A practical, step-by-step method for checking out any contractor online before you let them near your home or your money.
The goal of online vetting isn’t to find perfect reviews — it’s to confirm you’re dealing with a real, accountable business with a track record you can actually see. A company you can’t research is a company you can’t hold to account.
— WikiQuestions editorial guidance
Table of Contents
Start With the Business Itself
Confirm the company exists as a consistent, findable entity: a stable name, a real address, and a presence that isn’t just a single phone number. A business you can’t locate is the first warning sign, a theme running through How to Hire Any Home Service Professional Without Getting Burned.
Read Reviews Like an Investigator
Look past the star rating to the pattern: consistency over time, how the company responds to complaints, and whether reviews read as genuine. A wall of identical five-star reviews posted in a burst is a flag, not a reassurance — Fake Reviews and Phantom Businesses: How to Tell covers spotting fake ones.
Verify Credentials, Don’t Just Read Them
Cross-check licensing and insurance claims against the actual issuing authority rather than a screenshot. The how-to is in How to Verify a License Yourself, No Matter the Trade.
Check for a Complaint Trail
Search the business name alongside terms like complaint or dispute, and check whether it has quietly rebranded. Both patterns are covered in How to Spot a Contractor Scam: The Complete Playbook.