfied judgment is sitting against your license.☐
Legal information
This guide provides general information, not legal advice. Laws and policies change. Confirm current requirements with qualified counsel before acting.