Licensed
- What it means
- The state (or a local authority) has verified the contractor meets the qualifications to do this trade. It's the baseline credential for licensed work.
- What it does not prove
- It does not prove they're bonded, insured, or that the job will go well. A license can also be expired, suspended, or scoped to a different trade than your job.
- How to confirm it yourself
- Look up the license number on your state's official board. Confirm the status reads active and the classification covers your work.
Bonded
- What it means
- There's a surety bond — a guarantee that can compensate someone if the contractor breaks license law (e.g. unpaid permit fees or code violations).
- What it does not prove
- A bond is not insurance for your project. Amounts are small (often $15,000–$25,000), claims go through the surety, and it pays out mainly for license-law violations — not for poor workmanship on a big remodel.
- How to confirm it yourself
- Ask for the surety company and bond number, then verify it's active with the surety. The state board often lists the bond too.
Insured
- What it means
- The contractor carries insurance — general liability (covers property damage) and, ideally, workers' compensation (covers injuries on your job). This is the leg that protects you financially when something goes wrong.
- What it does not prove
- A claim of 'insured' on a listing does not prove the policy is active today, that the limits are adequate, or that workers' comp is included. Coverage lapses.
- How to confirm it yourself
- Request a Certificate of Insurance (COI) and confirm it directly with the carrier — check the policy is active and the limits fit your job.
License-verified
- What it means
- ProFix matched this contractor to an official state-license-board record and the board shows the license as active. The profile shows the board, the status, and a link to confirm.
- What it does not prove
- A board status is a dated snapshot — it doesn't guarantee the license is still active this minute, and it isn't a quality or insurance guarantee. We only show this when an official source confirms an active status.
- How to confirm it yourself
- Click the official board link on the profile, or run the license through Trust Check to see the live record.
Permit-verified
- What it means
- ProFix matched the contractor to real public building-permit records, showing recent proof of work. Where coverage exists, it's a signal few directories can replicate without doing the crawling themselves.
- What it does not prove
- It's a proof-of-work signal, not a quality rating, and it isn't a license or insurance check. Missing permits mean missing data — not a negative mark — since permit feeds don't cover every place.
- How to confirm it yourself
- Open the permit history on the profile to see the matched records, or browse the permit leaderboards.
Trust tier (Elite / Solid / Starter / Minimal)
- What it means
- A transparent score that combines the verifiable signals on a profile — license evidence, permit activity, reviews, tenure, and more — into one tier so you can compare at a glance. Every factor and weight is published.
- What it does not prove
- The tier reflects what we can verify, not a personal endorsement or a guarantee of the outcome. A higher tier is a head start on trust, not a substitute for checking the license and getting a written estimate.
- How to confirm it yourself
- See exactly how the tier is computed — every factor and point — on the Trust Score page.
The one rule behind every badge
A badge is a head start, not a finish line. The strongest thing you can do is exactly what the badge points to: confirm the license on the official board, ask for a current COI, and get a written, itemized estimate. ProFix surfaces the evidence and the source link — you make the call.
Badge FAQ
Does a trust badge mean ProFix recommends this contractor?
No. Badges describe what we can independently verify from public records and your own checks — they are not a personal endorsement or a guarantee. Always confirm the license and get a written estimate before hiring.
What's the difference between licensed, bonded, and insured?
Licensed means the state verified the contractor's qualifications. Bonded means a surety bond can compensate for license-law violations (it's a small guarantee, not project insurance). Insured means liability and workers'-comp coverage protects you if property is damaged or someone is hurt. You want all three, and they are not interchangeable.
Why do some profiles have fewer badges?
Badges appear only when we have the evidence. A missing badge usually means missing data — for example, a state board we haven't wired up yet, or a place without a public permit feed — not a negative finding. Where a signal isn't confirmed, we say so instead of implying it.