NJ Contractor License Lookup: 2026 Step-by-Step

Anybody can paint a name on a truck. New Jersey lets you find out who is really behind that name, and it takes about a minute. The state runs a public contractor license lookup that shows whether a home improvement business is registered, under what legal name, at what address, and whether that registration is still alive today.

The steps are above. The rest of this page explains what the result screen is telling you and what it cannot tell you. It also covers the written contract rules, the cancellation right, and where the state's new contractor licensing law stands as of September 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

1. How to read the result screen
2. What a registration number proves, and what it does not
3. The number format and where it must appear
4. Registration vs. license: the new law and where it stands
5. Trades that carry their own state license
6. Checking insurance
7. Checking permits
8. Checking complaints and filing one
9. What the written contract must contain
10. What to do if the contractor is not in the system
11. Questions homeowners ask

How to Read the Result Screen

The search gives you a grid first. Its columns are Full Name, License Number, Profession, License Type, License Status, City and State. Click the name and you get the detail page. For a home improvement business, that page shows these fields:

Name, and "Doing Business As" if one is on file
Owner Name
Address
Profession and License Type
License No.
License Status and Status Change Reason
Issue Date and Expiration Date

Finding the name proves nothing. The database keeps old records, so dead registrations sit right next to live ones. On September 20, 2026 we pulled the first page of results for eight common name beginnings, such as Roof, Best, Premier and Pro. That gave us 320 rows. 204 read Expired. Only 105 read Active. The other 11 were Pending, Reinstatement Pending, Closed, Withdrawn or Revoked. Read the status column every time.

What the screen says	What it means for you	What to do
Active, expiration date in the future	The business is registered with the state today.	Match the name, owner and address to your estimate. Then move on to insurance and the contract.
Expired, reason "Failure to Renew"	The business was registered once and let it lapse. It is not registered now.	Do not sign. Ask for proof of renewal, then run the lookup again yourself.
Pending, with no number shown	An application is on file. No registration has been issued.	Wait until it reads Active. An application is not a registration.
Reinstatement Pending	A lapsed registration is being restored. It is not restored yet.	Same as Pending. Check back.
Closed or Withdrawn	The business closed the registration, or pulled its application.	Treat it as not registered. Ask what name they operate under now and search that.
Revoked, reason "Director's Decision"	The state took the registration away.	Walk away. Call the Division if they are still soliciting work.
Name or owner does not match your paperwork	The number may belong to a different business.	Ask for the exact legal name on the registration. The contract must carry that legal name.
Address in another state or a far county	Legal, since out-of-state firms can register. But it tells you who you will be chasing later.	Ask who runs the local crew and where they work from.
Issue Date only a few months old	A new registration. It may be a new business, or an old one under a new name.	Search the owner's earlier business names too.
No results at all	Wrong spelling, wrong search type, or no registration.	See what to do if the contractor is not in the system.

Notice what is missing. The detail page has no complaint count, no insurance information and no record of job quality. At the bottom it gives you a phone number instead: the home improvement complaints section at (973) 424-8150, prompt 6. Complaints are covered further down.

Source, read September 20, 2026 and current as of September 2026: NJ Division of Consumer Affairs License Verification System. The state describes it as "a real-time system with access to the most current professional license information." Status wording is copied from live records. The 320-row count is our own sample, not a state statistic.

What a Registration Number Proves, and What It Does Not

The state says it plainly in its own consumer brief: "Registration with the State does not constitute an endorsement of or approval for the home improvement contractor." A registration is a filing. It is not a skills test. Nobody from the state watched this company install a roof.

What an Active registration does tell you

The business filed with the Division of Consumer Affairs and renews every year.
It had to show commercial general liability insurance of at least $500,000 per occurrence.
Since the 2024 law change, it must also show workers' compensation insurance unless the law exempts it.
It must also hold a compliance bond, letter of credit or other security. The minimum is $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000, based on contract size and yearly volume.
The state has a legal name, an owner and an address on file. That matters if you ever need to complain or sue.
Your town can issue permits to it. The state brief says unregistered contractors "will not be issued municipal construction permits."

What it does not tell you

Whether anyone on the crew can lay a roof correctly.
Whether the insurance is still in force this week.
Whether past customers complained.
Whether the person at your door works for that business.
Whether the price is fair or the contract is complete.

So the lookup is a floor, not a finish line. It removes the people who never filed at all. You still have to check the rest. Our 10 questions to ask before hiring an NJ roofer cover the skill and experience side.

Sources, read September 20, 2026 and current as of September 2026: NJ Division of Consumer Affairs consumer brief, Hiring Home Improvement Contractors (revised 01/13/25); Division notice on changes to the law and new registration requirements; N.J.S.A. 56:8-142 as amended by P.L.2023, c.237.

The Number Format and Where It Must Appear

Every home improvement number we saw on the state tool follows one pattern: 13VH plus eight digits, twelve characters in all. Pending applications show no number. If someone hands you a number in another shape, it is not a home improvement registration.

You should not have to ask for it. State rule N.J.A.C. 13:45A-17.11 says a registered contractor "shall prominently display" the number in these places:

On all advertisements distributed in New Jersey
On business documents, contracts and correspondence
On both sides of every commercial vehicle used for the work, as "HIC reg. #" with the number
On the registration certificate posted at each place of business

The vehicle lettering has a size rule too. The business name must be at least one inch high. So a bare white van with a magnetic sign and no number is telling you something.

The same rule covers what happens when a registration dies. If the state suspends, revokes or does not renew it, the contractor must "remove the registration number from all vehicles, advertising and anything else" that shows it. A number on a truck is a claim. The lookup is how you test the claim.

Source, read September 20, 2026 and current as of September 2026: N.J.A.C. 13:45A-17.11, Administrative Rules of the Division of Consumer Affairs. The number pattern is our observation from live lookup results, not a published state rule.

Registration vs. License: The New Law and Where It Stands

People search for a "contractor license". For home improvement work, New Jersey does not have one in force. What it has is a business registration, created by a 2004 law. That is changing, slowly.

On January 8, 2024 the Governor signed P.L.2023, c.237. It did three things:

It created the Home Improvement and Home Elevation Contractor Licensing Act, which will license individual contractors.
It set up a nine-member State Board of Home Improvement and Home Elevation Contractors inside the Division of Consumer Affairs.
It tightened the existing business registration right away, adding the workers' compensation and bond requirements described above.

What the individual license will require

Under the Act, an applicant must:

Be at least 18 years old
Complete an approved apprenticeship or trade school program, or show at least two years of supervised experience
Finish the education the Board sets and pass the Board's exam
File a criminal history disclosure statement
Pay the fees, and renew every two years
Complete at least six hours of continuing education per renewal

Contractors registered for at least five years when the law took effect skip the training, experience and exam steps. The Board may also issue limited specialty licenses. The Act names roofing as one of those specialties.

Where it stands as of September 20, 2026

The Board exists and meets monthly. Its meeting page lists sessions from July 29, 2025 onward. Its member page shows six seats filled and three vacant.
The Board has not published licensing rules. Its Statutes and Regulations page lists the Act and nothing else.
It is still drafting. The July 22, 2026 minutes record discussion of experience requirements and course content, and a subcommittee "to review and work on the proposed rules." The August 26, 2026 agenda lists experience, education and criminal history disclosures under regulatory review.
The license mandate is switched off for now. The Act says no individual may do home improvement work without a Board license. But it keeps that section "inoperative until the first day of the sixth month next following the promulgation by the board of the rules and regulations."
The state tool agrees. Its Person Search offers license types for electrical and HVACR contractors. It offers none for an individual home improvement contractor.

The plain answer for today: there is no individual home improvement license to look up yet. The business registration is the live requirement, and it is what the lookup shows. We could not find a published start date for licensing. If you read this later, open the Board's page and check whether rules have been adopted. Once licensing begins, the amended contract law will also require the licensed contractor's license number on your contract.

Sources, read September 20, 2026 and current as of September 2026: P.L.2023, c.237 (New Jersey Legislature), approved January 8, 2024; Division of Consumer Affairs notice to contractor businesses; State Board of Home Improvement and Home Elevation Contractors.

Trades That Carry Their Own State License

A roof job sometimes pulls in other trades. An attic fan needs wiring. A plumbing vent gets moved. A rooftop unit gets lifted and reset. Those trades are licensed by their own state boards, and the home improvement registration does not cover them.

Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, (973) 504-6410. Contractors hold a license and a business permit renewed every three years.
State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers, (973) 504-6420. Licenses renew every two years.
State Board of Examiners of HVACR Contractors, (973) 504-6250.

Use the same verification tool. Pick Electrical Contractors, Master Plumbers or HVACR in the Profession list. Use Person Search for the individual and Business Search for the company. State rules exempt these trades from home improvement registration only while "acting within the scope of practice of that profession." A plumber who starts re-roofing your house is outside that scope.

Sources, read September 20, 2026 and current as of September 2026: the three board pages linked above; N.J.A.C. 13:45A-17.4 (exemptions).

Checking Insurance

The lookup does not show insurance. You check that separately, and the law helps you. Under N.J.S.A. 56:8-151, a home improvement contract must include a copy of the contractor's certificate of commercial general liability insurance. It must also give "the telephone number of the insurance company issuing the certificate."

Ask for the certificate before you sign, not after.
Ask the contractor's insurance agent to send it to you directly. A certificate that comes from the agent's office is harder to fake than a PDF from the contractor.
Check the named insured. It should be the same legal name you saw on the state lookup.
Check the limit. The state minimum is $500,000 per occurrence.
Check the policy dates against your project dates.
Ask about workers' compensation. Registered businesses must carry it unless the law exempts them, so ask which applies and get the answer in writing.
Call the insurer or agent at the number on the certificate and confirm the policy is in force.

Sources, read September 20, 2026 and current as of September 2026: N.J.S.A. 56:8-142 and 56:8-151 as amended by P.L.2023, c.237; N.J.A.C. 13:45A-17.12. Steps 2 and 7 are our practical advice, not a legal requirement.

Checking Permits

Permits are handled by your town's construction office, not by the Division of Consumer Affairs. One roofing fact surprises people. The state Uniform Construction Code lists "the repair or replacement of existing roof covering on detached one- and two-family dwellings" as ordinary maintenance. For ordinary maintenance, the code says no permit, inspection or notice to the town is required.

That line covers roof covering on a detached one- or two-family house. It does not cover everything a roof job can turn into. Structural repairs, new skylight openings, attached or multi-family buildings and commercial roofs are different. So do this:

Call your municipal construction office. Describe the job and ask if a permit applies.
If a permit applies, the contractor should be the one named on it. The state brief warns: do not say you are doing the work yourself when you are using a contractor, because you may forfeit your legal protections.
The brief also says final inspections "must be completed BEFORE final payment is made to the contractor."
A contractor who asks you to pull the permit in your own name may be one the town will not issue a permit to.

We cover the permit side in our roof replacement permit article. Towns apply the code job by job, so the construction office's answer for your address beats any article, including ours.

Sources, read September 20, 2026 and current as of September 2026: N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7, Ordinary maintenance (NJ Department of Community Affairs); Division of Consumer Affairs consumer brief.

Checking Complaints and Filing One

Home improvement is one of the most complained-about businesses in the state. In 2022 the Office of Consumer Protection received 18,084 complaints. Home improvement ranked second with 2,310. None of that shows on the lookup screen, so you have to ask.

To ask about a contractor

Call the Division of Consumer Affairs at 800-242-5846 inside New Jersey, or (973) 504-6200.
Or call the home improvement complaints section listed on the lookup detail page: (973) 424-8150, prompt 6.
Call the Essex County consumer affairs office at (973) 395-8360. The state's list of county offices was last revised in June 2023, so confirm the number if it has changed.
Have the exact registered name and the 13VH number ready. That is what they search by.

To file a complaint

Give the contractor a chance to fix it first, in writing. The state asks you to do this.
Gather the contract, change orders, payment records, photos and every text or email.
Open the state's To File a Complaint page and choose "Against Any Business". The form is offered in nine languages.
Leave out sensitive personal details. The state warns that what you submit may be subject to public disclosure under the Open Public Records Act.
Report unregistered contractors the same way. The state acts on it. On December 1, 2025 the Attorney General announced $2,500 penalties against 18 contractor businesses caught soliciting work while unregistered. Fifteen of the 18 were cited for failure to renew.

If the problem looks like fraud and not a dispute, read our guide to roofing scams in NJ for the next steps.

Sources, read September 20, 2026 and current as of September 2026: NJ Attorney General, 2022 Consumer Complaint List (March 6, 2023); NJ Attorney General, Operation Safe House release (December 1, 2025); County and Municipal Consumer Affairs Offices (revised 06/13/23); Division consumer brief.

What NJ Law Requires in the Written Contract

The contract is where the lookup pays off, because the law ties the two together. The rule is short: "every home improvement contract for a purchase price in excess of $500, and all changes in the terms and conditions of the contract, shall be in writing." Everyone signs it. That includes change orders.

Between the statute and the Home Improvement Practices rule, N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2, the written contract must set out:

The legal name, business address and registration number of the contractor business
A copy of the liability insurance certificate and the insurer's phone number
A description of the work and the principal products and materials, down to type, grade and quantity
The total price, including any finance charges
The dates or time period for starting and finishing
Any mortgage or security interest taken to finance the job
Every promise the contractor makes about how long the labor or materials will hold up, written out
The Division's information line, 1-888-656-6225, printed in bold capitals
The cancellation notice described below

Your three-business-day cancellation right

You may cancel "for any reason at any time before midnight of the third business day" after you receive a copy of the contract. The contract itself must say so in bold type of at least 10 points, under the heading NOTICE TO CONSUMER.

Cancel in writing. Sign and date it.
Send it by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or deliver it by hand to the address in the contract.
The contractor must refund all money within 30 days.
Any loan arranged through the contractor is cancelled too, with no penalty.

The state also lists two money warnings. Be wary of anyone who wants more than a third of the price before work begins. And never make the final payment before the work is done.

Sources, read September 20, 2026 and current as of September 2026: N.J.S.A. 56:8-151 as amended by P.L.2023, c.237; N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2 and 13:45A-17.11; Division of Consumer Affairs "Nail It" page.

What to Do If the Contractor Is Not in the System

An empty result is not proof of anything yet. The tool is picky. Work through this list before you decide.

Confirm you are in Business Search. Person Search will not find a home improvement business.
Shorten the name. The name box only matches from the first letter. "Smith Roofing" will not find "J Smith Roofing LLC". Try the first word alone.
Try the legal name. The truck may show a trade name. The registration may be under an LLC or the owner's own name. Ask what name is on the certificate.
Try symbols both ways. Search "A&B", "A & B" and "A and B". We got three different result lists from those three spellings.
Ask for the number and search by that. A registered contractor can read it to you off the certificate.
Ask if they claim an exemption. State-licensed trades working inside their own trade are exempt. A roofing business is not.
If nothing turns up, stop. Do not sign and do not pay a deposit. You can report the business to the Division of Consumer Affairs at 800-242-5846.

Then keep looking for a contractor who passes. Our guide to choosing a roofing contractor in NJ walks through the full comparison. If the job is a full roof replacement, check every bidder the same way before you compare prices. For a written scope from R&E Roofing, send us the address and what you are seeing.

Questions Homeowners Ask About the NJ Contractor Lookup

Is a New Jersey contractor registration the same as a license?

No. As of September 2026, a home improvement business in New Jersey holds a registration with the Division of Consumer Affairs, not a license. Registration requires insurance and a bond or other security, but no exam. A 2024 law created a licensing board for individual contractors, but its licensing rules are not in force yet.

How do I find a contractor's license number in NJ?

Ask for it, then check the paperwork. State rules require the registration number on contracts, advertisements, business documents and both sides of work vehicles. It begins with 13VH followed by eight digits. If you only have a name, use Business Search on the state verification tool and type the first letters of the business name.

Does a roofer need a license in New Jersey?

A roofing business must be registered as a home improvement contractor business with the Division of Consumer Affairs. There is no separate state roofing license in force as of September 2026. The 2024 licensing act lets the new board create a limited specialty license for roofing, but the board has not published rules yet.

What does it mean if a contractor's registration says Expired?

It means the business did not renew and is not currently registered. Registration is annual. In December 2025 the Attorney General announced $2,500 penalties against 18 contractor businesses, most of them cited for failure to renew. Ask the contractor for proof of renewal and run the lookup again before you sign.

Does the NJ contractor lookup show complaints?

No. The detail page shows name, owner, address, status, status change reason, issue date and expiration date. It does not list complaints or insurance. To ask about complaints, call the Division of Consumer Affairs at 800-242-5846 or the home improvement complaints line at 973-424-8150, prompt 6.

Do I choose Business Search or Person Search for a home improvement contractor?

Business Search. The state tool says home improvement contractors are registered in the business name. Pick Home Improvement Contractors as the profession, then search by number or by the first letters of the business name. Use Person Search for individual license holders such as electrical contractors and master plumbers.

Are electricians, plumbers and HVAC contractors on the same lookup?

Yes, but under their own boards. Electrical contractors, master plumbers and HVACR contractors hold state licenses, not home improvement registrations. Choose Electrical Contractors, Master Plumbers or HVACR in the Profession list. State rules exempt them from home improvement registration only while they work within their own trade.

Can I cancel a home improvement contract in New Jersey?

Yes. State law lets you cancel for any reason before midnight of the third business day after you receive a copy of the contract. Cancel in writing, by registered or certified mail with return receipt, or by personal delivery. The contractor must refund your money within 30 days.

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