How the Department of Construction works
A public record of licensed contractors, and the tools to keep good building materials in use instead of in a landfill. Free to search. Free for licensed businesses to use.
1. Find a licensed contractor
Search by trade, business name, license number, city or county. Each page shows the license as the state records it: its status, its trade and the date we last read the state’s file. We build these pages from the state license registers we hold, and we add states as we load them. We do not rate, rank or review anyone.
Search the contractor register · Architects and interior designers
2. Claim your free business page
- Find your license page and use Is this your business? to claim it. We confirm your email and phone with codes, and a person reviews every claim.
- Once approved, add your phone, website, a description, the areas you work, a photo and photos of your work. Each item has its own switch and starts off; nothing shows until you switch it on.
- Licensed in a state we do not hold yet? Register your business. It is open in every US state, and a person checks each registration.
3. The Materials Exchange
Leftover, surplus, salvaged and upcycled materials, from one business to another. That half pallet of tile, the extra roofing squares, the cabinets from a tear-out: list them, and another contractor can use them.
- Anyone can browse. Businesses with an approved page on this site can list materials and contact sellers.
- A person checks every listing before it appears. Listings run for 30 days and can be renewed.
- We stay out of the sale. No payments, no fees, no delivery. Press Contact the seller and we email them your business name, your page and your message, and they reply to you directly.
- Only the town and county are shown, never an address.
- Not allowed: anything containing asbestos, lead paint or PCBs; open or used chemicals, refrigerants or fuels; used electrical panels or breakers; pressure-treated wood described as untreated; anything under a safety recall.
Browse the Materials Exchange · List materials
4. Projects and materials
Open a project at the job’s address and record what goes into it as you buy and install it: the manufacturer, the product, how much, where in the home, the warranty, and where you bought it. Your order and receipt numbers stay with you.
- Installed materials go on the home’s record, so the owner knows exactly what was put in, by whom, when, and when the warranty ends.
- Leftovers go to the Materials Exchange in one click, instead of the dumpster.
- Every product is recorded once and shared, so over time we can measure how long products really last, from the install date to the day they are repaired or replaced. We publish counts and dates, never a rating.
5. For homeowners
Your home’s AddressFolder keeps its history in one place: the materials contractors recorded installing, with warranty dates; your own inspection reports (home, wind mitigation, 4-point, roof and more), which only you can open; and the work done on the home. When something is repaired or replaced, record it and the history stays complete.
6. News and state law
Construction news by state: warranty periods, construction law, lawsuits and liability, recalls of building materials and fitted appliances, installation and tools. A person approves every story before it is published, and each one links to its source and the law.
Construction news and state law
What we do not do
- We are not a government agency or a licensing authority. Always confirm a license with the state that issued it.
- We do not rate, rank or recommend businesses.
- We do not sell, buy, inspect, warrant or deliver materials, and we take no fee on the Materials Exchange.
- We do not publish a home’s private records. Materials and inspection reports are seen only by the homeowner and, for materials, the contractor who recorded them.
Questions
Email info@departmentofconstruction.com. See the terms and the privacy notice.