Print the estimate. If it fits on one page and covers a job worth more than $5,000, you already have your answer — it's too thin to sign. Everything below is a 10-minute gut check you can run right now, before you commit a dollar.

Work through these in order. Any item you can't confirm is a line you renegotiate or a contractor you walk from.

The 10-Minute Checklist

1. **Confirm the license is real, not just printed.** Take the license number off the estimate and run it through your state's contractor license board site (search "[your state] contractor license lookup"). Verify the name matches, the status is active, and there are no open disciplinary actions.

2. **Check that the business name matches the bank account.** Ask: "Who do I make the deposit check out to?" If the answer is a personal name and not the licensed business, stop.

3. **Request the certificate of insurance directly from the insurer.** Don't accept a PDF from the contractor — ask for the insurance agent's contact and confirm general liability and workers' comp are current. A lapsed policy makes you liable for injuries on your property.

4. **Demand a line-item breakdown, not a lump sum.** Every real estimate splits labor, materials, and permit costs separately. Ask: "Can you break out materials from labor on each line?" A refusal means they're hiding the markup.

5. **Look for the allowance traps.** Scan for words like "allowance," "TBD," or "as needed." Ask: "What specific product and quantity is this allowance based on?" Vague allowances are where change-order surprises live.

6. **Verify the permit responsibility in writing.** Ask: "Are you pulling the permit under your license?" If they want you to pull it as a homeowner, they're avoiding accountability for code compliance.

7. **Confirm the payment schedule caps the deposit.** Most states cap deposits at 10% or $1,000, whichever is less. A demand for 40–50% upfront is a funding-the-last-job red flag.

8. **Request three references from the last 90 days.** Not their best jobs ever — recent ones. Ask each: "Did the final price match the estimate, and did they finish on schedule?"

9. **Check the start and completion dates are in the document.** "Start date" and "substantial completion" should be written, not verbal. No timeline in writing means no leverage later.

10. **Read the change-order clause out loud.** Ask: "How are changes priced and approved?" The answer should require your written signature before any extra work. If changes can happen without your sign-off, the budget is fiction.

A lump-sum bid with a big deposit and no line items isn't an estimate — it's a request for an interest-free loan you may never see finished.— Common advice from state contractor licensing boards

The One Red Flag in Almost Every Bad Hire

It's the rushed deposit. The contractor who pressures you to pay a large sum today — "to lock in the price," "to get on the schedule," "before materials go up" — is the one you'll be chasing later. Real professionals get paid as work gets completed, not before it starts. If the money has to move faster than the work, walk.

The cleanest way to remove that pressure entirely is to only work with contractors who agree to release payment in stages tied to finished work — so your deposit sits protected until the job actually moves.