How to Hire a Contractor in Ohio: 7 Things to Check Before You Sign

The Ohio Contractor Problem

Ohio does not require a statewide general contractor license for residential work. Anyone can legally start a contracting business in Ohio, sign home improvement contracts, and collect deposits without holding any state-issued credential. Unlike Missouri, Ohio does have one important consumer protection layer for larger projects: the Home Construction Service Suppliers Act (ORC Chapter 4722) kicks in on contracts over $25,000 and places legal limits on deposits and contract requirements. But for smaller jobs — and for GC work in general — the burden of verification falls entirely on you.

The Ohio Attorney General's office has been active. In 2026, AG Dave Yost filed multiple lawsuits against contractors accused of taking large deposits and abandoning projects, with combined alleged losses over $750,000 across several cases. One contractor received a 17-year prison sentence after running a construction fraud scheme involving pole barns and residential projects. These cases are not outliers — they are the documented outcome of what happens when homeowners skip verification.

Here are the seven steps to check before signing anything in Ohio.

1. Verify Licensing — State and Local

Ohio licenses specific skilled trades at the state level through the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB), which operates under the Ohio Department of Commerce. These state licenses primarily apply to commercial work. For residential projects, licensing is handled locally.

State-licensed trades (commercial focus, verify at com.ohio.gov):

• Electrical contractors
• HVAC contractors
• Plumbing contractors
• Hydronics and refrigeration contractors

Residential general contractors — local rules apply: Ohio residential GC licensing is set city by city and county by county. Columbus requires home improvement contractors to register with the city, pass an ICC exam, and carry specific insurance naming the city as a certificate holder. Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Akron each have their own requirements.

Your starting point: call your local building department and ask two questions. First, what type of contractor registration or license is required for this scope of work in this jurisdiction? Second, is this specific contractor currently in good standing?

For Columbus projects, see our guide to finding a contractor in Columbus. For the Cincinnati metro, see our Cincinnati contractor guide.

2. Confirm Insurance by Calling the Carrier

Request a Certificate of Insurance with two required coverages:

• General Liability: Minimum $1 million per occurrence for most residential projects
• Workers' Compensation: Required by Ohio law for contractors with employees

Then verify the policy is actually current. Call the insurance carrier at a phone number you find independently — not one written on the certificate. Ask: "Is this policy active? What are the per-occurrence limits? Has it been cancelled or lapsed in the past year?"

Columbus specifically requires general liability limits of at least $300,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence for registered home improvement contractors, with the city named as an additional certificate holder. Verify that the certificate provided matches these requirements if you are in Columbus.

A contractor who cannot provide a certificate, or one where the carrier cannot confirm the policy is active, is a contractor you should not hire.

3. Require an Itemized Bid — Not an Estimate

Ohio's Home Construction Service Suppliers Act requires written contracts for projects over $25,000 — but a real bid should go further than the legal minimum regardless of project size. A legitimate bid specifies:

• Every material by brand, product name, grade, and quantity
• Labor broken down by trade or phase
• Permit and inspection fees (itemized separately)
• Start and projected completion dates
• Payment schedule tied to specific milestones
• The contractor's local license or registration number
• Insurance carrier and policy number

An estimate gives you a number. A bid gives you something to enforce. If the document the contractor provides doesn't specify the brand of shingles, the gauge of pipe, or the grade of lumber, you cannot hold them accountable when they substitute cheaper materials.

4. Get Three Bids from Three Different Contractors

Three competitive bids serve three functions simultaneously. They establish the realistic market range for your project. They expose scope gaps — the contractor who comes in low has almost always missed items that will come back as change orders. And they let you evaluate materials side by side when the line items are specific enough to compare.

A bid 25–30% lower than two competitors is not a bargain. It is a budget that cannot accommodate what the job actually requires. Ohio AG enforcement cases consistently involve contractors who win on price and then either abandon the project or demand substantial additional payments mid-job.

When evaluating bids, also note which contractors proactively mentioned the permit process. A contractor who does not raise the permit question for structural, electrical, plumbing, or HVAC work is telling you something about how they operate.

5. Check References from the Last 12 Months

Require three references from projects completed in the past 12 months at a similar scope and dollar value to yours. Call each reference directly and ask:

• Did the project finish within a reasonable window of the original timeline?
• Did the final cost stay close to the original bid, or were there significant change orders?
• Were permits pulled and inspections passed without problems?
• How did the contractor communicate when issues came up?
• Would you hire them again?

Online reviews have their place, but a reference call is different because you can ask follow-up questions. A customer who says the work is fine but describes a chaotic experience with missed inspections or undisclosed change orders is flagging a pattern, not a one-time incident.

6. Understand the Deposit and Payment Schedule

For projects over $25,000, Ohio's Home Construction Service Suppliers Act sets a hard limit: the initial deposit cannot exceed 10% of the contract price before the contractor's performance begins. There is a carve-out allowing up to 75% of the material cost to be collected upfront for specific pre-ordered custom materials, but this must be explicitly specified in the contract.

For smaller projects, the professional standard is:

• Deposit: 10–25% at contract signing
• Progress payments: Tied to specific completion milestones
• Final payment: Held until the punch list is resolved and final inspections are passed

Red flags:

• Any request to pay the majority of the contract upfront regardless of project size
• Payment demanded in cash or by wire transfer rather than check
• A payment schedule based on calendar dates ("pay the second installment on the 15th") rather than project completion events
• "I need the money to order materials" from a contractor who cannot demonstrate an established business

Ohio AG enforcement cases repeatedly show the same pattern: a contractor collects a large upfront payment, begins minimal or no work, and becomes unreachable. The deposit structure in the contract is your primary protection against this.

7. Get Lien Waivers at Every Payment

Ohio mechanics lien law (ORC Chapter 1311) allows subcontractors and material suppliers to place a lien on your property for unpaid amounts — even if you have already paid the general contractor in full. This is not a rare scenario. It is a predictable consequence of hiring a GC who does not manage their financial obligations to subs and suppliers.

At every payment milestone:

1. Obtain a signed lien waiver from your general contractor covering the amount of that payment.
2. For any identified subcontractors, obtain lien waivers from them as well.
3. For large material purchases, use a joint check arrangement — the check is payable to both the GC and the supplier, so it requires the supplier's endorsement to be cashed.

Ohio's mechanics lien law gives subcontractors and suppliers 75 days from the last date of work to file a lien. A waiver obtained at the time of payment eliminates the risk from that payment forward. A project completed without waivers leaves you exposed for months after you write the final check.

The Fastest Verification Shortcut

If the above process sounds like a lot of work, AboveBoardPros does most of it for you. Contractors in our network have passed license verification, insurance confirmation, reference checks, and business history review before you see their name. You still get three bids and still read the contract carefully — but you start with a filtered pool instead of a blank search.