How to vet a contractor in Kentucky before you hand over a deposit

First, know what Kentucky actually licenses

There is no statewide general contractor license in Kentucky. Remodelers, roofers, fence builders, painters, concrete crews, and handymen are not licensed by the state. Three trades are, through the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction: electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. If the job touches any of those, the person doing that part of the work needs a state credential, and you can look it up on the HBC site in about a minute. Ask for the license number, then check it yourself rather than taking a photo of a card as proof.

For everything else, “licensed” usually means a local occupational license(Owensboro and Daviess County each issue one), which is a business registration, not a competency test. It is still worth asking about, because a contractor who has not bothered with it is telling you something.

Insurance is the thing to verify

Since the license check does not do much in Kentucky, the insurance check does most of the work. Ask for a certificate of insurance (COI)showing general liability, and workers' compensation if anyone besides the owner will be on your property. Kentucky requires workers' comp from the first employee, with no small-employer exemption, so a crew with no policy is a crew working illegally, and if someone falls off your roof, your homeowner's policy becomes the target.

A COI has the insurance agent's phone number on it. Call the agent and ask whether the policy is active. Fake certificates are common enough that this thirty-second call is the single highest-value thing on this page.

What a real estimate has on it

• What is included, in plain words: tear-off, haul-away, permits, cleanup, the specific materials.
• What is not included. Good contractors write this down because it saves both of you an argument in week three.
• The payment schedule: how much up front, what it covers, and when the rest is due.
• A start window and a finish estimate, even if loose.
• The contractor's legal business name and physical address, not just a first name and a cell number.

A number with none of those is not an estimate. It is a guess with a dollar sign on it.

Deposits: what is normal around here

For small jobs, nothing up front is common. For work with real material cost (a roof, a fence, cabinets), a deposit that roughly covers materials is fair, and it should be tied to something: materials ordered, a delivery date. Be careful with anyone who wants half or more in cash before anything is on site. Pay by a method that leaves a record. If a contractor pushes cash-only for a large deposit, that is your answer.

Your 3-day right to cancel (when they came to you)

If the sale happened at your home, for example a contractor knocked on the door after a storm and you signed at the kitchen table, Kentucky's home solicitation law (KRS 367.420) gives you the right to cancel until midnight of the third business day after you signed, by written notice. The contractor is required to tell you this and give you a cancellation form. If they did not, that is a red flag by itself. (Roofing contracts paid by insurance have their own, longer rule; see the storm damage guide.)

Red flags that end the conversation

• Will not provide a COI, or the agent on it has never heard of them.
• Price is only good “today.” Real prices survive a night's sleep.
• Offers to “take care of” your insurance deductible. In Kentucky that is insurance fraud, for both of you.
• Wants you to pull the permit in your own name. The permit belongs to the person doing the work.
• No written scope, or a scope that is one line long for a five-figure job.
• “Leftover materials from a job down the street.” This is the oldest one there is.

Do the cheap checks in this order

1. Get a free planning estimate so you know the realistic range before anyone quotes you.
2. Collect two or three written bids with scope, exclusions, and payment schedule.
3. Look up any electrical, plumbing, or HVAC license on the HBC site.
4. Call the insurance agent on the COI.
5. Search the business name plus “complaint” and check the Kentucky Attorney General's consumer site.
6. Ask for two recent customers and actually call one.

If a contractor passes all six, hire them with confidence. If they fail the COI call, it does not matter how good the price was.