You Can DIY Contractor License Monitoring – But Do You Want To?

License Monitoring | September 23, 2022

Don’t leave yourself exposed to unlicensed and inexperienced contractors when your company’s reputation is at stake. Contractor license monitoring from PlusOne Solutions can help.

There’s no requirement to use a contractor license monitoring service. Still, the fact is that ensuring your contractors hold the appropriate licenses, and their licenses are current, is often legally necessary, (depending on the work being done), and is always critical to the reputation of your organization. 

Whether you have been attempting to handle your license monitoring in-house or are considering outsourcing this undertaking, there are a few things to consider. A large part of the monitoring process is awareness of what the license requirements are for specific roles and the amount of time this task demands. In this blog, we’ll outline our contractor license monitoring process and share the multiple steps we take to ensure our customers have a comprehensive license tracking program in place.

Contractor License Monitoring: The PlusOne Solutions Process

Obtaining the License

Once we receive a license from the contractor, we take the following steps to verify the license status and validity:

• Confirm the name on the license belongs to the contractor.
• Capture the jurisdiction the license is good for, which could be a state, county, or city, and report on that.
• Capture the effective dates, including the expiration date.
• Capture the license number.
• Capture the issuing entity.
• Capture the license type and any subclassification, i.e., if it is an HVAC license, is the license for heating? ventilation & AC? or a boiler license? These subclassications are important and denote what type of expertise the license holder is expected to possess

Obtaining Renewals

When it comes to license renewals, our goal is to obtain the renewal with as little disruption to your contractors’ operations as possible. Our process is proactive and begins 30 days prior to the license’s expiration. We will attempt to verify the license online and take a screenshot of the renewed license. Starting at 7 days prior to the expiration, we attempt to verify online every day until 7 days after the renewal period. If the license is renewed, we will then take a screenshot of the license and ensure our records and yours are updated.

Simultaneously, we send a reminder email to the contractor at 30, 14, and 7 days prior to expiration, again on the night of expiration, and 7 days after expiration. If the license still has not been renewed, we will make a phone call to the contractor prior to expiration.

Reporting

Once the license information is documented and licenses are verified, we move on to the maintenance and reporting portion of the contractor license monitoring process. The reporting for licensing can be complex because each state has different requirements for licensing, and each contractor in a network can perform different work.

At PlusOne Solutions, we report on the following:

• License requirements specific to the organization, based on the type of work to be performed.
• License requirements depending on the jurisdiction (location).

We can also report on multiple locations for our national customers. For example, we can show that a plumbing license is needed in Oregon and Washington.

Automation and Expertise

We use an automated monitoring process, and once a license is in our system, any licenses available online are verified every 30 days to ensure it is still active and hasn’t been revoked or suspended.

If the license is suspended or revoked, we reach out to the contractor and report that the license is no longer valid to allow them to take the necessary steps to rectify the situation. If the license is indeed invalid, we will report this to the customer.

Our full-service tracking, collection, verification, and reporting system improves your network’s compliance and frees up valuable organizational resources. Schedule a call with us today to take advantage of our team of experienced professionals. We look forward to helping you make compliance one of your organizational strengths!

Contents are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Users are reminded to seek legal counsel with respect to their obligations and use of PlusOne Solutions services.

About PlusOne Solutions

PlusOne Solutions has been an industry leader in the risk management field by specializing in compliance programs that meet the complex challenges of geographically dispersed contractors, vendors, and employee networks. PlusOne Solutions protects companies from possible financial, legal, and reputational risks associated with contractor and vendor relationships while creating safer work environments. To learn more, visit https://www.PlusOneSolutions.net.