How to Find a Roofing Contractor You Can Trust

Finding a good roofing contractor is harder than finding a bad one. The barriers to entry are low—anyone with a truck and a ladder can call themselves a roofer. The difference between a professional job and a hack job shows up 10-15 years later.

Here’s how to identify the roofers who will still be around when their work starts to fail.

The Licensing Reality Check

State requirements vary. Some states license roofers, others require professional licenses (contractor’s license with roofing classification), and some leave it to local jurisdictions.

Even in unlicensed areas, reputable roofers carry liability insurance (usually $1-2 million) and workers’ compensation. If someone gets hurt on your property and the contractor isn’t insured, you’re liable.

Ask for certificates of insurance and verify with the insurance company. Expired or fake policies are common. A five-minute phone call protects a five-figure investment.

If they can’t provide insurance documentation, keep looking. It doesn’t matter how cheap the quote is—liability risk makes it expensive.

Check Reviews (The Right Way)

Online reviews have limitations. Angi’s, HomeAdvisor, Google, and others take payments or placement fees, create SEO-friendly content, and charge contractors for leads. That doesn’t mean all reviews are fake, but the platforms shape what you see.

Use reviews anyway, but look for patterns:

Multiple recent reviews mentioning the same issue—water damage, improper installation, poor customer service—are red flags. Positive patterns matter too: consistent 5-star reviews praising communication, cleanup, and respecting property.

Glassdoor and Indeed reviews from current employees can hint at internal culture. High employee turnover often correlates with sloppy workmanship.

Check the Better Business Bureau. BBB ratings reflect complaint handling more than workmanship quality, but a flood of unresolved complaints indicates problems.

The Inspection Test

Don’t hire a contractor who gives quotes without physically inspecting your roof. Anyone providing phone quotes is either guessing or selling standard-price booklets without understanding the job.

A legitimate inspector checks from the ground, climbs up (if safe), checks attic for decking issues, examines flashing details, measures vents, and identifies existing layers.

They should photograph everything and explain their findings. If their primary concern in taking photos is your insurance coverage, that’s suspicious. Good roofers want evidence for you, not just insurers.

If they inspect by peeking around with binoculars from the lawn, that’s fine. If they don’t inspect at all, that’s not.

Materials Questions That Matter

Ask what materials they install and how they qualify installers.

“Which shingle brands do you carry?” Good roofers have access to multiple brands—GAF, CertainTeed, OC, and others. Single-brand affiliates exist but limit options and suggest relationships based on sales volume, potentially affecting installation quality.

“What fasteners do you use?” Cheap staples (illegal on most roofs) indicate a cost-cutting focus. Hand-driven galvanized nails suggest attention. Pneumatic nail guns are fast and accurate when properly calibrated—ask to see calibration certificates if available.

“How do you install underlayment?” They should install ice/water barrier in valleys and along ridges, use proper felt (not budget synthetic) and install correctly—ask about fastening patterns and sealing practices.

If they can’t answer technical questions knowledgeably, they might subcontract installation to whoever shows up—quality varies widely.

Warranties That Actually Mean Something

Shingle manufacturer warranties are largely standard from brand to brand. What differs:

Contractor workmanship warranty should be 5-10 years minimum. One year means they think their work will fall apart after 364 days. Lifetime is impossible—neither parties nor shingles stay around that long. Be wary of unrealistically long terms without specifics.

System warranty (the materials) must be registered by them within 30 days. Make this part of their obligation—paperwork matters.

Read warranties carefully. Coverage after initial period is often prorated. Full coverage decreases yearly, protecting repair labor but reducing material value for older roofs.

Ask: “What specific defects does your workmanship warranty cover?” If it’s unspecific promises with no actual terms, it’s unspecific protection with no actual help.

The Subcontractor Reality

Most roofing contractors subcontract installations. This isn’t bad—specialized crews work efficiently. The key is whether the contractor manages quality.

Ask:

• How many crews do you work with regularly? (More suggests quality inconsistency. Most high-quality operations prefer 1-3 trusted crews.)
• Do the same crews install your jobs or do you use whoever’s cheaper this week?
• How do you spot-check installations crews? (They might say “we always have a supervisor on site”—ask which site and how often.)
• What training/continuing education do installation crews receive?

If they can’t describe their standard procedures for ensuring actual humans do actual work they promised, it’s because they don’t have any—and the humans doing the work don’t care about quality they’ll never have to explain.

Permits and Inspections

Most jurisdictions require permits for roof replacement. The cost is usually $100-500 per job. Contractors paying permits care about legality and inspections. Those who avoid permits care about shortcuts.

Ask: “Do you pull permits or do I?” If they say “oh we don’t need permits” that’s dishonest at best, criminal at worst if the jurisdiction actually requires them.

Call your building department to verify permit requirements before signing with any contractor. Many require permit numbers to be displayed in yard signs. If you don’t see one (or they claim permit isn’t needed), check the jurisdiction’s regulations yourself.

When a contractor pulls a permit, they’re liable for fixing code violations. When you pull it, inspections pass liability to you (and jurisdiction) to chase enforcement that you can’t access as effectively.

Price Comparisons

Get multiple quotes. Don’t just pick the cheapest quote—compare what you get for the money.

Compare apples to apples: identical brands, identical underlayment, identical warranty specifications, identical cleanup expectations, identical permit handling.

A $12,000 quote with good shingles and proper ice/women shield is meaningful. A $9,000 quote that skips ice/women shield and uses bottom-barrel shingles isn’t cheaper—it’s undersized.

The industry has a sweet spot for price/quality—too low often means shortcuts; too high usually means premium service but not necessarily premium work. Get enough quotes to identify the middle ground.

Red Flags That Matter

“We need your deposit today to hold material pricing”—untrue, material costs vary weekly but don’t lock in for standard orders.

“This work isn’t covered by your insurance, but you should pursue an insurance settlement for the work we haven’t inspected for”—dishonestest.

“Everyone else is booked for months, hire us today”—often false scarcity pressure.

“Sign over your insurance proceeds” in most states is illegal consumer practice. Reputable contractors will help with documentation only, not payment handling.

After Hiring

Document everything. Take photos of your roof before replacement starts. Ask for a timeline and daily progression.

When they’re done, request detailed photos of final installation—including underlayment, flashing, and valley details.

Keep warranties in a safe place—increasingly, manufacturers store digital records but personal copies speed follow-up if systems go out of business. Ask your contractor for registered warranty confirmation when the job is complete.

Roof replacement is expensive, disruptive, and long-lasting. Getting it right the first time matters more than saving a few hundred dollars, so focus on finding a roofer you trust—not finding the roofer you can afford if it turns out later that they could never have done the job correctly at the prices they quoted.