How to Verify an Arizona Roofer's ROC License

Step 1: Search the ROC database

Go to the ROC Contractor Search (https://azroc.my.site.com/AZRoc/s/contractor-search). Search by license number if you have it, or by business name. Try 360606 to see what a result looks like.

Step 2: Check the status and the name

Make sure the license is active, and that the business name on the record matches the company on your contract. The ROC's "Before You Hire" page also suggests you "verify the person you are negotiating your project with is an authorized representative of the licensed contractor by calling the contractor's number listed on the ROC license record" (https://roc.az.gov/before-hire).

Step 3: Check that the license class covers roofing

The ROC says to "make certain the contractor's license class allows for the work listed in the contract" (https://roc.az.gov/before-hire). Roofing is class 42. Ours is CR-42, a dual license; the ROC's classification list says CR-42 Roofing "allows the scopes of work permitted by the commercial C-42 Roofing and the residential R-42 Roofing licenses" (https://roc.az.gov/license-classifications).

Step 4: Look at the bond

The ROC's "Before You Hire" page says: "To be licensed, an entity must possess a bond; among other requirements" (https://roc.az.gov/before-hire). State law requires a surety bond or cash deposit before a license is granted, in amounts set by license classification and expected annual volume of work (A.R.S. § 32-1152, https://www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01152.htm). The ROC's current amounts are listed at https://roc.az.gov/bond-information. A bond is not insurance.

Step 5: Ask about insurance yourself

The same ROC page says: "With the exception of workman's compensation insurance, the ROC does not require an entity to possess insurance to be licensed" (https://roc.az.gov/before-hire). On workers' comp, state law has license applicants attest that they've complied with the workers' compensation rules (A.R.S. § 32-1122, https://www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01122.htm). So a license alone doesn't tell you whether a roofer carries liability insurance. Ask for proof directly. We're licensed, bonded and fully insured.

Step 6: Ask the ROC about complaints

If you want to know about complaints against a contractor, call the ROC at (602) 542-1525. Residential owners can file a complaint against a licensed contractor's license within two years of occupancy or the last work performed, according to the ROC (https://roc.az.gov/before-hire).

Other ROC tips before you hire

From the ROC's "Before You Hire" page (https://roc.az.gov/before-hire): "Ask for written estimates from at least three (3) contractors," get the price, permit responsibility and other terms in a written contract, and "never pay in cash." The page also warns about door-to-door solicitation for roofing and other home repairs and says to "avoid door-to-door solicitors." For residential work, the ROC runs a Residential Contractors' Recovery Fund for eligible homeowners; read the eligibility rules at https://roc.az.gov/recovery-fund.

Questions for the ROC

Arizona Registrar of Contractors, (602) 542-1525, https://roc.az.gov/faq.

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