Do roofing contractors have to be licensed in Texas?
No. Texas is one of a small number of states with no state license for roofing contractors, so anyone can print a shirt and start knocking on doors after a storm. What you can check instead is insurance certificates, manufacturer certification, trade body membership, a physical address that is not a post box, and whether the company existed before the storm.
The absence of a license is why storm chasing works
After a large hail event, crews arrive in North Texas from out of state within days. Some are competent. Some register a business name the week they arrive, sell as many roofs as they can on the strength of an insurance cheque, and are unreachable by the time anything goes wrong.
The business model only works because there is no license to lose. The costs land years later, on a homeowner with a workmanship problem and a company that no longer exists, and on the rest of the trade.
Five things you can check in about ten minutes
Ask for a certificate of insurance and read it. General liability and workers compensation both matter, and the second one is the one that protects you if somebody is hurt on your property. Ask for it to be sent by the insurer rather than handed over as a photocopy.
Check manufacturer certification on the manufacturer’s own site. The manufacturers run their own directories, so search the one on the shingle: GAF, Owens Corning, CertainTeed. The top tiers there are given for installation quality and can be withdrawn. A company that claims a certification it does not hold is easy to catch this way.
Look for trade body membership. The National Roofing Contractors Association, the Roofing Contractors Association of Texas and the North Texas Roofing Contractors Association all have requirements and all publish member lists.
Find the physical address and look at it on a map. A suite number in an office building is fine. A post box is a reason to keep asking questions.
Check how far back the company’s public record goes. One that was trading here a decade before this storm is one that will still be here after it.
The deductible offer is the clearest warning
If a contractor offers to waive, absorb or cover your insurance deductible, that is insurance fraud under Texas law, and a company willing to commit it in the first conversation is telling you something about how the rest of the job will go.
The related pattern is a contract signed at the door that turns out to assign your claim to the contractor. Read what you are signing, and never sign anything on the strength of a stranger telling you your neighbors all did.
What a warranty is worth depends on who is behind it
There are two warranties on a new roof. The manufacturer covers the material against defects, and that cover is generally conditional on the roof having been installed by a contractor they certify. The contractor covers the workmanship, and that one is only worth as much as the contractor’s continued existence.
Ask for both in writing, ask how long the workmanship warranty runs, and ask whether it transfers if you sell the house. A warranty that transfers is worth something at closing.
Related questions
Does anyone regulate roofers in Texas at all?
There is no state license for roofing specifically. Local jurisdictions require permits for the work, and insurance and trade body membership are voluntary, which is why they are the things worth checking.
Is a cheap quote a bad sign?
Not by itself, but find out what is different. Common places for a number to come down are reusing flashing, skipping decking replacement, thinner underlayment and fewer nails per shingle. Compare scope line by line rather than comparing totals.
Should I pay a deposit?
Deposits are normal on larger jobs, particularly where material is ordered specially. Paying for the whole roof before work starts is not.
